Tommy

"Your senses will never be the same."

"Tommy" - that deaf, dumb, and blind kid who sure plays a mean pinball - is the protagonist of The Who's famous rock opera.

The film version stars Roger Daltrey as the hero who, after seeing his father killed by his mother and stepfather (Oliver Reed), quite literally loses his senses. His mother (Ann-Margret) feels terrible guilt about the cover-up, and takes Tommy to all sorts of healers, such as The Preacher (Eric Clapton), but all to no avail. During this search for a cure, it is discovered that Tommy has a talent for playing pinball "by sense of smell" and he gains a cult following. When a medical specialist (Jack Nicholson - singing!) manages to cure Tommy, he opens his own religious resort. Ultimately, his followers realize that he is not a messiah, and his downfall leaves him alone in the world.

To say that Ken Russell's film is visually stunning would be an understatement. Lots of interesting colors, camera angles, and camera movement give them film a vibrancy hard to find in any other movie. Unfortunately, these features were all taken to the extreme. The constantly shifting colors and angles made me feel like I was in a fever dream, while the movement added to a sense of seasickness.

"Tommy" is unique. This uniqueness isn't enough to lift it to cinematic greatness. But the "rock opera" format - complete with cameos by Elton John and Eric Clapton - has never reached an apex higher than this. And it's hard to see another one being as revered as this one in the future. It's good. It's really, really good. Just not great.