Tuesday, August 13, 2013


Coma was released in the first months of 1978, just weeks before Coming Home and, soon after, An Unmarried Woman. But whereas Jane Fonda would eventually win an Oscar for Coming Home, and Jill Clayburgh's performance as the unmarried woman became one of the iconic performances of the decade, Genevieve Bujold's performance in Coma, relatively speaking, flew under the radar.

Bujold's Dr. Susan Vance was a rare heroine in an action thriller. After her good friend dies under mysterious circumstances at Boston General Hospital, where Dr. Vance works, she investigates. She uncovers links to unexplained deaths under similar circumstances of other young adults at the hospital. Bujold's Dr. Vance is intelligent, courageous, independent, a worthy precursor to Jodie Foster's heroine in Silence of the Lambs. If her performance was not fully appreciated at the time, though, it's likely because the film itself is underwhelming. Michael Crichton directed from a screenplay based on a novel by Robin Cook.


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