Shrink

Dreamy and beautiful. It's relatively rare to find a really good ensemble drama outside of Paul Thomas Anderson's movies, and this is one of the really good ones.

For most of the movie the plot drifts in and out of small vignettes in the lives of Hollywood actors, agents, shrinks, and students, rendered against a beautiful sound-scape reminiscent of Stars Of The Lid. Sometimes only seconds long, the brief glimpses set a fantastic mood, while building a story so subtly that I found myself surprised when I realized how much foundation had been laid.

The entire cast is excellent, but Kevin Spacey is in rare form, possibly even more enjoyable to watch here than in American Beauty. Several climactic scenes had me nearly in tears from his expression and presence alone.

The plot and writing are very solid. It's not easy to weave such a scattered plot into something that grabs your attention.

This type of film in general is one of my favorites, and I'm always ecstatic when I find another that lives up to the genre. As the first show of the festival, this is a very good sign.