The Wackness

An American independent classics with Ben Kingsley delivering a top acting performance. His character, a crazy psychiatrist Squires, was the only thing that I enjoyed about this movie. Luke was against the system but in combination with the drugs and rap music his character wasn’t in any way exceptional. By which I mean we have seen similar characters so many times already. I really wouldn’t like to have a chat with him. On the other hand, the character portrayed by Ben was incredible. To meet him in real life would be an experience which you will never forget. Quite a good one-time thing. (02.09.2019)

The Wackness is not a film that sticks in your memory because of thrilling scenes or even uncompromising action. However, it is interesting given its gloomy melancholic mood, spiced up with gentle irony and humor. It is a movie about eternal social outsiders who don't fit into the usual patterns of consumer society. A non-conformist young man, who is more or less indifferent to the values of the majority society and successfully earns his living by selling soft drugs, and his psychiatrist, who seems spiritually lost in the flower power movement of the 60s, are indeed very different in age, but their shared alienation, solitude, and heightened empathy lead them toward mutual closeness and the formation of friendship. It is a movie about finding ways to reconcile with oneself and the surrounding world and to fully experience life within the possibilities that life brings us. Besides having an interesting soundtrack, the film also offers the traditionally marvelous Ben Kingsley and an atmosphere that is hard to describe, but it is nice to watch. Overall impression: 75%. (15.01.2013)