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SHRINK Send This Review to a Friend
I can’t say that the psychiatrist played by Kevin Spacey is the one you would want for your therapist, but I can say that “Shrink,” the new drama written by Thomas Moffett and directed by Jonas Pate, can get into your head and under your skin. It is a moody, involving film about finding oneself, and superior casting heightens interest, especially with regard to Spacey’s impressive performance.
As the Hollywood shrink Carter, Spacey is beset with personal problems and demons. His very disheveled, unshaven and forlorn look is emblematic of his detached state of mind. His life is a shambles and he is still haunted by past tragedy. The roster of patients with whom he deals is eclectic and Carter barely manages to listen to their woes.
Dallas Roberts is Patrick, a high-powered agent who is abrasively neurotic. Saffron Burrows plays an actress whose fame has faded and in whom Carter has an interest beyond therapy. Mark Webber is Jeremy, an aspiring writer with an unscrupulous streak. Robin Wiliams plays an alcoholic. But most important is a pro bono patient Jemma, a troubled high school teenager played expertly by Keke Palmer with understatement that masks a reservoir of wounded feelings based on a mysterious tragedy in her life. It is the contact between Carter and Jemma that will bring realizations and changes in both their lives.
“Shrink” is a film that falls into the category of lives crisscrossing and intersecting. As in most such films, there are contrivances, but with “Shrink,” one can easily become involved with the characters and find it absorbing to follow their respective trajectories. For further example, there is the appealing Pell James as Daisy, who is pregnant and is also nursing a desire to be a producer. As for Spacey, he once again shows what a fine actor he is with the way he immerses himself so totally in Carter and convinces us that the psychiatrist is someone wracked with emotional pain but with the smarts and ability to move ahead when properly inspired. Other cast contributors include Jack Huston and Robert Loggia. A Roadside Attractions release.
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