Gray's Anatomy (1996)

It may not seem like Spalding Gray would require a critically acclaimed director to film a spoken-word monologue, but Steven Soderbergh succeeds in making a visually interesting movie out of Gray's 80-minute account of his degenerative eye disorder. Gray's Anatomy begins promisingly with a series of documentary-style interviews with real-life survivors of eye trauma, then transitions into an engrossing tale of the humor and anguish involved in Gray's attempts to treat his macular pucker, which will eventually lead to blindness. With his New Yawker mannerisms and gesticulations, Gray already makes for attention-grabbing subject matter, but Soderbergh adds atmosphere to the piece with background colors and other visual representations of the film's themes. The tale is absurdly funny, populated by oddball characters trying to appeal to the notorious doctor-phobe, who was born a Christian Scientist. While Gray's shtick is inherently amusing, almost like stand-up comedy, he affectingly takes the viewer to far more serious places in his personal life, and finishes on an unresolved note that's sure to provoke thought. The film manages to be both entertaining and informative, and it should fulfill even those viewers not naturally drawn to Gray's neurotic ranting. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide