Shrink

It is almost time for the Toronto Film Festival 2009. That means that all the good new films are held back until that time. By the end of summer I find myself watching grade B films. I’m not even sure this one makes that grade.

Kevin Spacey plays the part of the shrink, Dr Henry Carter. He badly needs a shave. He looks tired and his face is drawn and sullen. No wonder because he is on drugs. The film opens and Dr Carter is making a speech on ‘Happiness’ Based on his best seller. What an irony that is. When not seeing patients he sits in the empty lot beside his office and smokes. At night he can be found sitting on a garden lounge chair by his pool. He is in deep grief over the death of his wife.

Throughout the film we meet some of his patients. One young man is an aspiring writer but seems to be having a writers block. He gets so angry at one point that he throws his computer on the floor.

Robin Williams has a small part in the film. He is an alcoholic who refuses to accept the label. He prefers to be known as a sex addict. He also badly needs a shave.

Jemma is a school girl in much distress. She runs out of class, is rude to the teachers and cannot find herself. At first she is unable to talk to the psychiatrist. They later build a bond. The bond is built on a common problem faced by Jemma and the doctor.

I didn’t like the characters. I found the story to be contrived. At one point the doctor and his drug dealer get very ill due to some arsenic in the drug. They both end up side by side in the same room in the hospital. I resent spending the money on a bad film. The theme had such possibilities.