Date:29/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/29/stories/2008092958340200.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Not many surprises Film Review

David Duchovony

Film: The X-files – I want to believe

Starcast: David Duchovony and Gilian Anderson

Direction: Chris Charter

Mulder and Scully are back after a decade on the big screen and succeed in making us believe in their skills all over again. Their faces do convey the ravages of time, their initial expressions do convey a feeling of been there-done that but as the two specialists settle down they take us on a journey into the layers of darkness with unassuming ease.

The plot doesn’t have too many surprises in store. An FBI agent goes missing in mysterious circumstances. A priest with a paedophilic past is having ‘visions’ of the agent being tortured. Rational mind doesn’t believe it but the police have no other option. Scully convinces Mulder out of hibernation to understand the priest’s visions and the ball gets rolling. It turns out to be an act of a serial killer. Usual!

What’s unusual is director Chris Charter’s ability to weave in messages between a thriller. Some are acceptable, some are debatable, but most of them make you think beyond the obvious. Common phrases like ‘never give up’ have a deeper meaning here. Life works beyond the exactitudes of science. People at times try to recover their personal loss from their professional lives. Charter reminds us of all this without being gimmicky. However, his take on homosexuality sounds unconvincing.

The film is largely shot amidst mounds of snow giving it the desired chilling effect. The union of red and white is really unsettling.

Charter has never gone for the overkill of blood and gore, which is usually the case with films of this genre. He has kept his actors, seasoned as they are, in check and props restrained, without compromising on the scary impact.

Time hasn’t weathered the chemistry between David Duchovony and Gilian Anderson. They still convey a lot through the eyes and a sweet little through words. At the end, what hurts is Hollywood’s timeless fascination towards painting Russians as the villains. Charter is no different.

If you like your paranormal fare to be intense without being gimmicky, The X-Files is worth believing in.

ANUJ KUMAR