Stephen Poliakoff’s Century (1993) drives attention to an issue that has largely been left untouched by filmmakers, particularly those making realistic dramas. The play of authority versus the individual in a scientific research institute remains relevant to date and has only grown in significance.
Set in 1899, the plot follows the journey of a young doctor Paul Reisner (Clive Owen), son of a successful Jewish immigrant to Britain, who moves to London to join a medical research institute. Despite his intelligence and good manners, Reisner runs into a conflict with the institute’s director Professor Mandry (Charles Dance) over the questionable ethics of some of the research work done secretly by the professor’s team.
Poliakoff’s Century questions the extent to which institutional authority can stifle independence in scientific research using the threat of ruining an individual’s career as a lethal weapon of sort. The threat even touches the personal life of a non-conformist in the world of scientific research that is supposed to be validated by participation and not authoritarianism.
Century is also part romance with the affair between Reisner and Clara (Miranda Richardson) making the story’s subplot. What notably bridges the love affair and the professional journey of Reisner is the courage to go against the flow. While Reisner doesn’t put up with the ethical violations of the research work, he dares to pick Clara for his future wife despite the norms of the time rejecting her tainted reputation. In either case, though, Reisner goes with his conscience and against authority.
Very well-acted and directed, Poliakoff made sure he didn’t mix up the line between drama and melodrama in Century. The title, coming straight from the story’s setting, couldn’t be more pertinent. With science being the leading currency of education in the 20th Century, this movie easily spans a hundred years of relevance. Even today, it is not only an important film but quite underrated and virtually forgotten.
