Change the way you look at the world.
I am reminded
of that infamously over-marketed bumper sticker
"WWJD" whenever I see the film "K-PAX," starring
Kevin Spacey as Prot, who is discovered
wandering in Manhattan and, when assessed to be
delusional, promptly detained in the Psychiatric
Institute of Manhattan.
As a member of the clergy, I encounter people
everyday who attempt to do what Jesus would do
in their daily lives. They try to live
compassionately, give freely, love
unconditionally and offer their service with an
open heart. Then, someone like Prot will enter
their lives and all those Christian teachings
will go down the drain. The person is too high
maintenance, too different, too delusional, or
too dangerous and so the person gets ignored,
judged, ostracized or even locked up. I've seen
this happen time and time again in churches and
in my ten year history of working for an
inpatient psychiatric unit.
In this case, Prot is assigned to the care of
Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges), a burned out
psychiatrist with a burning out home life. He
feels unchallenged in his career, and
unchallenged in treating clients. In meeting
Prot, Powell is rejuvenated and proclaims Prot
as the "most convincing delusional I've ever
come across." Or is he?
Herein lies the main thrust of "K-PAX." Is Prot
a deeply delusional man or is he, as he states,
from a planet 1,000 light years away? The
script, by Charles Leavitt, leaves a lasting
impact because it wisely takes a middle road. In
so many films these days, the audience is
spoon-fed the appropriate emotional response.
However, in "K-PAX," there's such strong
evidence to support both arguments and the
ending is so ambiguous that it is up to the
audience to determine the truth.
"K-PAX" could, in fact, draw comparisons to the
journey of Christ. Several scenes are set up
that mirror images of Christ's teachings, the
way he led apostles and the way he would be
attracted to the wounded and the lost faithful.
Yet, it is in some of these settings that "K-PAX"
begins to lessen its effectiveness. For example,
Prot's scenes in the Psychiatric Institute often
mirror those of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's
Nest," but with much less impact. His fellow
patients are almost stereotypical in their
psychiatric presentation, and at times Prot's
interactions with Institute staff border on the
cliche'.
Likewise, the performance of Mary McCormack, as
Dr. Powell's wife, is remarkably cliche' in her
resistance to her husband's long work hours and
obsession with his work. If doctor's wives were
really always as unhappy as the movies seem to
want to make them, I'd like to think there
wouldn't be so many doctor's wives. Couldn't we
just once see something more than a
one-dimensional performance in such a role?
McCormack is the weak link in an otherwise
excellent cast, including Spacey's wonderful
performance as the intelligent "is he or isn't
he psychotic?" Prot. Bridges has played the
life-weary role before, but he does it well and
definitely gets the job done. Alfre Woodard does
her usual nice job in a smaller role, and the
performances of the Institute's patients are,
despite being written as a cliche', nicely
performed.
Iain Softley directs "K-PAX" with a firm hand,
never bending over to make the film an overly
emotional, sympathetic film. It's a unique
approach for this sort of film, but it works
wonderfully and creates a more intriguing and
inviting film because the audience is required
to invest more time, thought and energy to the
film.
"K-PAX" is a spiritual and intellectual
wonderland of filmmaking. The film presents well
constructed ideas and vividly brings them to
life without drawing any firm conclusions. The
end result is a film that challenges, entertains
and provokes.
©
Written by Richard
Propes
TC Candler's Comment
This film
tries to be all too smug and clever, leaving me
with a slightly contrived taste in my mouth.
I felt like I had been manipulated too much.
"K-Pax" makes an effort to be a clever film but
forgot to be a good one.
Jacob
Hall's Comment
n/a
