Electric Malady (2023)

William is a man who suffers from an extreme form of electro-sensitivity that has has reduced his life to little more than that of a house-bound, constantly blanket-clad hermit. Unable to spend time outside, his home is covered in aluminium foil and other reflective materials and he wears a hat that consists copper wire to help shield his brain from the effects of this pervasive radiation. It is intimately filmed by Marie Lidén offering us quite a painful-to-watch glimpse of the man's existence that, intercut with some of his earlier, happier, home movie footage with his erstwhile girlfriend, tells a rather sad story. Now, here is my problem with this - and I fully expect to be shot down. Is it real? This man lives is Sweden. One of the most advanced economies in the world. Surely someone would have designed an actual hat, and/or a suit for him to wear that would have offered the same protection and greater mobility than him having to shuffle around attired like a man from an "Addams Family" movie. He is apparently one of three people from the same public library to have contracted this illness in quick succession - yet we don't hear from either of the others. Indeed one - his former partner - appears to have gone on to live a full and fruitful life. Is he just that much more susceptible? There are contributors - but aside from his family, they are lay-people who are unattributed onscreen. There are no medical or scientific personnel participating here to offer us any explanation as to just what "radiation" actually might be, or to put some context around this man's undoubtedly depressing predicament. It is an interesting watch, but as it progressed - the distinct lack of scientific and/or medical critique and/or validation led me to wonder if this could even be an hoax!