DVD Review: Analyzing a psych researcher

“Experimenter” — a biopic of famous (notorious?) psychologist Stanley Milgram — was 2015’s second release about real-life psych research that pushed the boundaries of academic ethics. “The Stanford Prison Experiment” beat it into theaters by a few months, but in reality, Milgram’s “obedience” project was the original such experiment: Milgram instructed subjects to give ever-increasing electrical shocks to an imaginary character they thought to be real. Contrary to his expectations, he found that two thirds followed their “orders,” despite guilt and horror about inflicting torture.

The Stanford film had the advantage of a preconstructed narrative; the experiment was done once, scheduled for two weeks, but terminated in less than half that. The Milgram study involved hundreds of participants, each of whom was only in the lab for an hour or so. “Experimenter” — directed by longtime indie filmmaker Michael Almereyda (“Nadja,” “Another Girl Another Planet,” the Ethan Hawke version of “Hamlet”) — has a much looser structure. It’s also less about the experiments than about Milgram himself. The “obedience” project still is a central event, but we get a much fuller picture of Milgram and his subsequent work.

Almereyda has Peter Sarsgaard’s Milgram talk directly to the viewer, as though writing an oral autobiography. Almereyda also turns his low budget to his advantage, occasionally using black and white photos of the actual settings as backdrops for the live actors.

The Blu-ray has some interesting shorts — presumably promotional material — but they only total about 15 minutes. There’s a chat with the production designer, a look behind the scenes, and (best) an interview with Milgram’s brother, who has the keenest insights.

Experimenter (Magnolia Home Video, Blu-ray, $29.98; DVD, $26.98)