Film and TV

X marks the flop

By Kim Francis
August 07, 2008

It’s been six years since the last episode of the cult television series and 10 since the original movie was released, so the latest installment in The X-Files saga comes as a welcome addition to the long-running series for fans of the popular paranormal show.

The story concerns the disappearance of Virginian women, one of which is FBI agent Monica Bannan (Xantha Radley).

When a psychic paedophile priest (Billy Connolly) starts to have visions connected to these abductions, the FBI turns to former paranormal investigative duo Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) to use their skills to solve the case.

The tenuous paranormal element to the story means that it doesn’t feel much like an X-Files tale. Its emphasis here is on the crime rather than any supernatural cause or origin, although the movie’s tone and structure does give it the feel of an extended episode from the series.

Sadly, however, there is no hint of the alien cover-up conspiracy that ran through the series, except for a mention of the alien abduction of Mulder’s sister.

Presumably, this is so as not to confuse newcomers to The X-Files and, as such, the film is more akin to one of the weaker, stand-alone episodes that peppered the series.

There is little tension or intrigue throughout and the film would have been markedly improved had it been made as an entirely separate entity from The X-Files.

As an X-Files film, it simply feels flat and muddled, even if it is good to see both Duchovny and Anderson back in their roles as ‘Spooky’ Mulder and sceptical sidekick Scully.

The X-Files creator, Chris Carter, is clearly keen to explore a science versus religion theme, which sees Scully waver before finally opting for medicine over faith.

Some fairly complex ideas are broached but the faintly ridiculous story and criminal lack of tension work against Carter’s intentions, holding the viewer at arm’s length, meaning that they care little about what the film might be trying to say.

With Carter admitting he would like to continue releasing X-Files films for years to come, on this evidence, his ambition looks as far-fetched as one of his famously implausible plots.

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When I read a review for “I Want to Believe” like yours, I really wonder if we watched the same film. I did not feel the film was muddled at all, but after reading your piece, my brain did feel muddled.

First of all, Chris Carter has said all along that this movie takes place in real time, six years after the end of the series. It was never meant to be about aliens and the conspiracy. He has always said that it is a stand alone story about Mulder and Scully and where they are in their relationship right now. The case finds them. They do not go out seeking for it. They have been through a lot since we last saw them and this film is meant to explore their relationship and how this case affects the two of them personally and together as a “couple.”

The movie was never meant to be a summer blockbuster and if there was a mistake made by Fox, it was the release date for this movie. “I Want to Believe” is a character study and a very thought-provoking and intelligent film that explores faith, forgiveness and redemption while offering a scary plot and quite a bit of tension between the main characters, as they once again have different views of what is going on and what, if anything, they should do about it. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are spot on as they portray the believer Fox Mulder and the skeptic Dana Scully. The famous chemistry between the two of them is on display for all to see and now there is the added element of them being a couple and how this whole affair affects their established relationship.

Your line about Scully “opting for medicine over faith” left me completely baffled. The overall theme of the film was “don’t give up” and we see that played out beautifully at the end when Scully is having doubts about performing the dangerous surgery on the young boy, Christian. Father Joe has told her “don’t give up” and she is struggling to believe that this was meant for her in this intense situation with her patient. Mulder tells her if she has any doubts, to call off the surgery and they will go away together. In the last scene, she stands in the operating room and makes her decision as she looks at the faces of the other doctors and surgical team and the nuns watching through the window. She finds the faith and courage to believe that her skills in medicine will save Christian’s life. It’s a poignant marriage of her faith and her belief in medicine. The outcome is left up to the viewer, which is Chris Carter’s usual way of leaving things. He always leaves us thinking. Maybe that is why in this summer of mindless and ridiculous, CGI-infested blockbusters, “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” left some “muddled.”