SpecialMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Special."

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Avg. Critic Score: 57 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
15 Iffy for 15+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 80
    Film Threat | Eric Campos

    This is a weird little movie, and it's an interesting trip accompanying Dick Ritchie on his transformation. Read full review

  • 80
    New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman

    The movie loses its way toward the end, shifting from wry black comedy to slightly overdone pathos. But there's plenty here to appreciate, making the title perfectly apt. Read full review

  • 75
    The Onion A.V. Club | Scott Tobias

    Special recalls a minor-key "Donnie Darko," but its vision is much more limited, and it sinks into Indiewood clich whenever it reaches for profundity. Read full review

  • 58
    Entertainment Weekly |

    Thanks to Rapaport's brio in embracing the hero's drug-induced delusions, the movie is less a failure than a noble experiment gone awry. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | Nathan Lee

    Either way, it doesn't quite go far enough as psychological study or cultural commentary. Read full review

  • 50
    Village Voice |

    All that's left then is a miserablist analogue to M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable," a sad portrait of paranoid delusion with wipe-out stunts played for the comic wincing of "Jackass." Read full review

  • 38
    New York Post | Lou Lumenick

    Rappaport does a yeoman's job in this tonally confused oddity. The wonder is that Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore's Special is making it off the festival circuit and into theaters at all, however briefly. Read full review

View more reviews for Special on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+ Eccentric, depressing thriller won't grab teens' attention.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this depressing indie drama/fantasy -- which stars Michael Rappaport of Boston Public and Prison Break -- focuses on the side effects of an experimental drug that prove quite disturbing, and some scenes will be too much for younger teens and kids. Characters use drugs, and there's some upsetting violence -- including an attack with a pencil has a bloody aftermath -- as well as a fair amount of swearing (including "f--k" and "s--t") and a pervasive sense of disorientation and isolation.
  • Families can talk about mental illnesses and how drugs are used to treat them. What is the movie trying to say about the situation? Is Les crazy, or did the drugs make him act crazy? What is the movie saying about loneliness? Is Les a sympathetic character or a creepy one? What would it feel like to be in his shoes?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: A character seems quite depressed and takes part in a clinical drug trial hoping to be cured of his malaise. But instead, his life grows more complicated and even dangerous.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Les knocks people down if he thinks they're up to no good, regardless of what's really happening. A mysterious duo threatens him; a man stabs another with a pencil, and the aftermath is quite bloody. A man beats up two others with a stick. One driver deliberately runs over another.
  • sex false0 Sex: Les has a crush on the girl at the convenience store, but nothing happens.
  • language false4 Language: Frequent swearing, including 'a--hole,' 'bitch,' 's--t,' 'piss,' and 'f--k.'
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Signage for a convenience store, banks, and a news broadcast logo.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: The main character takes part in a clinical trial for an anti-depressant drug. Supporting characters are shown smoking dope.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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