If the overall premise of a hypothesis is flawed, can the outcome of that hypothesis ever bear fruit?
It does in the case of Twisted Nerve. Released in 1968, this psychological thriller manages to rise above the filmmaker's false premise which tries to link anti-social behavior to Down's Syndrome, of all things.
A handsome, keenly intelligent young man named Martin (the amazing Hywel Bennett) has a terrible home life. His stepfather hates him, his overbearing mother treats him like a two-year-old, and his older brother has been institutionalized because he has Down's Syndrome. Martin isn't entirely alone, however. Another personality, that of six-year-old "Georgie," has manifested itself in Martin's psyche and both Martin and Georgie become obsessed with a pretty, young librarian named Susan.
Hitchcock-ian elements are applied here to great effect. The script is sharp, the dialogue cuts like a pair of scissors, and the fantastically creepy score has even found a second life thanks to Quentin Tarantino and "Kill Bill."
Hayley Mills shines as the naively beautiful Susan, and Billie Whitelaw is terrific as her single, sexually frustrated mother, but Hywel Bennet is the movie's true star. His finely crafted portrayal of a young man slipping further into madness is positively arresting.
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