“Happiness… happiness is a word for a feeling. Feelings are rarely understood in the moment, they are quickly forgotten, and almost always misremembered. And besides, feelings are totally full of shit.”

You may be thinking the above quote is cynical and depressing, or perhaps you agree. The statement is open for an individual basis of interpretation, much like the movie Shrink.

Shrink is an independent showbiz drama that was released during the summer of 2009 under the direction of Jonas Pate. The screenplay was written by Thomas Moffett. The story has kept me coming back for more five times strong. The film is slow-paced and does not appeal to every viewer, but it has struck my fancy through its unique portrayal of various struggles to maintain “normalcy” — whatever a “normal” way of living may mean in our high strung American way of life.

In Shrink, the quote I mentioned earlier is said by Hollywood’s most famous psychiatrist, Dr. Henry Carter, played by Kevin Spacey. So, what kind of psychiatrist tells you your feelings are full of shit? A psychiatrist with a serious problem. In this case, Dr. Carter is in the midst of grieving his wife’s death. The issue is causing his successful career to slip and he has become subject to self-medicating by smoking pot. In a sense, his drug dealer Jesus (Jesse Plemons), becomes his psychiatrist; although, Jesus offers Dr. Carter a way to numb the pain, rather than mend his pain. Furthermore, Dr. Henry Carter’s dad is also a doctor, so he treats his son as more of a patient than his own kin. The film follows his interactions with characters as he tries to find a way to be “okay” with his grief.

The movie has about seven main characters including Dr. Henry Carter. I do not want to delve into each character very deep, because that would essentially ruin the movie, so I will touch on the other six briefly:

Patrick (Dallas Roberts) is one of the most brilliant, yet asinine agents in Hollywood. He has high paying clients and an array of phobias. Like Dr. Henry Carter, he deals with many actors and actresses, but strictly for business.

Daisy (Pell James) is Patrick’s personal assistant. Despite the fact Daisy is pregnant, she works her ass off for Patrick with little recognition for the hard work she puts in.

Jeremy (Mark Webber) is an aspiring screenwriter with a serious case of writer’s block.

Jemma (Keke Palmer) is a confused high school student grieving the suicide of her mother.  She loves going to the to the cinema to see the ‘pictures,’ and has a keen sense for what is a “good” or “bad” movie.

Kate Amberson (Saffron Burrows) is a client of Dr. Henry Carter and Patrick. She is a famous actress in Hollywood who cannot deal with the fact that her husband has turned into a narcissistic piece of human being.

Shamus (Jack Huston) is another actor in Hollywood that is a client of Patrick’s. He has a history of drug use and seems to have a hard time keeping it together as an actor in the city of angels.

Even with the brief descriptions of the main character, you may be able to understand why the film is a showbiz drama. All of the characters have problems, but problems that may be potentially resolved with the right amount of nourishment and understanding of what they are going through. Yes, this includes Patrick, the asshole Hollywood agent.

However, I think the film may have taken on too much by having so many main characters. I think it would have been a stronger film with more emphasis on certain characters. It feels like once you are almost grasping a character, the film shifts to another character with a different problem. I think that element to the film makes it hard for people who enjoy fast paced movies to wait and see what direction the film is taking before it reaches the end.

Personally, the film struck my fancy because there are a lot of underlying themes and messages that can be taken away at the end of the movie. If you have any knowledge of film history, you will notice many references to popular films in cinema; for example, The Graduate, Fargo, and Taxi Driver. I enjoyed that as a film student, but I can see why some people may not catch on to the references. The film expects the audience to know a thing or two coming into it; whether it be about loss, life struggle, or the Hollywood hardships.

In the end, I think what an audience member takes from Shrink depends on what they can identify with. I found myself clinging to Dr. Henry Carter and Jemma as characters because I went through a serious suicide around Jemma’s age. I compliment the film for taking on such a serious topic within a movie about Hollywood life hardships, and life hardships in general for that matter. Although serious loss is heart wrenching, the movie almost made me feel like sometimes losing my sanity over something that drastically altered my perception of the world is perfectly “normal”.

Certainly, Shrink has not mastered perfection, but I still have a complex love for the movie. I have watched the movie five times and continue to pull small details from the film that I had missed in previous viewings. If you like a movie that makes you think, but requires active viewing to grasp the concepts presented, Shrink is the movie for you. Netflix has been featuring the film on and off, but it’s availability remains, so check it out.

Netflix This: Shrink