Conspiracy Theory
Tags: comedy, mystery, murder, dramatic, thought-provoking, flashback, brainwashing, romantic

Plot synopsis:
Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson), an obsessivecompulsive New York City taxi driver, visits his friend Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts), who works for the U.S. Attorney, at the Justice Department. She is trying to solve her father's murder. Jerry tells her that NASA is trying to kill the President using a secret weapon on the Space Shuttle that can trigger earthquakes.Jerry identifies some men on the street as CIA, follows them into a building, and is captured by them. He wakes up in a mental hospital bound to a wheelchair. A doctor (Patrick Stewart) tapes his eyes open, injects him with LSD, and interrogates him using torture. As the LSD kicks in Jerry remembers many previous sessions, which he sees as terrifying cartoons. In a fit of panic, Jerry manages to bite the doctor's nose and sufficiently incapacitate him long enough to escape, still bound to the wheelchair. He manages to shut himself in a laundry truck, escaping the premises. Jerry goes to Alice's office again and grabs a guard's gun, collapsing in Alice's arms.Alice visits Jerry in the hospital. Handcuffed to the bed and forced to enter a drug-induced sleep, he pleads with her to switch his chart with that of a criminal in the next bed or he will be dead by morning. In the morning, when Alice visits again, the criminal is dead, as he has suffered a mysterious heart attack during the night. The CIA, FBI and other agencies are there. She meets a mysterious CIA psychiatrist, Dr. Jonas. Meanwhile Jerry fakes a heart attack and escapes again, dropping himself down a linen chute. Jerry dresses up as a doctor and escapes the building.Jonas quizzes Alice over lunch; she explains that Jerry saved her from muggers once, so she tolerates him. In Jerry's hospital room she finds a copy of The Catcher in the Rye. As she discusses it with an FBI officer named Lowry, the CIA come and confiscate all of Jerry's personal items. Lowry offers to share information with her but she declines.The CIA cannot find Jerry. Alice goes to her car, and finds Jerry hiding in it. She stops the car and speaks with Lowry, who is tailing them, and then they go to Jerry's apartment where he tells her about his conspiracy theories and his newsletter. He has dozens of copies of Catcher. He feels compelled to buy it, but doesn't know why. They are interrupted when Jerry's alarm goes off, signaling the entry of a CIA SWAT team. Jerry sets everything on fire and they leave by his secret trapdoor exit. In the room below, there is a large mural on the wall, which features both Alice and the triple smokestacks of a factory near the mental institution.The pair go to Alice's apartment and he reveals he's been watching her through her window. She kicks him out. Outside, Jerry confronts Lowry and his partner staking out her place, and he warns them, at gunpoint, not to hurt her. He goes to a book store and buys a copy of Catcher. The CIA detects his purchase, and sends agents to catch him. Jerry sees their black helicopters with men rappelling down and goes into a theater. He yells "there's a bomb under my chair" and manages to escape during the resulting panic.The next morning, Alice has been calling each person who gets the newsletter, and they have all died that night except one. Jerry uses a ruse to get her out of the office, and then attaches cables from the CIA vehicle following her to a vendor's cart. On a bus they discuss more of his theories. In a subway station where one Herriman drowned in another conspiracy, she agrees to check the autopsy. He says he loves her and she rejects him.Alice goes to see the last surviving person on the subscription list, and it is Jonas. He explains that Jerry was an MK-ULTRA subject but the project was terminated - except for his research. Jonas shows her a photo of her father taken from Jerry's locker, and claims that Jerry went out of control and killed her father. She is crushed.Jerry sends Alice a pizza containing a message to meet him. Jonas gets her to agree to a homing device in the pizza box and Jerry drives her with the box across the Queensboro bridge. He has made previous arrangements that enable him to ditch the agents following them, leaving the homing device behind. As he drives her to her father's private horse stables, Jerry tells her that he can almost remember what happened and is taking her to where "the music is playing." Alice turns on her mobile phone so they can still track her. At the stables Jerry remembers that he was sent to kill her father (a judge who was about to expose Jonas's operation) but found he couldn't kill him. Instead they became friends and Jerry promised to watch over Alice before the judge was killed by another assassin. She admits she switched the charts in the hospital. The CIA arrive and capture Jerry. Jonas gloats but Jerry says, "you've never seen her run." Alice outruns the men; a sniper misses her, killing the last guy chasing her, and she escapes.Jonas tortures Jerry again. Meanwhile, Alice leads the FBI men (who are not actually FBI but from a "secret agency that watches the other agencies") to Jonas's office, but it has been entirely dismantled. Declining Lowry's help, Alice starts searching for Jerry. She realizes that a detail of Jerry's large mural is near a mental hospital and goes there. She bribes an attendant to show her an unused wing, breaks in through locked doors, and finds Jerry after hearing him singing through the ventilation ducts. As Jonas catches them, Lowry arrives with his men and attacks Jonas's men. Jerry attempts to drown Jonas but is shot once. In retaliation, Alice shoots Jonas dead. Alice tells Jerry she loves him as he is taken away in an ambulance.Some time later, Alice visits Jerry's grave, leaving his union pin upon it, before returning to horse riding. As she rides away, Jerry, Lowry and Flip watching her. Jerry is not allowed to contact her until they are sure they have rounded up all of Jonas's other subjects. He secretly lets her know he is still alive by placing his union pin on her horse's saddle and the film ends.

Review: Mel Gibson put a lot of energy into what was obviously a demanding role and, as usual, Julia Roberts lights up the screen in every scene she's in.
I found this film really hard to focus on, there was Mel Gibson playing a paranoid crazy guy, being dragged off by government/non-government 'spooks' and having some sort of weird obsession with Julia Roberts.
Mel Gibson played a completely different character than what we usually see, which worked to his benefit and Julia Roberts proved with this film, that she still had star power.
Although nothing really happened between them, the audience could clearly see Jerry's (Mel Gibson)love for Alice (Julia Roberts.)Now, the plot.
That guy Mel Gibson plays in that new movie, Conspiracy Theory." The thing that I didn't tell her was that...I had driven a taxi just the year before I met her.
Action-Sequences are realistic.Performance-Wise: Mel Gibson is convincing in his portrayal of a man obsessed with conspiracy theories.
He plays a cab driver (Jerry Fletcher) in love with Julia Roberts(Alice Sutton), he has theories about conspiracies.
Stone, in fact, would like this film since it gives credence to these paranoid fantasies and gives several cheap shots to conservatives along the way.Political propaganda-aside, this is a fun movie to watch and the most fun might be Gibson's house, which is too incredible to describe here.
Mel is fascinating to watch and really makes this movie what it is with his outrageous character "Jerry Fletcher." Julia Roberts gives a solid performance while looking about as good as she ever looked.
The plot is conspiracy freak Jerry Fletcher(Mel Gibson), for some reason can not seem to stop watching over Alice Sutton(Julia Roberts), and he is always telling her about his new conspiracy theories, and she never has the heart to tell him to just go away.
So one day Jerry ends up being kidnapped, and put in a torture room, where he is being asked questions by Patrick Stewart(X-Men)(I won't tell you what his name is in the movie because it might ruin a little bit).
Mel Gibson's crazy performance waffles between brilliance and just plain over-the-top and I had a hard time believing any part of the romancy thing going on between him and Julia Roberts as he was just a little too certifiable for anyone to fall for.
The plot is full of twists and turns plus a lot of action.Allice Sutton (Julie Roberts) is batted back and forth between Dr. Jonas (Patrick Stewart) and Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson).
It is hard to trust either man, but she finds herself caught in a web of lies in which she has to pick a side, and we don't know the truth of the matter until the end of the film.While the film is full of action, my favorite moment in the film is where Jerry Fletcher begins to cry about his multiple volumes of Catcher in the Rye.I have never been a big fan of Julia Roberts, but she does an amazing job performing the character of Alice Sutton.
Well in this film Mel Gibson sees a conspiracy everywhere and tries to pursuade Julia Roberts, that certain 'incidents' weren't quite as they seem.
When you consider that Mel Gibson, the chip himself, and Julia Roberts, another classically overrated Hollywood actor, star in this movie, you have to be very wary.
I quite enjoyed the idea as I think most people do of a conspiracy theory, no matter how far fetched it may be.Mel is a very capable actor, just a bitter individual who lets his emotions take control of the truth.
This movie was run down by the critics and people seem to come away with the thought that "Jerry" was crazy and finally one out of his many theories was real.
If no one had believed enough to listen to him, there would have been no story.The question is why do viewers still come away with the belief that "Jerry" is crazy, and got himself into trouble when he was doing about all he could to deal with his post traumatic condition, and was picked up just for discovering some CIA offices by being suspicious.The movie has a lot of twists and turns, and maybe a few too many toward the end, but I was amazed to find that most of the conspiracy theories mentioned are now known and documented as true..
Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts are just right as the half-psychotic conspiracy theorist and the skeptical-but-compassionate U.S. attorney.
In this movie we see Julia Roberts playing a single lawyer, and Jerry (Mel Gibson), a taxi driver, is in love with her.
He thinks that Dr. Jonas(Patrick Stewart) will help him, but it turns out that was one conspiracy he didn't anticipate...Entertaining thriller is well directed by Richard Donner, with a good pace and reasonably believable story, though it does go on a bit too long, and becomes a bit too convoluted, but otherwise this film works well, and some of Jerry's theories may not be so nutty anymore....
However, I did know that the co-stars were Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts, two Hollywood movie stars I had been familiar with for a long time.
So, I rented "Conspiracy Theory" because I knew it was another film directed by Donner and starring Gibson and it also looked like a promising thriller.
Fortunately, there are definitely some good thrills and action, and Mel Gibson puts on an impressive performance as Jerry Fletcher, though his character here is no match for the likable Martin Riggs in the "Lethal Weapon" series.
Julia Roberts as Alice Sutton and Patrick Stewart (another actor I've been familiar with for a long time) as Dr. Jonas are also memorable cast highlights.At 135 minutes, this 1997 thriller is a fairly long movie, and later in the film, it didn't seem as flawed to me as it did for a long time before then.
'Conspiracy Theory' is another near miss for Richard Donner, but it's worth cracking even so, all thanks to Gibson and Roberts....
Conspiracy Theory Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) is a lonely New York City taxi driver who lives a very organised, but paranoid, existence.
But he has trouble convincing Alice of this, who has listened to Jerry's musings far too many times to believe any of them.While his creative output over the years hasn't been specifically worth mentioning, Richard Donner is hardly a filmmaker deserving of much criticism; his movies supply solid, if forgettable, entertainment that is worth the price of admission.
At this time, one may think perhaps Donner teaming up again with 'Assassins' scribe Brian Helgeland wasn't a bad idea, as 'Theory' offers truly entertaining moments when it lets the audience see how Jerry's eccentric lifestyle brushes against the people of the city, and inhibits his own daily activities.
Mel Gibson plays Jerry Fletcher, a neurotic, goof ball NYC cab driver, convinced that powerful people are out to get the little guys like him.
What do you get when you mix a good script, Richard Donner, Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, Patrick Stewart and a classic song called "Can´t Take My Eyes Off You"?
Most of the action thrillers that come out of Hollywood are pure crap, but every now and then someone writes a good movie and finds someone else to bring it to the big screen.I have nothing bad to say about Conspiracy Theory, it might be bit long but it´s not a big deal.
I think the overriding thing I take from the film is the story itself, it's whole conspiracy theme and dark shadowy shenanigans make the film never less than interesting and it compels you to stay with it no matter what contrivances come your way.Starting out with a first reel leading you to believe that it's a comedy first and foremost the film then shifts to such a high gear it kind of submarines you to the point that you feel you have to rewind to see if you are not watching a double bill !, the pace is up and down and twists pop up at set point markers, but it works well because the story is an engrossing one and I feel Donner has done pretty much a perfect job with the material at hand.Julia Roberts is a safe choice as Alice Sutton, the role calls for a safe approach, say your lines with credibility and feed off the leading man, she does this with no problems at all, but she really is playing second fiddle to Mel Gibson's ball of energy performance as main protagonist Jerry Fletcher, it's a twitchy and potent turn from Gibson that I feel is vastly under praised in view of his career output.
Mel Gibson plays a very unique character - a paranoid weirdo who believes that everyone is out to get him and everything that happens is part of some vast conspiracy.
Julia Roberts plays a Justice Department worker who for some reason, Gibson's character likes to tell his far-fetched stories to.
Little details like the way he locks everything in his apartment (the coffee is in a locked container in his locked refrigerator inside his six times over locked apartment) really make him a very interesting and real character to follow.Picard's character and a couple of the other 'bad guys' in the movie are a little less developed and their roles are not as well explained.
The chemistry between Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts is great and they both give excellent performances.
I was seduced, I guess, because objectively speaking this is just your usual phony thriller, with chase scenes beginning in the first reel and continuing throughout, with the little guy as hero, and a convoluted plot worthy of a wanna-be thriller writer retired from the CIA.Mel Gibson plays a New York City cabby addicted to conspiracy theories, but (of course) it turns out that "just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you." And boy are they ever!
Now I'm one of those big Mel Gibson-fans, so I generally like his movies, but I still think this one is well worth seeing, even though you're not the biggest Mel Gibson-fan.The reason for seeing this should not be because you want an insight into conspiracy theories, but because you want to be entertained.
Gibson does his "crazy man Riggs" mode in parts of this film and Patrick Stewart, Julia Roberts do what they can to save this mess.In short, Jerry is obsessed with a government agent.
Then he gets kidnapped by spooks, tortured by Dr. Jonas (Patrick Stewart) and it's a matter of figuring out which theory of his got him into trouble.This movie wants to be and NEEDS to be a paranoid thriller.
I've always been a fan of Conspiracy Theories so I figured I would check this one out,, it's above average,, based on the acting between our stars, Mel Gibson, Julia Robert,, and Patrick Stewart,, I was hoping for an actual conspiracy,, instead we get the old,, CIA, mind control stuff, rogue killer programmed to assassinate someone,, which isn't that bad, but some of the theories in the movie like the Oliver Stone --George Bush one,, I was like wow OK..
Mel's character, Jerry Fletcher is majorly paranoid, insanely crazy as one of his theories actually turns out to be true, problem for him is as he has so many now he has to figure out which theory he is right about,, he get's help from a young lady he saved from a mugging 6 months ago,, so he is like her guardian angel so to speak,, very interesting movie,, once you get by all the covert military mind control stuff..
Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts and even Patrick Stewart did their best to Richard Donner make his great movie.
Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts steal the scenes and the plot leads you in another world full of action, passion and romance.
This film is one of my all time favourites despite doing poorly at the cinemas, I believe there are more things going on around us than we are aware of.I am also a big fan of Mel Gibson after seeing him in the Lethal Weapon movies and Richard Donner the director here did those films as well so the crew was excellent.For those out there who knock this film for being unrealistic I say this: how do you know, since it is set around a premise which by its very nature nobody knows anything about how do you know how realistic it is.7/10.
And when he publishes a newsletter, things start happening to him...Beautiful Julia Roberts plays Alice Sutton perfectly -- she is exactly balanced between believing Jerry Fletcher and not believing him.
This movie is definitely worth watching, not for its story-line which tries, but fails, to surprise, but for the charming atmosphere around the main characters, peaking with their short visit to Jerry's (Gibson's) apartment.
Jerry Fletcher is a very lovable character...and I certainly give Mel Gibson 10 stars for his GREAT acting in the film.
Wow, this was a great movie -- I was so glad to see Julia Roberts and Mel Gibson finally team up.
Before watching "Conspiracy Theory", I expected to see another big action comedy from the Silver/Donner/Gibson-Team.
The romantic part of the film deals with the emotions of two lonely people, Mel Gibson as the confused and paranoid taxi driver Jerry, and Julia Roberts as a sad and restless lawyer called Alice.
And a super Soundtrack supports these scenes and makes them very effective.If you liked the film, you may be interested in the following recommendations: Payback, action-thriller by Brian Helgeland with Mel Gibson and much black humour; Enemy of the State, paranoia-thriller by Tony Scott with many stars and a lot of action; Maverick, comedy by Richard Donner with Mel Gibson and pure fun..
I kept watching Richard Donner's Conspiracy Theory, praying, pleading to the movie gods that more than once (The Omen) in his overlong career, Donner would create a film that wouldn't collapse under the weight of hysteria and broken promises.There are no gods.Once again, an interesting premise, this time, an ordinary man who suffers from paranoiac delusions of rampant conspiracies (and the hidden causes of his "illness"), gets lost in the inevitable, the assumption that you, the viewer, will become so invested in the characters and story, that you will forgive (or worse, that you won't notice) the massive incoherence, the ridiculous plot twists and devices, the glaring inattention to logic and physics and chemistry and human physiology.Conspiracy consumers, the great dunderheaded doofi who suck up plots to kill presidents, to keep us from knowing about aliens, and (because of a criminal lack of economic education in this country), to assume gas prices go up and down at the flick of a corporate/government switch will love this sort of brainless trash.
Maybe this is why I didn't think much of Richard Donner's CONSPIRACY THEORY Or maybe it's because this isn't a very good movie despite its theme .
The musical score does set the right tone for a comedy thriller that doesn't take itself too seriously while Brian Helgeland's script does show Julia Robert's character on a running machine near the start of the movie which is a good example of telegraphing a script .
I think this was one of Mel Gibson's best performances and also a very intelligent performance by Julia Roberts.
Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts make a great team.
Casting for this movie was spot on with Mel as not quite the hero, Julia as a strong, determined woman, and Patrick Stewart in one of his best roles outside Star Trek.
As for the ending; AWFUL for several different reasons:1) All of a sudden Alice (Julia Roberts) is in love with Jerry (Mel Gibson)?
Must be because Jerry looks like Mel Gibson2) (Plot points revealed here, so those of you who haven't seen the movie, do not read further.)  We were made to think, briefly, that Gibson's character had died.
Conspiracy Theory is a 1997 thriller that centers around Jerry (Mel Gibson), a spaced-out taxi driver, and his relationship with Alice (Julia Roberts), a Justice Dept lawyer.
Plot In A Paragraph: Jerry (Gibson) is a New York City cab driver who is obsessed with conspiracy theories.
Anyway, the Mel Gibson/Julia Roberts Movie is a Missed Opportunity, Dumbed Down and Played Mostly Tongue in Cheek.
Julia Roberts does a great job playing someone who is suddenly thrown in the middle of a crazy man's theory.There are no huge action scenes with big explosions, Richard Donner is contained and try to focus on the tension, which is good.
When Jerry (Mel Gibson) and Alice (Julia Roberts) were in danger or being pursued, I got a little scared.
Now, in conclusion, if you are a fan of Mel Gibson or Julia Roberts, I highly recommend this movie.
In every scene he keeps glancing at the viewer out of the corner of his eye, winking, "See, I'm not *really* crazy Jerry, I'm good ole Mel Gibson, big-time star, I never sweat, I never forget to shave, and I *always* look great." Too bad, since Julia Roberts does hold up her end just fine.
Who would have thought Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts doing a film together wouldn't be as good as imagined?
Mel Gibson brings a very well done performance in another combo with director Richard Donner about a taxi-driver who may be half crazy, but knows his facts, and that he is now a target, along with a woman (Julia Roberts).
Mel Gibson as Jerry Fletcher, New York Cab Driver and Conspiracy Theory fanatic is at his wacko best.
Julia Roberts plays her role just the way any talented actor would play it and Mel Gibson is just as good and he is hot.
The only reason I rented this movie, is that I saw Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts on the cover.
Mel Gibson and Julia Robert.well it's a great movie and everybody should watch it.