A very fine neurosurgeon, impeccably portrayed by James Mason, who teaches criminology as a sideline, recounts a certain case study to a class during a lecture. The case deals with a man he deems to be sane, but who commits murder to avenge a murder. Mason, who has honed his great gift to heal, as a way of replacing the human connection his personal life lacks, has become detached and somewhat obsessive in his perspectives, as a result. Although he doesn't reveal it, to the undergraduates, we discover through the course of his story that he is the protagonist in the example he's presenting. He renders the murder as having been smoothly and successfully carried out, however we learn immediately thereafter that it actually has not yet been accomplished.
Mason's skillfully controlled persona, as the neurosurgeon, is letter perfect and one gets the feeling that his assumptions regarding the way in which a guilt ridden former lady love died are most probably true. Although an inquest rules it as an accidental fall, gossipy detractors place the blame on the woman's, self-centered, opportunistic sister-in-law, who has much to gain financially by the woman's death. Mason's doctor character feels compelled, out of vanity, to justify his revenge to the unwitting students and then sets out to put the final segment of the plot into action.
Murphy's law and irony prevail causing the retaliation to not come off nearly as seamlessly as planned. Moreover, while looking for a place to dispose of his murder victim's body Mason meets up with another more sardonic doctor, whom he's forced to give a ride to and is subsequently obliged to assist. Mason operates on and saves a young patient's life, only to be castigated and labeled, as mad, by the other doctor for his motives. The other doctor, who at one point is asked to fetch a medical supply from Mason's car, discovers the camouflaged body of his victim in the back seat but, without turning Mason in, rather asserts a moral dilemma, which figuratively then literally pushes Mason over the edge.
The title of the film comes into play in the form of an analogy the other doctor makes to a glass precariously perched to fall, crack and break, comparing it to Mason's unsound mind. Mason gets the point and abruptly does a swan dive over an abyss, into the sea. We are left to ponder whether it was a consequence of being faced with his monumental conceit, or hypocritical notion of altruism, that ultimately causes his undoing.
The noir aspects of its film techniques aside, this is a brilliant character study and Mason's superb achievement, alone, in creating a complex, sympathetic murderer makes the movie well worth viewing.
Mason's skillfully controlled persona, as the neurosurgeon, is letter perfect and one gets the feeling that his assumptions regarding the way in which a guilt ridden former lady love died are most probably true. Although an inquest rules it as an accidental fall, gossipy detractors place the blame on the woman's, self-centered, opportunistic sister-in-law, who has much to gain financially by the woman's death. Mason's doctor character feels compelled, out of vanity, to justify his revenge to the unwitting students and then sets out to put the final segment of the plot into action.
Murphy's law and irony prevail causing the retaliation to not come off nearly as seamlessly as planned. Moreover, while looking for a place to dispose of his murder victim's body Mason meets up with another more sardonic doctor, whom he's forced to give a ride to and is subsequently obliged to assist. Mason operates on and saves a young patient's life, only to be castigated and labeled, as mad, by the other doctor for his motives. The other doctor, who at one point is asked to fetch a medical supply from Mason's car, discovers the camouflaged body of his victim in the back seat but, without turning Mason in, rather asserts a moral dilemma, which figuratively then literally pushes Mason over the edge.
The title of the film comes into play in the form of an analogy the other doctor makes to a glass precariously perched to fall, crack and break, comparing it to Mason's unsound mind. Mason gets the point and abruptly does a swan dive over an abyss, into the sea. We are left to ponder whether it was a consequence of being faced with his monumental conceit, or hypocritical notion of altruism, that ultimately causes his undoing.
The noir aspects of its film techniques aside, this is a brilliant character study and Mason's superb achievement, alone, in creating a complex, sympathetic murderer makes the movie well worth viewing.