Written by Gene Brewer and Charles Leavitt
Directed by Iain Softley

I’ve never been one to dismiss a film simply because it doesn’t give us all the answers.  I don’t believe the best films necessarily wrap up the whole story for us in a neat little bow.  One of my favorites, Limbo, leaves a lot for the audience to fill in for themselves.  In many ways, K-Pax is a similar film.

Kevin Spacey plays a man who calls himself Prot and claims to be an extra-terrestrial from the planet K-Pax.  We are introduced to Prot when he helps a woman who has been mugged in a New York City train station.  His strange behavior when the police arrive gets him sent for a mental evaluation.

After a variety of tests over the course of a month, he is assigned to the care of psychiatrist Mark Powell (portrayed by Jeff Bridges).  Other than the claims to be an extra-terrestrial, Prot seems quite intelligent and pleasant.  Even the other patients in the hospital are better off for having him around.

Dr. Powell isn’t convinced and sets out to disprove Prot’s claims.  At every turn, it would seem to indicate more and more the possibility that he’s telling the truth.  However, there is still a sense of disbelief.  After treating him for some time, Dr. Powell concludes that the date Prot says he will be returning to K-Pax is actually the anniversary of the day something terrible happened to him.  This would seem to be confirmed by his reaction to the sprinklers being turned on while attending a Fourth of July picnic with the Doctor.

I don’t want to give away too much, because just when it seems that both the audience and Dr. Powell have figured out what is going on, K-Pax throws in another twist.  It’s quite a bit of fun and really left me wondering what happened.

In many ways, K-Pax reminds me of another Jeff Bridges film, The Fisher King.  I think people who enjoyed that film will enjoy this and vice-versa.  The character of Dr. Powell in K-Pax is very similar to the character of Jack Lucas in the other film.  Bridges performance is solid here.  He’s battling his own demons and guilt that are loading him down, although he’s assuring everyone that things are fine.  On the surface, it might seem that way but it soon becomes apparent that Dr. Powell has retreated into the world of his patients in order to hide from his own issues.  His reflections while with Prot often lead to a good deal of self-revelation as well.  Bridges reveals it all slowly but with a consistency that doesn’t make it too surprising.

Spacey used to be one of my favorite actors, and his role here is a good reason why.  His performance is subdued as he doesn’t try in earnest to convince those around him of who he is.  Instead, he presents himself and lets others think what they will.  The role of Prot is one that could be over-the-top, but Spacey portrays the alleged alien with a quiet intelligence that is actually all the more convincing to his story.

Director Iaian Softley has created a terrific feel to the film.  There is a great use of lighting all the way through K-Pax, from the way light is used to accentuate scenes to the lighting when Prot is under hypnosis.  The entire film has a quiet, intelligent tone to it.  The pace is good as Dr. Powell throws ideas around and searches for the truth.  Just when it seems we know what it is, Softley takes the film’s twist and gives it to us as what it is – no real answer to the story, just more questions.  Even as I write this I can’t think of which ending I would believe more, and that’s what makes the film all that more special.

The DVD has a good number of extras including commentary with the director, deleted scenes, and an alternate ending.  I found that I liked the ending the film was made with better as it left more to the imagination.

This is not a film with a lot of action or car chases.  There are no over-the-top comedy moments.  K-Pax is a quiet, character-driven film that works largely due to the two lead actors.  Spacey in particular hit’s the mark totally as the man who might be a whole lot more than Dr. Powell and others are willing to believe.  Sometimes, life needs us to take a leap of faith, and we find we get rewarded more that way than to stubbornly refuse to accept what we see as unbelievable.

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BONUS MATERIAL:

• Commentary with Director Iain Softley
• Alternate Ending
• Spotlight On Location
• Deleted Scenes
• Storyboard to Final Feature Comparison
• The Making of K-Pax Photographs by Jeff Bridges
• Theatrical Trailer
• Production Notes
• Cast and Filmmakers Biographies