I was lucky enough to attend the UK premiere of Special as part of the Edinburgh Film Festival. I had been looking forward to seeing the film for months and I was not left disappointed.
The basic premise of the film is as follows; Les Franken (played by Michael Rapaport) enrols in a testing programme for a new drug named Specioprin Hydrochloride. A side effect of the drug causes him to believe has developed superhuman powers such as levitation and mind reading. He then decides, against the advice of his doctor and his friends, to use these "powers" to fight crime.
I was only familiar with Michael Rapaport through his role as Pheobe's one time boyfriend on Friends and I was pleasantly surprised by his performance. He is instantly likable as a character which of course is essential as he in every single scene of the film.
The main reason that I went to see this film was Josh Peck, who gives yet another staggeringly good performance as Joey, a stoner who works in a comic book store. This film only further solidified my belief that Josh is the greatest actor of all time. Most people will be familiar with him through his Nickelodeon show, Drake and Josh. His role in Special, like his role in Mean Creek also, will likely shock those who think they can pigeonhole him.
The film constantly walks the line between the humorous and the intense. The first half of the film offers a few laughs at Rapaport's delusion however things turn sinister in the latter half with some extremely violent scenes.
Another thing to note about the film is the sublime soundtrack. The scoring was lovely, and reminiscent of Michael Andrews' work in Me and You and Everyone We Know.
There was a Q&A with the films producers after the screening where they said the film would be released in the USA in early 2007, and late 2006 in the UK.
The basic premise of the film is as follows; Les Franken (played by Michael Rapaport) enrols in a testing programme for a new drug named Specioprin Hydrochloride. A side effect of the drug causes him to believe has developed superhuman powers such as levitation and mind reading. He then decides, against the advice of his doctor and his friends, to use these "powers" to fight crime.
I was only familiar with Michael Rapaport through his role as Pheobe's one time boyfriend on Friends and I was pleasantly surprised by his performance. He is instantly likable as a character which of course is essential as he in every single scene of the film.
The main reason that I went to see this film was Josh Peck, who gives yet another staggeringly good performance as Joey, a stoner who works in a comic book store. This film only further solidified my belief that Josh is the greatest actor of all time. Most people will be familiar with him through his Nickelodeon show, Drake and Josh. His role in Special, like his role in Mean Creek also, will likely shock those who think they can pigeonhole him.
The film constantly walks the line between the humorous and the intense. The first half of the film offers a few laughs at Rapaport's delusion however things turn sinister in the latter half with some extremely violent scenes.
Another thing to note about the film is the sublime soundtrack. The scoring was lovely, and reminiscent of Michael Andrews' work in Me and You and Everyone We Know.
There was a Q&A with the films producers after the screening where they said the film would be released in the USA in early 2007, and late 2006 in the UK.
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