K-Pax
***
Cinema Releases - April 12, 2002
Rated on a 4-star scale. Certificate 12. 120
minutes. Directed by Iain Softley. Written by Charles Leavitt; based on the
novel by Gene Brewer. Starring Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Mary McCormack,
Alfre Woodard, David Patrick Kelly, Saul Williams.
There is a great movie inside
"K-Pax", burning to break free of the shackles of the writers.
The first two thirds are brave enough to acknowledge an extraordinary
possibility, but the ending develops some bizarrely bland desire to seem
'balanced', and it ends up frustrating and puzzling.
Kevin Spacey stars as Prot, a serene chap who
shows up at Grand Central Station and then finds himself in a mental institution,
after witnessing a mugging and calmly informing the cops that he's an alien
from the planet K-Pax. Jeff Bridges plays his psychiatrist, a pleasant but
overworked and weary-eyed doctor who manages to attend to patients' needs
without patronising them, but can't maintain much of an energy level and
is hardly the life of the party at home.
The mental hospital features the familiar array
of colourful characters with various eccentricities -- loud, quiet, striking,
amusing and sad. Spacey sits in the corner of the rec room, inspiring curiosity
and managing to give his fellow patients hope, just by seeming at peace with
himself and talking about the beauty of far away places. He also seems to
know things that he shouldn't, and whenever Bridges asks feeler questions
that attempt to show him that he's not an alien, Spacey gives perfectly logical
answers. "He's the most convincing delusional I've ever seen," Bridges is
forced to admit after a while, and he looks as if he's musing on other
possibilities.
Bridges relays the astral details of Spacey's
story to an astronomer, who responds with amazement. Tests reveal that Spacey
has curious chemical sensitivities. And watching all this, we keep thinking
back to the opening scene, in which Spacey seems to materialise from a beam
of light. Despite himself, Bridges is on the verge of believing Spacey's
story.
The therapy sessions are a pleasure to watch,
with two great actors sinking their teeth into strong material. Both of the
main characters stand their ground with intelligent dialogue, and there's
a fun irony to how Bridges, who should be in command, finds it hard to prove
his points and seems uncomfortable, while Spacey, who should be on the defensive,
is perfectly at ease, acting like he knows he's right and has nothing to
prove.
A good deal of humour arises from the almost bizarre
effortlessness of the Spacey character, and the way he amazes people while
taking it in his stride. He develops into something of a Christ figure --
there's a sense of wonder to how he provides simple moral example, gives
comfort to the sick and seems profound with reasonably simple insights. "K-Pax"
is about a guy who embodies the possibility of goodness and the spellbinding
power of leadership, and it's quite a moving piece of work.
"K-Pax" would have been a four-star picture if
it had followed through to some great truth, or if it had simply carried
on observing its fascinating creation. But the last act is all about Bridges
finding out facts that cast doubt on Spacey's contentions, and I don't see
the point, especially when what we end up with is not ambiguity, but two
unequivocal sets of conflicting evidence. Movies are best when they make
grand gestures and bold suggestions. "K-Pax" builds by daring to believe
that Prot really is a wise creature from outer space, and then doubts itself.
It gets sidetracked by timid cautiousness, and starts toying with us. Where's
the wonder in that?
COPYRIGHT©
2002 Ian Waldron-Mantgani
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