K-PAX

A few months ago, I was one of many to be selected to
preview this movie, and I thought it was just brilliant.
That was for free. Since then, I took my girlfriend to see it
and she agreed as well. And, I'll probably be seeing it again
soon. It's that good.

Spacey plays Prot, ("pronounced Prote") an extra-terrestrial
from the planet K-PAX. We find Prot in the middle of Grand

Central Station, where he has just materialized. He's is
asked where he is from, and when he says another planet,
he is whisked away to a state hospital. There, he is examined
by Mark Powell, a local Psychiatrist, played superbly by
Jeff Bridges.(loved him in Thunderbolt and Light Foot and
The Fabulous Baker Boys)

At first Powell thinks he is just another space nut, but later
he and we, start to believe that maybe there's more to Prot
than meets the eye.

Once again, Spacey gives an extraordinary performance,
sure to garner another Academy Award nomination.
Both times I saw this movie, it kept me leaning forward in
my seat, and when they do that, you know they're interesting.

Jeff Bridges, and a very fine supporting cast, helps this movie really deliver.
Outstanding performances by all!

Oh, the Planetarium sequence was my favorite scene.
Simply outstanding. It was just as brilliant the second time
around!

Beam me up, Kevin!


To Be or Not to Be........   April 10, 2002
Frank A. Terry Jr. (Tucson, AZ USA)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

Some people have complained that this movies ending is ambiguous and the director doesn't tell the audience whether Prot is really from K-Pax or just the delusional Robert Porter. It's true, but that's what I found so fascinating about the movie and it's premise.

The story stars two of my favorite actors, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges. They put on these roles like a comfortable pair of shoes and it isn't long before we feel we've known them for years. Every actor brings their best work to the show and you can't help but be interested and drawn into the story. Whether you believe Prot is real or Robert Porter is just a very tortured man, there are plenty of ambiguities for everyone.

I usually like a movie to be tied up nicely and all the loose ends resolved by the time the credits role. K-Pax is the exception. I appreciated the director laying out the wonderful story with its drama, humor and sadness and letting us draw our own conclusions based on the events as they unfold.

Whatever conclusion you arrive at, K-Pax will entertain you with its intelligent script, wonderful actors and must have music.


Absolutely spell-binding movie!   September 17, 2005
T. L. Sellers (Folsom, CA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

This is one of the few sci-fi type of films that I enjoy, and is my favorite Kevin Spacey movie, period. Its a movie that leaves you feeling like a different person than you were before you saw, and I highly recommend it.


Spacey, Bridges Deliver   October 31, 2001
Reviewer
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Life is comprised of infinite possibilities; some known, others a mystery and destined to remain so. And what of the vast unknown, the realms beyond which knowledge has no established boundaries or parameters? Who is to say what exists or what is possible? Valid questions, all of which are raised and explored in the story of a particular individual's personal journey, a strange and dramatic odyssey that defies facts and logic, in "K-PAX," directed by Iain Softley, and starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges. In the wake of an incident in New York's Central Station, a man named Prot (Spacey) is transported to a psychiatric hospital in Manhattan, where he is delivered into the care of Dr. Mark Powell (Bridges), who attempts to uncover the truth about his patient, who claims to be from the distant planet K-PAX. It quickly becomes a challenge for Dr. Powell, as Prot, with his calm, direct, forthcoming manner and a propensity for produce (he eats bananas peels and all, and Red Delicious Apples are his favorites) is quite convincing. But it's Powell's job, as well as his nature, to be skeptical. Prot's claims, however, remain intact and stand up even under the most intense probing and the watchful eye of Dr. Powell, who finds himself in something of a quandary-- Prot even tells him the exact date and time that he will depart for K-PAX, a scheduled return trip that allows Powell but a short time to sort it all out. And Powell just can't seem to get his mind around the idea that he is dealing with a real alien being; and it's something he is going to have to resolve quickly, if he is ever going to know the truth. And he has to know. The truth, after all, is the only thing that is going to set him free in his own mind.

Softley has created and delivered a sensitive, thought-provoking film that challenges the viewer by sustaining the mystery surrounding Prot while forcing you to reflect upon your own concepts of what is, in fact, possible. And as you never know for sure about Prot until the denouement, you are able to identify with Powell, seeing the situation from his point of view and trying to solve the riddle right along with him. Softley creates an atmosphere of wonder and a real sense of being confronted with something that is truly unique as the story unfolds and you begin to realize that Prot just may be what he says he is. And in the context of the reality to which the film is disposed, it's an engrossing matter to try to wrap your mind around. How do you react when all of the evidence is contrary to the physical limitations we've set for ourselves? While at the heart of the film there is a resounding depth of humanity that is evident, not only in Prot, but in Dr. Powell, as well. All of which makes for an extremely engaging and gripping drama.

As we've come to expect, Kevin Spacey gives a brilliant performance as Prot, presenting his character from the inside out, emotionally deep and physically convincing at the same time. This is a unique individual, and Spacey brings him to life with care and the ability to share those moments that are particularly revealing, which adds to the believability of the character and the credibility of the story itself. For this film to work, it is essential that we believe who and what Prot is; we do, and it does. Spacey simply pulls it off magnificently. It's a memorable performance, from which evolves a character that will stay with you for a long, long time.

Jeff Bridges, meanwhile, emerges on equal footing with Spacey, adeptly making a very real person of Dr. Powell. It's a fairly straightforward role, and the challenge for Bridges was to take this very normal and ordinary character and make him unique in his own right, which, opposite the character of Prot was no small task. And, again, for this film to work it was necessary for Bridges to rise to the occasion. And, with exceptional skill and being the consummate professional that he is, he succeeds without question. Bridges infuses Powell with an underlying complexity, and is so giving in his performance, that it makes the interaction between Powell and Prot vibrant, and at times intense. It's a demonstration of two of the finest actors in the business doing what they do best, creating a dynamic that is alive and inspiring. It's a great job by Bridges, who never attempts to steal the spotlight from Prot, which serves to raise the level of the film to an even higher notch.

The supporting cast includes Mary McCormack (Rachel), Alfre Woodard (Dr. Villers), Ajay Naidu (Dr. Naidiu), Vincent Laresca (Navarro), Kimberly Scott (Joyce), Conchata Ferrell (Betty) and Saul Williams (Ernie). An entertaining, emotionally involving film, "K-PAX" is a dissertation on possibilities, as well as an examination of the ever evolving complexities of the human condition. It's a film that demands an open mind and rewards those who are able to approach it on it's own terms and embrace it. In the end, it makes you realize just how real K-PAX is; and it makes you appreciate Prot's journey, and just how much we all share and have in common with those around us, human or alien. And it may just make you reflect upon your own journey-- where you've been and where you're going. And that's the magic of the movies.


Incredible!   February 14, 2002
9 out of 11 found this review helpful

A mysterious stranger (Kevin Spacey) "appears" out of thin air in New York's Grand Central Station claiming to be a visitor from the planet K-PAX, which is located in another galaxy many light years away. The benevolent foreigner, who goes by the name Prot, is detained by the NYPD and turned over to the Psychiatric Institute of Manhattan, where Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges) takes a gradual interest in the man's story.

Over time, Prot shares countless anecdotes of his utopian planet with the hospital's residents and staff. His descriptions paint a world free from laws, families and social conflicts, instilling hope in the patients and raising the suspicions of the doctors. However, Powell has difficulty proving Prot's foolish claims to be false. In fact, the peculiar patient displays an infinite knowledge of subjects he shouldn't know anything about, unless of course he really was from another galaxy all together. So when Prot announces one day that he plans to return to K-PAX, Powell experiences a sense of urgency to solve this man's riddle before he loses him forever.

Director Iain Softley, who made quiet little splashes in the Hollywood pond directing a tearjerker (The Wings of the Dove) and a barn burner (Backbeat), crafts an extremely engaging and introspective science-fiction mystery out of author Gene Brewer's original novel. Much like Spacey's character, K-PAX makes obvious, somewhat universal observations about extremely broad topics, such as man's daily struggle to exist in a family or in society, yet still manages to touch a nerve. After establishing its intrinsic desire to gently poke and prod our planet's problems, though, Charles Leavitt's fabulous, intelligent screenplay goes two steps further, ratcheting up the mystery of Prot's past as you beg for a legitimate resolution.

K-PAX features exquisite performances by leading men Bridges and Spacey, though it's the latter who is given the most rope while Bridges is left to reel him in from time to time. Most of K-PAX's astute observations and valuable life lessons spew forth from Spacey's Prot, and his almost-ambivalent delivery fits the film's mood perfectly. It's as if the film's teachings were, as he often put it, "common knowledge." As proven in Bryan Singer's The Usual Suspects and David Fincher's Seven, Spacey excels when his character possesses more knowledge than not only his co-stars, but the audience. His performance is confident, assured and extremely natural - one of his best, and enough to make us forget the sludge that was Pay It Forward.

K-PAX only falters when it attempts to resolve the delicious mystery it has established, because it can't quite answer all of the questions it has raised. Instead of sewing up Prot's case, Softley tacks on an ambiguous open-ended conclusion that, like life itself, just leaves us with more queries to explore. It's frustrating, yes, but it contributes to the film's allure. If you're not discussing this marvelous film on the ride home, you didn't pay close enough attention.