Starman meets One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, as Kevin Spacey’s maybe-alien, maybe-deluded nutter gets a quizzing on Jeff Bridges’ couch. There’s some shimmering camerawork and quality thesping, but funereal pacing turns this from an is-he, isn’t-he? experience into who-bloody-cares?
DVD Extras:
It's slightly depressing to hear director Iain Softley and cinematographer John Mathieson's thoughtful commentary, their obvious belief in the project leaving the listener wondering why it didn't come off quite as well as they hoped. The deleted scenes and an alternate ending soon answer that question, highlighting that much of the film's complexity fell by the wayside in the effort to keep it mainstream. Still, it's good to know everyone had fun en route: apparently Spacey was behaving "oddly" after shooting a scene in which he had to eat 11 unpeeled bananas. Really?
