Shrink
Kevin Spacey stars in this ensemble piece, which lifts the lid on another side of the L.A film industry.

Kevin Spacey stars in this ensemble piece, which lifts the lid on another side of the L.A film industry. He plays psychiatrist Henry Carter – so-called ‘shrink to the stars’, who, when he isn’t helping out his high-profile clients, is flogging his own self-help books to the masses. Except that Carter’s own life is a mess. Struggling to cope with his wife’s suicide, he spends his days in a cannabis haze, hanging out with his dealer or just smoking himself into narcoleptic oblivion. Into his life comes Jemma, a troubled high school student who is also struggling with the suicide of a loved one. She makes a change from his other high-profile clients, such as the aggressive, power-hungry agent Patrick (Dallas Roberts), or the alcoholic Jack Holden (Robin Williams). A friend of Carter’s, Jeremy (Mark Webber) is a struggling scriptwriter, desperate for Patrick to read his latest screenplay. He strikes up a friendship with Daisy (Pell James), Patrick’s P.A, and slowly but surely, everyone’s lives – through their connections with Carter – become entangled.

Shrink is a multi-layered story not dissimilar to Robert Altman’s The Player. It’s a modest and charming offering, directed by Jonas Pate. The script and cast strike several notes of genuine emotional depth – not least in its exploration of the deep scars prompted by suicide. There are also flashes of humour – particularly in the budding romance between Jeremy and Daisy. Spacey turns in a vanity-free performance as the drug-addicted, devasted Carter, while Saffron Burrows is also endearing as the starlet who finds herself on the wrong side of 35. The film looks at both those at the top and bottom of the Hollywood food chain. If it fails to connect with wider audiences then it may be because those higher up that chain are portrayed as such monstrous creatures – particulary the loathsome Patrick – a man who orders his PA to recruit an intern for no other reason than to “shit on someone’s doorstep for me”. The ending might just be a little… well, ‘too Hollywood’ for a film seeking to scratch beneath the veneer, and much of the dialogue a bit too self-referential and knowing, but this remains a very human, slow-paced but effective little drama.

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