Fantasia Report: Special Review

By constantly shifting perspectives Special makes it clear that much of what Les is experiencing is purely in his head, nothing but a drug reaction, but the film makers also leave open the possibility that at least some of this is legitimate. At the very least there are certainly moments where Les is able to achieve great things by simply believing that he can although hand in hand with that comes the immense physical toll his ‘heroism’ exacts on his body.

Special takes its unusual premise and plays it entirely straight. Les is just some guy trying to find his way, the sort you could meet on the street in any major city. He’s been beaten down and neglected and as a consequence is perfectly willing to latch on to any thread of hope life tosses his way. Even when shifted to Les’ perspective the film maintains its sense of realism by keeping the effects as simple and minimal as possible: Les’ basic understanding of the world never changes after he starts taking the drug, only his understanding of himself does, and as a consequence he plays as an entirely tragic figure.

Special is the sort of film that succeeds or fails entirely on the strength of its lead. Rapaport occupies every scene of the film, almost every frame, and he is truly remarkable. He maintains an entirely convincing balance to the character, capturing Les both as idealist and possibly dangerously unhinged. We get the insecure man uncertain of how to approach the night time grocery store girl he loves from a distance, the hero leaping from roof tops to stop a purse snatcher, the leering stalker in the streets, and the man battered almost beyond recognition who simply refuses to give up. When he recounts the childhood story of the hidden monster that eats just a small bite of your soul every night so that you are unaware of what is happening but are left only with a slowly growing sense of loss it is clear that Les is talking about himself, this is his life, he feels an enormous void in his life that this is his one chance to fill. This is his one chance to count, to do something that matters.

A film filled with quiet desperation Special is the sort of picture that will struggle to find a distributor willing to take it on – it is simply too far outside the Hollywood norm – but is exactly the sort of thing that distributors should be seeking out. Blessed both with brains and a heartfelt central performance Special comes highly recommended.