The long-time-coming second X FILES movie will most likely represent the end of the X FILES universe, at least in cinematic terms, given the film’s under-achievement at the U.S. box office in the same summer that hits were made of other long-dead TV shows (SEX AND THE CITY, GET SMART). Taking an opposing approach to the initial, 1998 movie (called simply THE X FILES) results in the same basic alienation of non-X-Files as before. The key difference this time, however, is that, in 1998 THE X FILES was still a popular, on-going series. I WANT TO BELIEVE – which takes its title from Fox Mulder’s life-long mantra – arrives six years after the show ended relatively low in the ratings.
The 1998 film tried to open up the show’s elaborate mythology into an action-driven blockbuster : it worked on a spectacle level for sure though much of the plot was lost on non-fans since it relied heavily on five preceding years of intricate story arcs. The new film goes back to basics and, indeed, back to the spiritual home of THE X FILES, Canada : the first five seasons of the show were shot in Canada, giving it a bleak mood and distinctive rainy, wintry visual palette that were notably lost when it made a permanent switch to L.A. Returning to British Columbia, the new film reunites many early X FILES crew and even ropes in some familiar acting faces from the early years. The story that forges this reunion is a stand-alone thriller plot with a characteristically ambiguous supernatural element in the form of a might-be-phony psychic played by Billy Connolly. This part of the film follows a lasting X FILES penchant for plots hinging on dubious psychics – such characters are prominent in episodes like “Beyond The Sea”, “Closure” and the outstanding “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose”.
The problem for summer audiences is that the central dynamic of I WANT TO BELIEVE still relies on viewer kinship with Mulder and Scully, and also that the film has the pace and feel of an extended TV episode. A good X FILES episode if not a great one. It’s ultimately too small scale for the summer blockbuster crowd, though for X fans largely effective (if not without its own set of flaws).
The disappearance of an FBI agent in West Virginia leads to a reunion of Scully and Mulder. Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is now a practicing doctor with a sickly young patient whose plight takes up way too much screen time and acts as a reminder of her maternal side : her son with Mulder, William, is very briefly mentioned. Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is now the isolated, obsessive loner – sporting the untidy, scratchy beard of all lonely obsessive’s – we always knew he’d end up as. The involvement of the former “X Files” partners in the case is triggered by the prominence of a Catholic priest / self-castrated pedophile (Connolly), who claims to know how to psychically locate the missing agent and bleeds from the eyes during alleged “channeling”.
One of the main problems with this latest incarnation of Chris Carter’s spooky creation is the story. Months of secrecy and misinformation on the net succeeded in concealing a remarkably so-so, mundane premise involving nefarious black market human organ dealers and the Frankenstein-like experiments of a megalomaniacal doctor. It’s a compelling enough premise – co-writers Carter and Frank Spotnitz remain fine storytellers and pepper it with nicely handled action beats – but it doesn’t’t feel enough to warrant an X FILES movie and it never matches up to the many excellent stand-alone episodes put out during the show’s nine year run.
The other major problem is one inherited from the last years of the series. Mulder and Scully are now in love to the extent that Carter and Spotnitz afford them a happy ending (replete with orchestral swell and borderline-embarrassing wave-to-the-camera during the end credits) that reinforces their romantic bond and suggests a solid future together. This always went against the platonic nature of their relationship through at least five years of the series, and the loner nature of their individual characters. Seeing Mulder and Scully kissing and enjoying post-coital banter in bed still feels wrong. And the upbeat resolution is a betrayal of the paranoid, downbeat tone of the series as a whole.
All that said, the character dynamic between these two is finely transposed to film for the second time. The chemistry, intimacy and tensions between these two charismatic characters are as adeptly conveyed and convincing as ever. Both actors inhabit these roles to perfection, and it’s genuinely touching – again, for fans rather than non-fans – to see them interacting on screen again. Duchovny was always underrated when the series was on air, and here demonstrates the sharp wit (love all the paedo gags) and vulnerability that made Mulder one of television’s most sympathetic heroes. Too bad that the great Mitch Pileggi – Assistant director Skinner – is brought back for a gimmicky cameo gratuitously shoe-horned into the narrative to appease fans wanting familiar faces. They should have sacrificed the kid for more Skinman time.
The movie has many of the qualities of the original series. It’s beautifully, atmospherically lensed in snowy Vancouver, with an evocative score by Mark Snow, intelligent dialogue and a refreshingly minimal use of CGI. While some of the new characters (played by Amanda Peet and Xibit) are one note at best, Connolly is excellent in a role that, true to X FILES form, leaves the audience with more questions than answers while raising assorted moral quandaries. There’s a nice array of modest in-jokes and references for long-term fans, to whom sunflower seeds, pencils stuck in Mulder’s ceiling and the names Shiban, Bowman and Gilligan will mean something. And there’s even a cute George W Bush gag involving the famous six note whistling X Files motif. It’s just a shame the script lacks a genuine sense of threat, major surprises and a potent climax.
– Steven West
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
