A Disappointing Journey to 'K-PAX'

"K-PAX" is entertaining for so long it's a downer to sit through the dumbed-down finale. You know, the part where the movie completely unravels and "explains" its mysteries.

We can't have moviegoers leaving the theater – or turning off their VCRs next year – with unanswered questions cluttering their brains, can we?

But in its better, pre-doofus section, "K-PAX" is an enthralling showcase for Kevin Spacey, who plays Prot, the stranger at the center of the story.

Probably Hollywood's most exciting male actor at the moment, Spacey is someone you enjoy watching, period. His facial expressions, vocal tone, movement, they're pleasures unto themselves. And he lures you into his intriguing maze of a character.

Prot is an intelligent, identity-free drifter with sunglasses and a thousand-yard stare. He comes to the attention of psychiatrist Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges) when he's labeled delusional.

It seems that, after being arrested at Grand Central Station for a mugging he didn't commit, Prot (as he calls himself), has informed New York authorities that he's from a planet called K-PAX.

Mark begins his examination with his usual dutiful approach. But Prot has a plausible answer for everything – plausible for a true resident of the purported K-PAX. He knows intricate details about his planet and its solar system that only the smartest scientists could appreciate. And he's got some pretty advanced pointers about traveling faster than the speed of light. When Mark parades him before a gaggle of astrophysicists, Prot's story seems to check out.

The psychiatrist has to deal with the distinct possibility that Prot is exactly who he says he is.

There's more of this stuff, but "K-PAX" is about the slow peeling of layers that leads to the truth. Screenwriter Charles Leavitt and British director Iain Softley do a great job of modulating the atmospherics and fueling our interest.

Yet, even as they build and sustain a juicy premise, they fall prey (unconsciously or not) to the institutional tyranny of Hollywood storytelling. Mark could be any Michael Douglas character: He isn't listening to his patients. He's not finding time for his wife and family. You know, the usual Redemption of the Yuppie story. And, frankly, we could have done without Prot's X-ray ability to see who's peeping at him through the two-way observation mirror.

The worst, of course, is when the inexplicable gets its paint-by-numbers explanation. Ooooh, so that's what this was all about, we're supposed to mumble. But instead of elation, we leave with the disappointment that comes after our fancies have been tickled, but then unceremoniously let down.

K-PAX (PG-13, 122 minutes) – Contains violent images, some sensuality and obscene language. Area theaters.