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K-PAX Send This Review to a Friend
A taut, direct, no-frills plot could have made "K-Pax" a gripping search by a psychiatrist to solve the mystery of what launched a man into his own mental orbit and the assumption that he is from the planet K-Pax. What trauma or other event altered his mind? That element is there, but it is sloshing around in the mush that has been superimposed on the psychiatrist's quest. By the time director Iain Softley and the screenplay by Charles Leavitt, based on Gene Brewer's novel, are through, the patient has opened the psychiatrist's eyes concerning life's priorities and the mentally ill in the institution where the sick man is confined are stimulated by his presence and leadership. We've been down similar roads before, and a repeat trip doesn't make it any better, even if the visitor from K-Pax is played by Kevin Spacey and the psychiatrist by Jeff Bridges.
Prot (Spacey) is picked up in grand Central station when a mugging takes place, and when he starts talking about the planet where he comes from, he is confined with other troubled individuals and designated for treatment.
Dr. Mark Powell (Bridges) becomes fascinated with Prot, and with the aid of hypnosis and some research, he hones in on the man's secret. It doesn't take a psychiatric genius to suspect that a traumatic event is at the source. What amazes the doctor and scientific experts is the certainty and knowledge with which Prot talks about the planets, and Spacey is very good in oozing confidence and authority in creating an individual of intelligence and surface wisdom. Prot is not cowed by any of the pressures applied. It is only under hypnosis that his defenses are shattered and the retrogressive revelations begin. As Dr. Powell, Bridges expresses the required intense curiosity and determination, to the irritation of his wife (Mary McCormack) who must tolerate his obsession at the expense of paying attention to family his life.
There's good use of settings, including the striking new Rose Center for Earth and Space connected with the New York Museum of Natural History. As you might expect, there is an injection of metaphysical hocus-pocus as the good doctor races against the self-imposed schedule under which Prot is operating as he prepares to return to K-Pax. Prot talks of life on his planet that is light years away and he twits the way of life he sees on earth. But the film is light years away from spinning a spellbinding story without the excess goody-goody baggage. A Universal Pictures release.
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