There’s a touch of the criminally underrated Unbreakable about this splendid indie debut from first time writer-directors Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore. As with the M. Night Shyamalan film, at least one primary character appears to be reading comic books a little too fanatically.
Les Franken (Rapaport), a lonely, melancholic metermaid, is the geek boy in question. What appears to be an ongoing malaise finally lifts when he signs up for the drug trial of Specioprin Hydrochloride, or Special, a new antidepressant that seems to endow him with superpowers. Soon, like George C. Scott’s delusional Sherlock Holmes in They Might Be Giants, Les is out fighting crime and the corporate suits who he believes are following him.
Using a grainy, filthy realism, the filmmakers incorporate his self-deception into the narrative allowing you to keep faith with the material. The performances are accordingly muted and shot through with world-weariness. But for all the potential darkness, Special remains funny and original, a pleasing guerilla sci-fi striking the same arch notes as Being John Malkovich or Primer. You’ll hear no smart-arsed comments about the fittingly confident title from me.