Three Christs

Dr. Alan Stone leaves NYU in 1954 to work directly with patients at Ypsilanti State Mental Asylum. He focuses on schizophrenic patients and challenges the era's heavy reliance on sedation, insulin shock, and electroshock therapies. This marks the beginning of his controversial, talk-centered approach to treatment.

At Ypsilanti, Stone meets two patients who insist they are Jesus: Joseph Cassell and Clyde Benson. He begins observing their interactions and the dynamics of the ward, recognizing that their beliefs reveal deeper psychological issues. He starts shaping a new format of group talk therapy to study their behavior together.

Stone adds Leon Gabor, another Christ-believer, to the group, forming a trio for close study. He sees that each man's problems stem from different traumas and temperaments. The exercise exposes how religious delusion can manifest in distinct ways within an asylum setting.

Stone discards the era's punitive methods and resists the use of electroshocks as a routine treatment. He relies on conversation, reflective letters, and direct engagement to reach the patients. His humane approach contrasts sharply with colleagues who rely on shocks and sedation.

Stone's progress earns him a feature on the cover of a professional journal. The exposure triggers envy from Dr. Orbus, the asylum's head, who seeks credit and influence. The rivalry foreshadows conflicts over authority and treatment philosophy.

Orbus moves to bypass Stone and gets involved by interviewing Cassell alone. It is revealed that Stone wrote the letters to Cassell on Orbus's behalf after Orbus initially declined the task, straining trust. The manipulation signals growing tension between the two clinicians.

Cassell feels betrayed and begins to slip back into abusive behavior. Orbus orders renewed electric shocks for him, escalating the coercive cycle. Stone rushes to intervene but cannot prevent the procedure, and a confrontation with another doctor ensues, injuring both.

After the violent incident, Stone is expelled from the institution, and Orbus regains control over his former patients. The asylum's governance consolidates around Orbus, marginalizing Stone's methods. The episode highlights the institutional resistance to humane reform.

Cassell, feeling powerless and despairing, encounters Orbus in the chapel's bell tower and leaps to his death. The tragedy underscores the human costs of the power struggle and Stone's unfinished mission. Orbus's manipulation and the roar of the system contribute to the fatal outcome.

In a formal hearing, Stone accuses Orbus of negligent decisions and interprets Cassell's last words as a critique of Orbus's sins. The hearing ends with Stone being fired, but he is granted permission and funding to continue his studies with the two remaining patients in New York. The outcome preserves his ideas while ending his tenure at Ypsilanti.

Orbus remains formally in charge but without decision-making powers until retirement. Stone and the remaining two patients in New York press on with the study. The film closes with Stone taking Cassell's seat and playing cards with the two Jesuses, signaling a somber, symbolic end to the experiment.

The film notes that Stone's therapeutic approach did not prove effective within the system, though it would have helped him personally. It emphasizes the tension between humane therapy and institutional politics. The closing scenes frame talk therapy as a humane but costly pursuit that lingers beyond the courtroom and the ward.