His latest patient, however, who goes by the name Prot (KEVIN SPACEY), is the most intriguing. Claiming to be from K-PAX, a distant planet some one thousand light years away, the otherwise human looking man doesn't seem to be affected by normal medication and reportedly can see otherwise invisible ultraviolet light.
Noticing that Prot seems to walk the walk and talk the talk of a convincing alien, Mark tries to figure out what would cause such an elaborate delusional state. As the doctor tries probing Prot for answers, he must put up with the patient's amused responses, as well as doubts from his associates, including Claudia Villars (ALFRE WOODARD), about his early diagnosis and plan for further investigation.
With the doctor and patient getting to know each other better from their various interchanges - including that regarding Mark's estranged son, Michael (AARON PAUL), from his first marriage -- Prot buoys the other patients' spirits by his announcement that he'll take one of them back to K-PAX with him upon his departure.
As Mark's continued detective work puts a strain on his marriage to wife Rachel (MARY McCORMACK) who cares for their kids Natalie (TESS McCARTHY) and Gabby (NATASHA DORFHUBER), he races against time and Prot's announced departure schedule to figure out if he's simply delusional or really is a visiting alien from another planet.
A flashback scene shows the mildly bloody results of a rape and murder (which aren't seen), while we see a brief and partially distorted view of a person struggling with and then killing another person (we hear someone mentioned he snapped his neck and then see the body hit the floor). Other non-lethal violence is also present. Some of those scenes may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers, while various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes.
Some tense family moments are present (a bit of a strained marriage and talk of the protagonist being estranged from his college-aged son from his previous marriage, and the above rape/murder), while a few characters drink. If you're still concerned about the film's appropriateness for anyone in your home, you may want to examine our detailed listings more closely for more specific information about what the film contains.
For those concerned with brief flashes of light on the screen, some of that occurs near the end of the film.
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(2001) (Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges) (PG-13)
Alcohol/
DrugsBlood/Gore
Disrespectful/
Bad AttitudeFrightening/
Tense ScenesGuns/
Weapons
Mild
Mild
Heavy
Moderate
Minor
Imitative
BehaviorJump
ScenesMusic
(Scary/Tense)Music
(Inappropriate)Profanity
Mild
None
Mild
None
Heavy
Sex/
NuditySmoking
Tense Family
ScenesTopics To
Talk AboutViolence
Mild
Minor
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.
(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).
Reviewed October 15, 2001 / Posted October 26, 2001
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