Subject: Review: K-Pax (2001)

From: Shannon Patrick Sullivan <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 20:37:07 -0000

K-PAX (2001) / ** 1/2

Directed by Iain Softley. Screenplay by Charles Leavitt, based on the
novel by Gene Brewer. Starring Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Mary McCormack.
Running time: 120 minutes. Rated AA by the MFCB. Reviewed on November 
16th, 2001.

By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN

Synopsis: Prot (Spacey) claims to be from another planet, K-PAX. Mark 
Powell (Bridges) is the psychiatrist assigned to Prot's psychiatic ward. 
As Prot touches the lives of those around him, Powell questions whether 
he could actually be telling the truth. How else to explain his ability to 
see ultraviolet light, or vanish into thin air? When Prot reveals that his 
return to K-PAX is imminent, Powell races against time to unearth the 
mystery of his past.

Review: "K-PAX" is probably a better movie than it should have been. Much 
of this is due to Kevin Spacey, who proves once again what a versatile 
talent he is. As Prot, Spacey owns this film; he's charismatic, funny, 
enigmatic and -- at just the right moments -- touching. There is great 
latitude in Leavitt's script to take things over the top, but while Spacey 
doesn't homogenise his character, nor does he overindulge. The actor walks 
a fine line between comedy and drama, and it's a testament to Spacey's 
success that the two blend seamlessly. But as interesting as Prot is, he's 
trapped in a story which owes too much to "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's 
Nest" and not enough to genuine originality. Prot's ward is filled with 
the kinds of colourful eccentrics we've come to expect from this kind of 
picture: they each have delightful quirks, and none is so dysfunctional as 
to temper the atmosphere of jollity. Similarly, Bridges' rather bland Dr 
Powell endures family troubles lifted from just about every one-hour drama 
in the history of broadcast television. Fortunately, Softley's direction 
rises above the banalities of the script; he makes great use of 
light-related phenomena -- reflections, refractions, and so forth. And 
"K-PAX" offers a pleasantly ambiguous ending which is, paradoxically, far 
more satisfying than a more concrete resolution could ever have been.

Copyright © 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.
Archived at The Popcorn Gallery,
  http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html

  |     Shannon Patrick Sullivan    |         [email-masked]          |       
  +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
/  Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel)   go.to/drwho-history  \
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X-RT-TitleID: 1110283
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X-RT-RatingText: 2.5/4