The Flipcritic

You're a workaholic shrink at a Mental Institute who's seen it all. A new patient has been put into your care. He claims to be an alien from another planet, and looks like any ordinary person, who just happens to be in love with fruits (no pun intended). Of course you're skeptical. Session after session you attempt to disprove his apparent delusions. Yet the more you try, the more convincing the patient seems to be. Such is the premise of K-PAX, a film that could have been done in by its familiar storyline, but redeems itself by the freshness of its retelling, its detached manner, and skill.

The alien/alien-claimer is Prot (Kevin Spacey of AMERICAN BEAUTY), who maintains to be from the planet K-PAX (a planet supposedly one thousand light-years from Earth). The psychiatrist he comes into custody of is Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges of THE BIG LEBOWSKI and THE CONTENDER), the disbelieving yet concerned doctor who expertly prods the patient with questions. Prot answers them with a supreme yet calm certainty. He seems almost too sane, if not quite convincing.

At the hospital, Prot meets a broad range of mentally-ill patients (this being the familiar storyline stemming from ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST), and with subtle conversations/instructions, begins to help them cure themselves. With Dr. Powell, he describes sexual production among "K-PAXians", the mechanics of his space travel (clarifying Einstein's theories on the speed of light), and K-PAX's societal structures. In one memorable scene, Prot maps out the coordinates of his home planet in a planetarium simulation, including the orbit mappings and calculations of his star system. But despite these coincidences, Dr. Powell senses something disturbing within his patient, especially when Prot reveals the specific date and time of his departure from Earth.

Despite its unlikely plot, the movie is skilled in convincing, then unconvincing, and then maybe reconvincing us of who Prot really is. I say maybe because the third act leaves it up to us whether we buy Prot's claims or not. The movie builds him up with his assuredness, then tears him down with suggestions that he may be a schizophrenic whose history may be the key to his behavior. Near the end we are left with subtle hints, but in any case, either explanation will suffice.

The two leads make up the whole movie. I couldnt remember one scene where both where absent. Kevin Spacey has almost always played "the guy who knows more than anybody else". Everything depends on him for the film to move along, and he is much bigger than the task at hand (the task isn't that big to begin with). He has some really good lines, and makes a hypnosis sequence look so easy.

The more interesting role belongs to Jeff Bridges (one of the best actors of the past two decades). He protrays Dr. Powell with a detachment that anyone can associate with psychiatrists. He is able to make his cynical and seemingly disinterested character slowly reveal interesting traits and emotions. He is a father hurting over his relationship with his son; a psychiatrist who genuinely cares for his patients, looking for recognition, and seeking redemption for his past failures through Prot. In another movie like this, in the hands of a lesser director, his character might have been a villain. But his dogged determination to not just fall for Prot's elucidations, and seek what may be wrong, is admirable to watch.

If you haven't noticed it yet, K-PAX's plot is actually a retelling of the Christ tale. His seemingly miraculous appearance in blinding light; his healing of the sick with their faith; his scheduled departure from this world. The planetarium scene is reminiscent of Christ with the elders at the temple. Even the final scenes have remarkable similarity to Jesus being both God and man. But don't let this insight turn many of you off, because the movie is hardly religious (unless you take it that way). It's refreshing in that it doesn't become mawkish, as most "hospital miracle" movies do. When Dr. Powell is unconvinced, we can relate to him. There are no pretty speeches, no hugs, no mush. Almost all the events are played out as matter-of-fact.

James Berardinelli says that in order for K-PAX to work, "not only is a suspension of disbelief necessary, but an abandonment of cynism, as well." I disagree. This movie can work for cynics, because it doesn't require your belief in Prot's assertions. Whether Prot is an alien is beside the point. What he does with what he knows and believes is the heart of this movie

Posted by FLIPCRITIC at May 8, 2002 12:00 AM