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Les Franken, a lonely parking enforcement officer who enjoys
reading comic books, decides to take part in a clinical trial
for a new antidepressant called Special. An unexpected side
effect of the drug renders him with superpowers - or so he
thinks. While his doctor dismisses the drug's side effects
as an adverse psychological reaction to the medication, Les
takes his cue from the comics he reads and embraces his new-found
powers and quits his job to devote his life to fighting evil,
real or imagined...
Special
is
a feel good movie with a twist within a twist, within a twist.
What's great about the narrative is that, like the movie's
hero, the audience is never really sure if what they are seeing
can be believed.
The
movie opens with Les being interviewed to see whether he is
suitable to take part in trials for a new antidepressant drug
called Special. Not that he's overly depressed, just that
he's come to the realisation that he is wasting his life in
a job he's not very good at. He's a lowly parking enforcement
officer (or traffic warden to us Brits) who dreams about becoming
a law enforcement officer (policeman) and fighting crime.
He's a little surprised that he is accepted onto the drugs
trial almost immediately - even before his blood samples are
checked. In fact, the doctor even suggests that he should
take his first pill before he leaves the interview room.
Before
long Les starts to experience some strange side effects. Levitation,
telepathy, super strength and speed and the ability to pass
through solid objects are just the start of his new-found
abilities - abilities that he decides to use for the forces
of good.
But
are his powers real or is a bizarre side effect of the pill
making him believe that he is a new super hero? Is it just
a coincidence that he can now do something he's always dreamed
of - to fight crime as a vigilante with super powers?
Add
to this the fact that he spends a great deal of time hanging
about in a comic book store which is run by his two best friends
and suddenly it becomes obvious, to all but Les, that his
super powers are just a figment of his imagination. When he
runs through walls and gets a nose bleed, is this really,
as he believes, a side effect of his powers, or is it because
he is simply running into the wall without realising it and
causing himself serious harm.
The
audience is left guessing for the entire length of this movie
as to whether Les's super powers are real or not. Just when
you think you know what is going on the director pulls the
rug out from under your feet and you are left questioning
everything you've seen - a little like Les. For example how
did he know that the guy in the convenient store was planning
to use a gun to rob the cashier? Surely that proves he had
telepathic powers. Or does it just prove he's good at reading
body language? Or did he just imagine the guy had a gun? There
are plenty of other examples that prove he is just a regular
guy. In fact, looking back over the film, the audience is
never entirely sure and it's really left up to the individual
to believe what they want to at the end of the day.
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Not
for a second, despite the absurdity of the situation, do you
fail to believe in any of the actors. The only slight problem
I had was with Paul Blackthorne's character. He was a little
too much of a caricature to be believed as a hard headed businessman,
but this is not Blackthorne's fault. In fact I suspect that
the director had him played this way to make the audience
suspect that he too was an over the top - comic book style
- villain that Les could have easily conjured up out of his
own head.
There
are plenty of laughs to be had throughout as Les come to terms
with his new-found powers and decides to wear a costume (which
ends up being a hooded top and trousers that he's sprayed
silver). Also his attempts to go on a one man crusade, protecting
the innocent from criminals, doesn't turn out as he'd intended.
The local television news seem to report his acts of heroism
as cruel pranks - that he dived on innocent people and not
criminals. Of course, as he attacks them before they can commit
a crime, this could be just the individuals concerned lying
to the police to ensure they are not arrest for attempting
to commit a crime... or maybe they are indeed just innocent
civilians.
You'll
want to watch this movie at least twice just to see if you
can fathom out whether Les is really a super hero, or a nutter.
At
the end of the day this is a special movie - and one that
you won't have to take drugs in order to have a good time
with.
Darren
Rea
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