Shrink (Sundance Reviews)

Shrink follows the story of Henry Carter (Kevin Spacey), a Los Angeles psychiatrist with an A-list clientele, including an aging actress (Sapphron Burrows), an insecure young writer (Mark Webber) and a comically neurotic, obsessive-compulsive power agent (Dallas Roberts). Having just lost his wife to a suicide, Henry finds it difficult to treat his patients as his own belief in humanity begins to erode. That is, until he takes on the pro-bono case of a troubled teenage girl from a bad part of town. In treating this new patient, Henry begins to question whether or not his current state of mind is right for the treatment of patients. If he himself cannot come to terms with his troubled situation, how can he possibly “fix” others?

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Prime (2005)

Rafi Gardet (Uma Thurman) is a 37-year old woman who, on the rebound from a messy divorce, finds herself head-over-heels in love with Dave Bloomberg (Bryan Greenberg), a man 14 years her junior. And, as if the age gap is not enough, Dave is Jewish while Rafi is not. This doesn't mean much to Dave, but it's an issue for his mother, Lisa (Meryl Streep), who can't bear to think about her son in love with someone who isn't Jewish. Rafi confides all the intimate details of her new love affair with her therapist - the same Lisa Metzger who is Dave's mother. Both women are unaware of their non-professional connection until Lisa figures it out. At that point, she has a dilemma: terminate her sessions with Rafi or do her best to keep her composure and continue the therapy.

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The Treatment

I will admit to some trepidation upon entering the theater given Ian Holm’s last outing as a psychiatrist in “Garden State” which provided for some overlong, draining moments, as well as the general predominance of the psychiatric couch used as entertainment fodder these days, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. But lo and behold, not only do we have an accurate, engaging psychoanalytic session, but Holm steps up with a completely unique character, ready to kick serious mental ass. Dr. Morales is not a passive analyst, nor a positive affirmation helper- this is a dyed in the wool, old country Freudian scholar. He goes to work on Jake with a vengeance, sparing no rod nor spoiling his patient with fluffy anecdotes and coddling. What keeps him sympathetic is his obvious and palpable humanism, expressing great love for the human condition and indeed, a restrained but genuine care and concern for his patient, just when one might write him off as an intellectual terror. The moral of my doubt: Never underestimate Ian Holm’s capacity for brilliance. He’ll only pull another great performance out of his hat and make you look like a moron for doubting him. This is a phenomenal, sharp bit of acting from a master.

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