Shrink (film)
Encyclopedia
Shrink is a 2009 American independent film
about a psychologist who treats members of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles
, California
. It stars an ensemble
cast
headed by Kevin Spacey
as Dr. Henry Carter. Filming took place in Los Angeles
under the direction
of Jonas Pate
using a script
written by Thomas Moffett. The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival
. The film also includes music by Jackson Browne
.
). Most of Carter's patients are luminaries in the film industry
, each undergoing their own life crisis. Carter lives in a large, luxurious house overlooking the Hollywood Hills
, and has published a hugely successful self-help book
. However, Carter is disheveled, and he is frequently seen alone in his large house. He smokes marijuana at home, in his car, and behind his office when not seeing patients. Carter routinely drinks himself to sleep around his house, waking up in his clothes. He never enters his bedroom.
Despite his own problems, Carter continues psychotherapy with his patients, maintaining his incisiveness, compassion, and strong doctor-patient relationship
s.
Much of the ensemble cast comprises Carter's patients. Patrick is a high-powered talent agent
who is both narcissistic and anxiety- ridden, with a germ phobia. Shamus (Jack Huston
) is an actor addicted to various drugs and alcohol, and one of Patrick's biggest clients; Shamus is not one of Carter's patients, but they share a drug-dealer named Jesus. Jack (Robin Williams
) is another popular celebrity with a drinking problem, about which he is in denial. He continues therapy, however, because he believes that he has a sex addiction. Kate (Saffron Burrows
) is an actress in her thirties, who is intelligent, compassionate, and poised, but is facing fewer career opportunities because of Patrick's notion that her age is a limitation. Her rock-star husband, who she says "wasn't always like this," is self-centered and cheating on her.
Carter's newest patient is Jemma (Keke Palmer
), a troubled high-school student, required to see a therapist by her school after cutting her hand by punching a mirror. Jemma has been referred to Carter by his father as a pro bono case, because like Carter's wife, Jemma's mother committed suicide. Jemma is an avid moviegoer, who aspires to become a filmmaker.
Carter has few friends. He spends time with Jesus, his quirky pot dealer (Jesse Plemons
). Carter also socializes with Jeremy (Mark Webber
). Jeremy and Carter are loosely related through Carter's deceased wife, whose mother was Jeremy's godmother. Jeremy is a struggling young screenwriter. He finds romantic interest in Patrick's assistant Daisy (Pell James
). Jeremy also derives creative inspiration from Jemma.
Jeremy secretly steals Jemma's private file from Carter's office. He pursues a platonic
interest in Jemma. He writes his breakthrough screenplay
about Jemma, and with Daisy's help, Jeremy succeeds in gaining Patrick's interest in the screenplay.
Jemma discovers the screenplay, and feels betrayed by Jeremy, and Carter angrily attacks Jeremy for his deception. However, Carter accepts his own professional responsibility in the situation, which he unknowingly allowed. Carter suffers a breakdown on a live television talk show, alarming the host (Gore Vidal
) and the viewers when he states publicly for the first time that his wife committed suicide. He denounces his book as "bullshit" and himself as a fraud, and storms off of the set. Jemma, Daisy, and Jeremy are seen reacting to Carter's on-air outburst.
Carter decides to stop treating Jemma, though he had just begun helping Jemma finally come to terms with her mother's suicide. Later, Carter and Jeremy are mysteriously invited to a meeting at Patrick's office. Patrick seats them in a conference room, where Jemma is already waiting. To their surprise, Jemma now approves of Jeremy's screenplay. Patrick announces that he will be representing Jemma and making Jeremy's screenplay into a movie.
Carter, having disposed of his drug supply, approaches Kate at home. He tells her he doesn't want to see her anymore "...professionally," indicating his interest in seeing her romantically (the moment is treated in an endearing way in the movie, though this is a clear violation of ethics as a psychotherapist). She smiles.
Later, at night, Carter enters his bedroom, wearing pajamas. He momentarily regards his (former) marital bed, before climbing into it and turning off the light, as the movie fades to black.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
about a psychologist who treats members of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It stars an ensemble
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
cast
Casting (performing arts)
In the performing arts, casting is a pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance.-Casting process:...
headed by Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
as Dr. Henry Carter. Filming took place in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
under the direction
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
of Jonas Pate
Jonas Pate
Jonas James Pate is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He wrote and directed The Grave, Deceiver, The Take, and also directed Shrink. He co-created Good vs Evil and Surface...
using a script
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
written by Thomas Moffett. The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival
2009 Sundance Film Festival
The 2009 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah. It was the 25th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival.-Award winners:*Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - We Live in Public...
. The film also includes music by Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
.
Summary
The story takes place in Hollywood, and revolves around Dr. Henry Carter (Kevin SpaceyKevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
). Most of Carter's patients are luminaries in the film industry
Film industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
, each undergoing their own life crisis. Carter lives in a large, luxurious house overlooking the Hollywood Hills
Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
, and has published a hugely successful self-help book
Self-help book
Self-help books are books written with the stated intention to instruct any readers on a number of personal problems. They take their name from Self-Help, the Victorian best-seller, but are also known and classified under "self-improvement", a term that is a modernized version of self-help...
. However, Carter is disheveled, and he is frequently seen alone in his large house. He smokes marijuana at home, in his car, and behind his office when not seeing patients. Carter routinely drinks himself to sleep around his house, waking up in his clothes. He never enters his bedroom.
Despite his own problems, Carter continues psychotherapy with his patients, maintaining his incisiveness, compassion, and strong doctor-patient relationship
Doctor-patient relationship
The doctor-patient relationship is central to the practice of healthcare and is essential for the delivery of high-quality health care in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. The doctor-patient relationship forms one of the foundations of contemporary medical ethics...
s.
Much of the ensemble cast comprises Carter's patients. Patrick is a high-powered talent agent
Talent agent
A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, film directors, musicians, models, producers, professional athletes, writers and other people in various entertainment businesses. Having an agent is not required, but does help the artist in getting jobs...
who is both narcissistic and anxiety- ridden, with a germ phobia. Shamus (Jack Huston
Jack Huston
Jack Alexander Huston is an English actor. Huston had a starring role in Neighborhood Watch and filmed Outlander with James Caviezel and Sophia Myles...
) is an actor addicted to various drugs and alcohol, and one of Patrick's biggest clients; Shamus is not one of Carter's patients, but they share a drug-dealer named Jesus. Jack (Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
) is another popular celebrity with a drinking problem, about which he is in denial. He continues therapy, however, because he believes that he has a sex addiction. Kate (Saffron Burrows
Saffron Burrows
Saffron Dominique Burrows is an English actress and former fashion model, who starred as Det. Serena Stevens on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Lorraine Weller on Boston Legal.-Early life:...
) is an actress in her thirties, who is intelligent, compassionate, and poised, but is facing fewer career opportunities because of Patrick's notion that her age is a limitation. Her rock-star husband, who she says "wasn't always like this," is self-centered and cheating on her.
Carter's newest patient is Jemma (Keke Palmer
Keke Palmer
Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer is an American actress and singer who rose to fame for her performance in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee. She also starred as the title character in the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP...
), a troubled high-school student, required to see a therapist by her school after cutting her hand by punching a mirror. Jemma has been referred to Carter by his father as a pro bono case, because like Carter's wife, Jemma's mother committed suicide. Jemma is an avid moviegoer, who aspires to become a filmmaker.
Carter has few friends. He spends time with Jesus, his quirky pot dealer (Jesse Plemons
Jesse Plemons
Jesse Plemons is an American film and television actor best known for playing Landry Clarke on NBC's Friday Night Lights.-Career:...
). Carter also socializes with Jeremy (Mark Webber
Mark Webber (actor)
Mark Allen Webber is an American actor, screenwriter and director known for his roles in the films Snow Day and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.-Personal life:...
). Jeremy and Carter are loosely related through Carter's deceased wife, whose mother was Jeremy's godmother. Jeremy is a struggling young screenwriter. He finds romantic interest in Patrick's assistant Daisy (Pell James
Pell James
-Life and career:James grew up in Virginia with three sisters. In the early 2000s, she worked on the hit television series Law & Order and Law & Order:SVU. In 2005, she briefly appeared in the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers and earned her first starring role for the film The King...
). Jeremy also derives creative inspiration from Jemma.
Jeremy secretly steals Jemma's private file from Carter's office. He pursues a platonic
Platonic love
Platonic love is a chaste and strong type of love that is non-sexual.-Amor Platonicus:The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino. Platonic love in this original sense of the term is examined in Plato's dialogue the Symposium, which has...
interest in Jemma. He writes his breakthrough screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
about Jemma, and with Daisy's help, Jeremy succeeds in gaining Patrick's interest in the screenplay.
Jemma discovers the screenplay, and feels betrayed by Jeremy, and Carter angrily attacks Jeremy for his deception. However, Carter accepts his own professional responsibility in the situation, which he unknowingly allowed. Carter suffers a breakdown on a live television talk show, alarming the host (Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
) and the viewers when he states publicly for the first time that his wife committed suicide. He denounces his book as "bullshit" and himself as a fraud, and storms off of the set. Jemma, Daisy, and Jeremy are seen reacting to Carter's on-air outburst.
Carter decides to stop treating Jemma, though he had just begun helping Jemma finally come to terms with her mother's suicide. Later, Carter and Jeremy are mysteriously invited to a meeting at Patrick's office. Patrick seats them in a conference room, where Jemma is already waiting. To their surprise, Jemma now approves of Jeremy's screenplay. Patrick announces that he will be representing Jemma and making Jeremy's screenplay into a movie.
Carter, having disposed of his drug supply, approaches Kate at home. He tells her he doesn't want to see her anymore "...professionally," indicating his interest in seeing her romantically (the moment is treated in an endearing way in the movie, though this is a clear violation of ethics as a psychotherapist). She smiles.
Later, at night, Carter enters his bedroom, wearing pajamas. He momentarily regards his (former) marital bed, before climbing into it and turning off the light, as the movie fades to black.
Cast
- Kevin SpaceyKevin SpaceyKevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
as Dr. Henry Carter - Saffron BurrowsSaffron BurrowsSaffron Dominique Burrows is an English actress and former fashion model, who starred as Det. Serena Stevens on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Lorraine Weller on Boston Legal.-Early life:...
as Kate Amberson - Jack HustonJack HustonJack Alexander Huston is an English actor. Huston had a starring role in Neighborhood Watch and filmed Outlander with James Caviezel and Sophia Myles...
as Shamus - Robert LoggiaRobert LoggiaRobert Loggia is an American film and television actor and director.- Early life :Loggia, an Italian American, was born on Staten Island, the son of Elena Blandino, a homemaker, and Benjamin Loggia, a shoemaker, both of whom were born in Sicily, Italy...
as Dr. Robert Carter, Henry's father - Pell JamesPell James-Life and career:James grew up in Virginia with three sisters. In the early 2000s, she worked on the hit television series Law & Order and Law & Order:SVU. In 2005, she briefly appeared in the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers and earned her first starring role for the film The King...
as Daisy - Keke PalmerKeke PalmerLauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer is an American actress and singer who rose to fame for her performance in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee. She also starred as the title character in the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP...
as Jemma - Jesse PlemonsJesse PlemonsJesse Plemons is an American film and television actor best known for playing Landry Clarke on NBC's Friday Night Lights.-Career:...
as Jesus, Carter's pot dealer - Dallas RobertsDallas RobertsDallas Mark Roberts is an American stage and screen actor.Roberts was born in Houston, Texas. He is a graduate of Juilliard School. He is primarily based in New York City, where he regularly appears in theatrical productions...
as Patrick - Mark WebberMark Webber (actor)Mark Allen Webber is an American actor, screenwriter and director known for his roles in the films Snow Day and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.-Personal life:...
as Jeremy - Laura Ramsey as Kiera
- Ashley GreeneAshley GreeneAshley Michele Greene is an American actress and model, best known for playing Alice Cullen in the film adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels.- Personal life :...
as Missy - Gore VidalGore VidalGore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
as George Charles - Griffin DunneGriffin Dunne-Personal life:Dunne was born Thomas Griffin Dunne in New York City, New York, the son of Ellen Beatriz Dunne and Dominick Dunne. His mother founded the victims' rights organization Justice for Homicide Victims and his father was a producer, writer, and actor...
appears Uncredited - Robin WilliamsRobin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
as Jack Holden (Uncredited)
External links
- Shrink at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
- Shrink at Allmovie
- Shrink at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...