Zelig Page #4

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of Holy Week.

What's this? A commotion

next to the Papal Father?

Somebody doesn't

belong up there.

The guards are summoned

amidst chaos...

as His Holiness Pope Pius Xl...

tries to swat the intruder

with his sacred decree.

The faithful can't believe it.

It is, of course, Zelig.

He's returned

to the United States...

by ltalian authorities...

and readmitted

to Manhattan Hospital.

I welcome this opportunity

to treat Leonard Zelig...

now that he is back

as a ward of the hospital.

I'm grateful the board

has given me this chance.

I sincerely hope

to return him to society...

a useful,

self-possessed citizen...

no longer a curiosity

with no life of his own.

Dr. Fletcher has no time now

to think of marriage.

All her attention must be

devoted to Leonard Zelig.

Her plan is to bring him

to her country home.

She will set up a neutral

environment away from society.

She will begin searching for

some new way to treat him...

in the hopes of penetrating

his unique malady.

Aware of the significance

of her work...

Eudora Fletcher arranges

to keep a filmed record...

of the proceedings.

For this, she contacts

her first cousin Paul Deghuee...

an inventor

and part-time photographer.

She said, "I want to make

a record of this case...

"for future generations

and the world of science.

"I want you to keep

the camera very quiet."

I said, "Why not just

take notes and write it up?"

She said, "Paul, when a man...

"changes his physical

appearance, you want to see it.

"You can't read about it.

"Besides which,

I am planning to make history."

The white room

is carefully arranged...

for maximum serenity.

It is a small study

in Dr. Fletcher's house...

sparsely furnished.

Clumsy photographic lights

are nailed to the wall...

to provide

sufficient illumination.

Microphones are hidden

in specially selected places.

The camera shoots

through a pane of glass...

which renders it

relatively unobtrusive.

The noise of the motor

is a problem.

This is muffled with a blanket

and anything else handy.

From this cramped

vantage point...

photographer Paul Deghuee

will record...

the famous

White Room Sessions--

a remarkable document

in the history of psychotherapy.

By today's standards...

the White Room Sessions

would seem very primitive...

and yet they were

really quite effective...

in developing a very strong

personal relation...

between doctor and patient.

The question whether

Zelig was a psychotic...

or merely extremely neurotic...

was a question

that was endlessly discussed...

among us doctors.

I myself felt that

his feelings were really...

not all that different

from the normal...

maybe what one would call...

the well-adjusted

normal person...

only carried

to an extreme degree...

to an extreme extent.

I myself felt that one could...

really think of him

as the ultimate conformist.

Leonard, do you know

why you're here?

To discuss psychiatry, right?

You're a doctor?

Yes, I am.

Perhaps you've read

my latest paper...

on delusional paranoia.

Turns out

the entire thing is mental.

Suppose I tell you

you're not a doctor.

I would say

that you're making a joke.

Incidentally, is it

always so bright in here?

I'm recording these sessions

on film, if you don't mind.

There's somebody

behind there, right?

That's right.

That's a camera.

Why don't we start

with simple reality.

Leonard, you're not a doctor.

You're a patient,

and I'm the doctor.

I wouldn't tell it to

too many people if I were you.

Leonard, you're not a doctor.

Is she going to be all right?

I've got to get back to town.

Really. I have

an interesting case--

treating two sets

of Siamese twins...

with split personalities.

I'm getting paid

by eight people.

"The first week's sessions

did not go too well..."

writes Dr. Fletcher

in her diary.

"Leonard identifies with me...

"and is convinced

that he is a doctor.

"He is guarded and suspicious.

"There is something

very appealing about him, too.

"He's quick-witted

and energetic.

"Perhaps it is his very

helplessness that moves me.

"I must keep flexible

and play the situation by ear."

How are you today, Leonard?

Fine.

I got to get back to town soon.

I teach a course...

at the Psychiatric lnstitute

on masturbation.

I see.

I'm a doctor, and l--

Guilt-related masturbation.

Not guilt-related.

I teach advanced.

I'm quite

a respected doctor there.

Let your eyes follow this pen.

Just let yourself

breathe deeply.

Relax.

You're trying to hypnotize me.

-Do you mind?

-Yes, I mind. I'm a doctor.

You're not a doctor.

I am a doctor.

Just relax.

I can't.

I'm due back in town.

I have this

masturbation class.

If I'm not there,

they start without me.

As the weeks go by...

Dr. Fletcher grows

more and more frustrated.

"Leonard continues

to insist he is a doctor...

"and even refuses to let me

hypnotize him," she writes.

"I believe his experiences

of the past year...

"have made him

more defensive than ever.

"It is discouraging."

She was under great pressure.

You could tell.

She was moody and nervous.

He was fine, napping,

sitting in his chair reading.

He referred to himself

as Dr. Zelig.

He was reading

books on psychiatry.

I told her to get away

for a day and relax.

The strain was

becoming too much.

Leaving Zelig alone...

Dr. Fletcher takes

Paul Deghuee's advice...

and she and her fiance

spend some hours off, relaxing.

They go to Broadway, then

to a well-known nightclub...

where, despite

a lively stage show...

Dr. Fletcher

is distracted and uneasy.

She is unable to think

of anything but her patient.

The atmosphere with

her fiance Koslow is awkward.

He is put off by her

total obsession with Zelig.

Ironically, it is in the noisy,

smoke-filled atmosphere...

of the nightclub

that Eudora Fletcher...

is struck by a brilliant

and innovative plan...

that will create a major

breakthrough in the case.

Dr. Zelig.

I wonder if you could

help me with a problem.

I could certainly try.

Of course,

we can't promise anything.

Last week, I was with a group

of fairly erudite people...

who were discussing

the novel "Moby Dick."

I was afraid to admit

I hadn't read it, so I lied.

I want so badly to be liked...

to be like other people

so I don't stand out.

That's natural.

I go to such extreme

lengths to blend in.

You're a doctor. You should know

how to handle that.

But the truth

of the matter is...

I'm not an actual doctor.

You're not?

I've been pretending

to be a doctor...

to fit in with my friends.

You see, they're doctors.

That's something.

But you're a doctor,

and you can help me.

You have to help me.

I don't feel that well,

actually.

My whole life's just been a lie.

I've been posing

as one thing after another.

You need help, lady.

Last night, I dreamt I was

falling into fire.

What does that mean?

That's terrible.

I don't know.

Doctor, I know

I'm a complicated patient.

-I don't feel that well.

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