Spaced out

Spaced out
By Elisabeth Attwood

Recognising,finding and maintaining happiness is the theme of Shrink. Henry Carter (Kevin Spacey) is psychiatrist to the stars in Hollywood with two best-selling self-help books. When his wife commits suicide, they only way he can dull the pain of grief is by chain-smoking marijuana. His father, a doctor, sends him a teenage patient (Jemma, played with dignity by Keke Palmer) whose mother has committed suicide. The pair work through the process of healing together.

All the principle characters are unhappy. Robin Williams plays an alcoholic actor, a character rather close to home considering his own struggle with the bottled in his early career. Dallas Roberts delivers a striking performance as a neurotic Hollywood agent whose expression of his fears makes for some uncomfortable scenes.

Moments of genuine pathos are glimpsed, such as when Jemma asks Henry to open her mother's suicide letter...

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The review was captivating, and certainly sold the movie to me. A lot of it thanks to the rich storyline. As I only read the review on the plane, I didn't get to watch it. But it has already kept me interested. The funny thing is the movie is passed with cuts as a M18 in Singapore. I knew the plot would be controversial according to Singapore's standard.

I was right. Will wait to see the original movie one day.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1247692/