Mental illness is a serious problem; it affects and ruins millions of lives each year. For a long time the medical community was helpless to treat its victims so many were just warehoused in mental institutions of lamentably horrible conditions. In recent years the pharmaceutical industry has made major strides in treating many forms of mental illness but much is unknown and many of the treatments still experimental. In literature and subsequently film mental illness has been treated as a means for comedy. From the point of view of a sane person the antics of the mentally ill appear funny. There is also a more serious use of mental illness in such formats; it can be used as a mirror to reflect the foibles of our society. How a culture deals with people so afflicted demonstrates a lot about the moral compass of the people and the charted direction of the society. This theme also liberates the writer to infuse a story with fantasy and unpredictable behavior just to see how it will play out. One example of this is the movie ‘Special’ by Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore. It is a story about a man with a mental illness who has an unusual reaction to his medication. He comes to believe he is a superhero. While the film is far from perfect the point is it shouldn’t be; it needs its faults to best show the imperfections in our species. It would be possible to create a movie that was slick and polished but that would have removed it from the foundation of its premise.

Those with a mental disorder are frequently depicted as imagining they are great generals or leaders from the past’ Napoleon comes readily to mind. In today’s world comic books and their super heroes have become our new mythology. The old gods and goddesses residing on a mountain top have been supplanted by people with incredible powers wearing tights and capes. Under these conditions it is very likely that a delusional person would picture himself as one of the new figureheads. This film is a fantasy but it does connect to something deep inside all of us. As children we would tie a pillow case or towel around our necks and pretend to be Superman. We would lie on an old box stretching our arms out in front of ourselves and make believe we were flying. All of us have fantasized about which super power we coveted the most. In this film a mistake in medication gives an adult license to play out those childhood daydreams; this is a flawed film about a broken man living in a dysfunctional society.

The film was written and directed by Haberman and Passmore. This is the first time in both fields for Haberman and only the sophomore opus for Passmore. The word quirky may be overused but in this case it is the most apt description of the movie. It is just offbeat enough to make for an entertaining time watching. There is no disrespect shown for the disorders seen here but what comes across is the disconnection between reality and the inner workings of the minds of those suffering with these illnesses. The best aspect of this script is how the audience is slowly immersed in the delusions of the protagonist. At first there is just a grain of doubt that it is all in his mind. We quickly learn that it is but by that time the audience is won over to the side of Les (Michael Rapaport). In a fantasy based story like this it is rare that real emotions can be invoked in such a stylistic fashion. It may seem very silly for a depressed man to fantasize about being a comic book hero but it is natural. In the comics the hero usually wins. He is not a worthless nobody but a person admired by all. There are elements of the classic tale of Don Quixote. Les is a man with no destiny; no means to make an impact in the horrible world he sees all around him. Instead of imagining a lance, steed and giants he gives himself super human abilities that he can use to clean up the mess we all live in.

As directors Haberman and Passmore make the most out of this story and humanizes it to the point were it is not only enjoyable but will cause you to think about it long after the final credits role. A large part of this is how they handled the difference between what is in Les’ mind and what is real. Les may think that he is flying through the air when actually he is on the floor frantically moving his arms and legs. He thinks he can walk through wall but sadly he just bangs into them. Les has such a need to be a hero nothing else matters to him. He seems to know that he is unable to save himself from his depression but if he can save an innocent victim of a crime he has made a difference. They were fortunate to obtain the services or Michael Rapaport as the lead. He has that every man quality that makes it easy for the audience to connect with him and care about his plight. Her plays Les on a thin line between victim and hero and that internal conflict comes out in the performance. He has been around on television and films for a while now but this is one of his first starting roles. The thing about an actor working in character roles for so long is he has amble opportunity to dissect the human condition and reflect that in his presentation of his role. He does very well in letting us root for this delusional man in this story.

Les is a parking enforcement officer; a male meter maid. He drudges through each day of his solitary life with little to bring him a moment of joy or relief from the dullness that pervades his world. The only thing that is able to take him out of his misery for a brief moment or so is his infatuation with comic books. In their brightly colored pages Les finds some glimmer of hope. Realizing that he has to do something to change his life he volunteers for a study of a new drug with a pharmaceutical and is given an experimental anti depressant Specioprin Hydrocloride, trade named ‘Special’. It seems to be helping at first but soon some unforeseen side effects begin to emerge. Les is certain that he has a set of super powers. He comes to believe he can fly, read minds and pass through solid objects. Of course it is all a delusion but to Les it is liberating. He fashions a home made silver super hero costume and places the drug company’s logo on it and sets out to fight the growing evil of the world.

This is a strange little film. It is also the heart of what is best about independent film. The cast and crew are experimenting here and while it is not a raging success it provides for an interesting evening. A film like this breaks away from the normal concepts of film making and going out to push the limits a little.