SpecialRated R
Running time: 1 hr 18 mins
Cast:
Michael Rapaport
Paul Blackthorne
Josh Peck
Critical Consensus:
*** out of *****
(58% Fresh Rating!)
Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:
****1/2 out of *****
The Premise:
A lonely metermaid has a psychotic reaction to his medication and becomes convinced he's a superhero. A very select group of people in life are truly gifted. Special is a movie about everyone else.
MY REVIEW
'Special' is a incredible movie. Would you ever think you would see an independent "superhero" movie? Probably not! Well this movie is half a superhero movie, considering there aren't any characters with actual super powers. The main character in this film, Les, only thinks he has super powers because he's having an adverse reaction to a trial study medication called "Special". We are told everyone else in the study reacted just fine to the drug, but Les is the rare exception. When his doctor and his friends tell him the drug is making him think he's someone 'special' he doesn't believe them and thinks they are the enemy. Les thinks he can fly, teleport, become invisible, etc. When he displays these things to his friends he's just slamming into walls, falling flat on his face, or just running away but he thinks he has great powers.
It may sound like a comedy, and in a way it is but really this film is a very moving drama. It tells a very sad yet oddly inspirational story with a few deep messages. This film shows us what America has become: a pill popping society. We pop pills to make us different then who we truly are. Some of us have meds to make us happy; some to calm us down; some to make us concentrate, the list goes on. Now a lot of us need these pills to function properly. Heck I take a few pills for seizures and bi-polar disorder. But this movie really displays how dependent we can become on these medications in order for us to live lives we can't make for ourselves. The movie hit the point right on the head, and I thought it was perfect!
This also has another side, a more poignant one. Les is a nobody, he has barely any friends. He has job that people hate or make fun of. He has no girlfriend. He lives alone. He gets pushed around. But once he takes these pills, he becomes someone new. He becomes someone that he thinks people will love and aim all their attention towards. He tries to stop crime (really he's just tackling innocent people because he thinks he read their minds and saw their evil thoughts). Even after he's told what the pills have done to him, he doesn't care he keeps taking them. These pills make him believe that people will like him for who he is. The best part of the movie is when he's being beat down and forced to say he's a nobody. A scene later he confronts these men who do this, and doesn't give up on his battle. He's off the pills, but he keeps taking the violence they throw their way. It was a very moving scene because for the first time in his life, he took control. He realized he didn't need a pill to make him a strong willed person. Les is one of my favorite characters of the year. He was very inspirational. The story was just awesome. It was very well written.
The star of the film is Michael Rapaport (Deep Blue Sea, TV's Prison Break). I've never paid much attention to his career and I've seen him pop up in a few films. He's never been a person I thought could carry a film in a lead role. I was wrong. His portrayal of this deeply scarred and troubled individual who just want's to be noticed was brilliant! One of the best male performances of this year, and I know for a fact it has and will go unnoticed. He plays this character almost like a child, and you feel so bad for him. This guy was so consistently good throughout the entirety of the film, and had some amazing stand out scenes that were very heartwarming. It's a shame he won't get a single ounce of award attention. Well...he will from me!
The film also looks really great. Believe it or not there are special effects in this indi-flick. Not amazing ones, but I think that was kind of intended. It was all shot with such a dark quality, and really set the tone for the film. The direction never once let the audience feel truly happy, but at the same time the movie still put a few smiles on my face. I just thought the movie was excellently shot.
You can find 'Special' on your Cox On Demand if of course you have Cox. I would strongly recommend this movie to all my readers. It really is an excellent film that I honestly believe most people could grow to love and enjoy.
It may sound like a comedy, and in a way it is but really this film is a very moving drama. It tells a very sad yet oddly inspirational story with a few deep messages. This film shows us what America has become: a pill popping society. We pop pills to make us different then who we truly are. Some of us have meds to make us happy; some to calm us down; some to make us concentrate, the list goes on. Now a lot of us need these pills to function properly. Heck I take a few pills for seizures and bi-polar disorder. But this movie really displays how dependent we can become on these medications in order for us to live lives we can't make for ourselves. The movie hit the point right on the head, and I thought it was perfect!
This also has another side, a more poignant one. Les is a nobody, he has barely any friends. He has job that people hate or make fun of. He has no girlfriend. He lives alone. He gets pushed around. But once he takes these pills, he becomes someone new. He becomes someone that he thinks people will love and aim all their attention towards. He tries to stop crime (really he's just tackling innocent people because he thinks he read their minds and saw their evil thoughts). Even after he's told what the pills have done to him, he doesn't care he keeps taking them. These pills make him believe that people will like him for who he is. The best part of the movie is when he's being beat down and forced to say he's a nobody. A scene later he confronts these men who do this, and doesn't give up on his battle. He's off the pills, but he keeps taking the violence they throw their way. It was a very moving scene because for the first time in his life, he took control. He realized he didn't need a pill to make him a strong willed person. Les is one of my favorite characters of the year. He was very inspirational. The story was just awesome. It was very well written.
The star of the film is Michael Rapaport (Deep Blue Sea, TV's Prison Break). I've never paid much attention to his career and I've seen him pop up in a few films. He's never been a person I thought could carry a film in a lead role. I was wrong. His portrayal of this deeply scarred and troubled individual who just want's to be noticed was brilliant! One of the best male performances of this year, and I know for a fact it has and will go unnoticed. He plays this character almost like a child, and you feel so bad for him. This guy was so consistently good throughout the entirety of the film, and had some amazing stand out scenes that were very heartwarming. It's a shame he won't get a single ounce of award attention. Well...he will from me!
The film also looks really great. Believe it or not there are special effects in this indi-flick. Not amazing ones, but I think that was kind of intended. It was all shot with such a dark quality, and really set the tone for the film. The direction never once let the audience feel truly happy, but at the same time the movie still put a few smiles on my face. I just thought the movie was excellently shot.
You can find 'Special' on your Cox On Demand if of course you have Cox. I would strongly recommend this movie to all my readers. It really is an excellent film that I honestly believe most people could grow to love and enjoy.
*This is the 173rd new film I've seen and reviewed this year.
*This film is currently playing in some independent theaters as well as on Cox On Demand!
I love this movie. The script, acting, direction is top notch. Its an entertaining movie that I really adore and love to watch again and again.
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