The Lobotomist Movie Review

After watching “The Lobotomist”, I learned a substantial amount about the lobotomy procedure. There were many disturbing images in the film. One example was right after Walter Freeman had placed the towel over  Ellen. His first task was extremely gruesome. He later went on to shock the patient even more, which I found even more disturbing. Nonetheless, I found it quite interesting that in order to start the procedure, make the patient unconscious, Freeman shocked patients. Freeman did not choose other ways to make the patient unconscious, that are much safer. I also did not have any previous information on what a lobotomy was. I learned how the procedure goes and about how unreal it is. After reading about Ruckly, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I can identify the correlation on what I have learned about lobotomies (Kesey 16-17). After the lobotomy, not only did he look completely different, but acted completely different as well. The installation he underwent was not correct, there was a mistake. In such a vile procedure they had faulted, which physically and mentally damaged him. His face lost all character, he was balled, and his eyes looked completely different.  

Rosemary Kennedy was born with mental retardation. When she was 23 years of age, Joe Kennedy, her father,  ordered a prefrontal lobotomy for his daughter. He had arranged this lobotomy due to her young self having seizures and violent mood swings. He was told that the lobotomy would calm her down. Yet, he didn’t tell his wife about his decision until the procedures were completed. The lobotomy did not go well. She was permanently incapacitated and was unable to speak. After the lobotomy she was immediately institutionalized and was not visited by her family often. The lobotomy was also kept a secret until 1987. I think that this lobotomy procedure put Rosemary Kennedy in a very terrible place. It was not worth the pain she had gone through.