Les Franken (Michael Rapaport) just wants to make a difference- an prospect that's elusive in his dead-end life. Working as meter reader, he is on the hook with his boss for being too nice and allowing manipulative people to not pay up, and he spends most of his time at home reading comic books and hanging out with his two best friends. On a whim, he decides to enroll in a drug study and allows a psychiatrist to test an antidepressant on him before putting it in for circulation.
Les takes his first pill, and chaos ensues. Convinced the medication has given him special powers, he begins hallucinating, and even 'reads' the psychiatrist's thoughts. Obviously excited at his new 'gifts' of telepathy, transportation, levitation, etc., he promptly tells his friends, who assume he's joking. The psychiatrist tells Les to dispose of the remaining pills, but Les hears him tell him telepathically to keep taking them and that some evil-doers might not want Les to have his special abilities so they have to cover it up.
Les now has a purpose, and he gets a suit for himself and begins his life of fighting crime by stopping a convenience store robbery by tacking the would-be (and armed) thief. As his desperate attempts to help neighbors (often putting innocent people through hell in the process) continue, it becomes more clear that he is, actually, in danger, though not in the way that he, in his delusional state, would expect.
"Special" begins as an offbeat, admittedly black comedy, but as Les become increasingly deranged the story takes a darker turn. Les wants to prove to himself and others that he can make a difference, but the unhealthy mixture of a bad psychological reaction, his hope to help people, and comic books make the situation a disaster for everyone involved.
The movie got confusing at times, but the main character was genuinely interesting. It was hard not to like him and his intentions, even when his paranoia became disturbing and violent. I've never seen Michael Rapaport in anything before this, but I think he did a decent job, balancing humor and delusion without going way over the top. It would have been nice to have seen the other characters developed a little more, but as a weird character study, it works.
It's good to see an original 'quirky' film. Lately, independent film-making has tried so hard to be original that it becomes dull. Troubled teens, dysfunctional families- you know the drill. It's difficult to place "Special." It's not dark enough to be compared to "The Living and the Dead," but it's not nearly as sweet as "Lars and the Real Girl" either. The story strains credibility, but if you think you might like a depressing, offbeat drama with a clever premise, you should maybe give this a shot. (Rated R)
Les takes his first pill, and chaos ensues. Convinced the medication has given him special powers, he begins hallucinating, and even 'reads' the psychiatrist's thoughts. Obviously excited at his new 'gifts' of telepathy, transportation, levitation, etc., he promptly tells his friends, who assume he's joking. The psychiatrist tells Les to dispose of the remaining pills, but Les hears him tell him telepathically to keep taking them and that some evil-doers might not want Les to have his special abilities so they have to cover it up.
Les now has a purpose, and he gets a suit for himself and begins his life of fighting crime by stopping a convenience store robbery by tacking the would-be (and armed) thief. As his desperate attempts to help neighbors (often putting innocent people through hell in the process) continue, it becomes more clear that he is, actually, in danger, though not in the way that he, in his delusional state, would expect.
"Special" begins as an offbeat, admittedly black comedy, but as Les become increasingly deranged the story takes a darker turn. Les wants to prove to himself and others that he can make a difference, but the unhealthy mixture of a bad psychological reaction, his hope to help people, and comic books make the situation a disaster for everyone involved.
The movie got confusing at times, but the main character was genuinely interesting. It was hard not to like him and his intentions, even when his paranoia became disturbing and violent. I've never seen Michael Rapaport in anything before this, but I think he did a decent job, balancing humor and delusion without going way over the top. It would have been nice to have seen the other characters developed a little more, but as a weird character study, it works.
It's good to see an original 'quirky' film. Lately, independent film-making has tried so hard to be original that it becomes dull. Troubled teens, dysfunctional families- you know the drill. It's difficult to place "Special." It's not dark enough to be compared to "The Living and the Dead," but it's not nearly as sweet as "Lars and the Real Girl" either. The story strains credibility, but if you think you might like a depressing, offbeat drama with a clever premise, you should maybe give this a shot. (Rated R)
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