This is a very well made film about addiction and an early drug treatment facility in California. However, when I learned the FULL story about Synanon, it sure opened my eyes....but a bit about that later.
I noticed that some reviews did seem to think that "Synanon" pulled a lot of its punches. While I would agree, on the other hand, for 1965, the film was VERY insightful and well done. I particularly liked the down-beat ending--it made the story seem more realistic as 'you can't win 'em all' when it comes to addiction. Plus, the acting was nice--with Edmund O'Brien, Chuck Connors and Alex Cord a turning in excellent and gritty performances. All this was very good and very watchable--and you certainly can't blame the film makers for what happened AFTER the movie based on the real Synanon treatment center was released. Here's where it gets REALLY intereststing. It seems in the 1970s, Synanon slowly transformed itself into a cult, of sorts--a very paranoid and violent one at that! Wild accounts of beatings, rattlesnake attacks(!) and, eventually, the leader (Charles Dederich) resuming his heavy drinking and the dissolution of the program! Although a VERY discouraging story, it is the real account of Synanon and would actually make a pretty exciting film. Still, as I said, they didn't know about any of this stuff that would one day happen when they made the movie--and, taken on its own, "Synanon" is a very good film.
I noticed that some reviews did seem to think that "Synanon" pulled a lot of its punches. While I would agree, on the other hand, for 1965, the film was VERY insightful and well done. I particularly liked the down-beat ending--it made the story seem more realistic as 'you can't win 'em all' when it comes to addiction. Plus, the acting was nice--with Edmund O'Brien, Chuck Connors and Alex Cord a turning in excellent and gritty performances. All this was very good and very watchable--and you certainly can't blame the film makers for what happened AFTER the movie based on the real Synanon treatment center was released. Here's where it gets REALLY intereststing. It seems in the 1970s, Synanon slowly transformed itself into a cult, of sorts--a very paranoid and violent one at that! Wild accounts of beatings, rattlesnake attacks(!) and, eventually, the leader (Charles Dederich) resuming his heavy drinking and the dissolution of the program! Although a VERY discouraging story, it is the real account of Synanon and would actually make a pretty exciting film. Still, as I said, they didn't know about any of this stuff that would one day happen when they made the movie--and, taken on its own, "Synanon" is a very good film.