Shrink

This is one of those oddball films that despite the fact that it boasts a fine cast,it somehow manages to slip between the cracks (at least in distribution terms). Shrink concerns a cadre of Los Angelas head cases,searching for some kind of better meaning in life. Kevin Spacey is Henry Carter,a successful psychologist,who has written a best selling self help book who's own life is crying out for meaning. His wife committed suicide the year before,and he seeks solace by medicating himself with Marijuana,and has all but given up on his own patients. Keke Palmer is Jemma,an angry high school student who is sent to Henry,but opts to hide out in the movies,day after day (she wants to be a film maker,herself). Mark Webber is Jeremy,Henry's friend,who is taking an interest in Jemma (but mostly as a friend). Add the likes of Saffron Burrows (Fay Grim,Time Codes,and not nearly seen enough in films as she deserves),is Kate,Henry's neighbor,and oddly enough,Robin Williams as Holdin,one of Henry's patients,and it all comes together in an uneven,but not unwatchable drama/comedy. Director Jonas Pate,moving up from producing and/or directing for television,makes the most of Thomas Moffett's script about screwed up Los Angelas arch types. Not rated by the MPAA,but contains pervasive pot smoking,raunchy language & adult situations.

The plot is probably realistic, but as nothing catchy is happening most of the time, it becomes annoying soon; well, there are some twists, but they are not surprising or so - bearing in mind the past or present behavior of the characters and the things happened to them. The number of characters is very big and the level of their interlocking is difficult to monitor at times. The cast is strong, but Kevin Spacey's character (Dr. Henry Carter) is still most elaborated and visible on screen; however, it is not among the best roles Spacey has performed. Moreover, there are also good small supporting roles (Robin Williams as Jack Holden, Robert Loggia as Dr. Robert Carter, Henry's father).

I presume it is well accepted in the U.S. where seeing a shrink is almost a regular element of life and success. But the topic and the types were uninviting to me - although I tend to like Sundance movies.

This movie has some very good elements going for it, but for me it never comes together in a nice crescendo. Kevin Spacey is very good in my opinion, with a more honest performance that isn't too much like his usual Spacey-ness (you know what I mean if you've seen him in other movies). The rest of the cast is fine too and there's a good bit going on in the movie.

The problem I had was that it seems like it takes forever for anything to happen (and it pretty much doesn't until the very end). There's SO much heavy dialogue followed by solemn stares by the characters that at first you don't mind it because you know it's an emotional film going in, but eventually you just get fed up and can't stop thinking when something, anything will take a dramatic turn.

Unfortunately it just didn't cut it for me. It's not a horrible film by any means, but not quite worth watching in my opinion. With some snappier dialogue or a tighter pace I probably would have really enjoyed it.

Shrink stars Kevin Spacey as Henry Carter, a psychiatrist who's fortune and fame just doesn't seem to matter any more after the loss of his wife. Now is the time to cope, and that is something that he just cannot deal with. Instead he goes into a downward spiral of self pity, denial, and drug use.

Basically it is going to take a lot for Dr. Carter to see what he is doing to himself. What unfolds is a Crash-like web of interweaving stories that end up coming together in the end. There is the agent, his taken for granted secretary, the up and coming movie star, the aging movie star, the drug dealer, the distracted and misguided teenager, the young, talented, and undiscovered writer, and of course, the shrink. I might have even missed a character or two.

This film means well. It has some good characters and a good direction of where it is going. The only problem is that it has too much going on. Films like Pulp Fiction and Crash have a lot of characters and subplots going on, but the material is so rich and powerful that is can support big twists, connections, and revelations. This film just doesn't have enough "umph" to get off the ground.

Spacey does a pretty decent job at portraying Dr. Carter. He is mostly deadpan and emotionless, with the exception of a few revealing scenes. Other than that he doesn't show off too much of his skill, just fulfills the role of his character. I was pleased with Robin Williams performance as the aging actor trying to find himself during a late mid-life crisis.

What would have made this film better would be to limit the number of stories going on, following just a few, or maybe even one. I think Spacey's conflict is enough to carry a film. It also would have given him more freedom to explore his character. There is a lot going on under the surface that we only get to see for a little while. I wanted more. I wanted something like in American Beauty where we get to see everything that the character has to offer. It's like watching the metamorphosis of a butterfly. Each stage is so defined and clearly labeled. Here we just see a few rises and falls, and that's about it.

It's a pretty run of the mill indie dramedy with a few laughs here, a few tears there, and nothing really outstanding going on otherwise. I wouldn't say avoid it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to find it. You will not need therapy after viewing this, that's for sure.

Kevin Spacey plays Henry Carter,a very famous and successful shrink,practicing in Hollywood, with a very extensive celebrity clientèle.With 2 self help books published,Carter seems to have it all figured it out but these days he's the one who needs help. Unable to cop with his wife's suicide Carter has been self-medicating with marijuana falling into a depressive state. Jemma is a young girl who's mother committed suicide as well.She doesn't understand why and develops an angry behavior.The school sent her to carter for some therapy sections.Then we have several secondary characters, Kate Amberson, an actress past her prime,Jeremy, a young writer trying to come up with a good script,Patrick, a successful and ruthless Hollywood agent who suffers from paranoia and anxiety,Shamus,a young actor who wants to do meaningful films and be taken seriously,Daisy who is Patrick's assistant,Holden,one of Carter's patients who is an alcoholic and Keira, an actress who's sleeping her way trough Hollywood.Shrink is an amazing movie.All the story-lines are obviously intertwined but in a very subtle way (not like crash).The characters are very human and none of them is two-dimensional.They were all well written and their stories were well explored. Each one is memorable in their own way.Kevin Spacey is absolutely fantastic as Carter and so is Dallas Roberts as the eccentric Hollywood agent. The musical score couldn't be better, beautiful slow melodies that compliment the movie perfectly. Shrink is a subtle movie,it doesn't try to hard to grab your attention but it certainly does.I wonder why this movie hasn't been talked about a little more. Shrink is small in hype but big in quality.

8/10