What did you think of the new ...
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, The X-Files: I Want to Believe
Question: What did you think of the new
X-Files movie? I, unlike many, had no expectations. Not low expectations, but not really any. So I was both pleasantly surprised and a little let down. I can see how all the secrecy surrounding the plot would lead some fans to assume something big was going on and then be disappointed. I was somewhat bothered by the fact that all the bad guys were evil, oddly cold Russians who (although their victims were both male and female) tended to depict most of the women in the movie as helpless damsels in distress. Also, there seemed to me an effort to be a little too relevant to "post-post-9/11" America (as Chris Carter calls it), with references to stem-cell research and whatnot. But even the hardest-to-impress X-Phile must admit that they nailed the Mulder-Scully relationship. Not only do I love where they are after six years; I believe it. Their scenes were so touching and their chemistry has doubled since their episodic days. Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny brought a maturity to their relationship that I felt was missing the last few seasons of the show. And I am particularly impressed with Gillian's performance. She brought such a heartbreakingly beautiful subtlety to the role and delivered lines that could have otherwise been weak or cheesy with a skill that reflects real maturity in her style. Overall, I'm happy with it. The story needed a little work, but the character development really did justice to the Mulder and Scully that seemed to peak and then peter off in the '90s.
Answer: I held off writing a Dispatch about this, in part because I'm covering it in the next magazine Review column as part of an overview of all of the lousy movies made this summer from classic TV properties. I've probably also been in a state of denial, because I thought
The X-Files: I Want to Believe was awful, a huge and crushing disappointment to someone who regards himself a charter member of the show's critical fan club. And I wanted to believe, I wanted to care, truly I did. I wanted to be enthralled and scared and swept away, and instead, I felt I was watching a weak retread of
The Silence of the Lambs minus a compelling villain. But then, I've never been of a mind, however much I enjoy the work of Duchovny and Anderson, that
The X-Files worked best as a soap opera. I know that runs counter to Internet/fan site/message board sentiment, but watching Mulder and Scully snuggle and kiss and discuss (at length) their relationship wasn't the lure that got me into the theater. I thought those moments were among the most effective in the movie — although I probably enjoyed more the bit where Skinner cradled an ailing Mulder in his arms — but the movie itself was so drab and dreary and ordinary, like a throwaway episode churned out between sweeps months. Amanda Peet makes poor Annabeth Gish (from the final seasons) look like Meryl Streep. Billy Connelly's psychic pedophile priest pales in comparison to a truly original, haunting character like Peter Boyle's Clyde Bruckman. I could go on, but it just makes me sad. Though like you, I'm happy to get some Mulder-Scully closure. Given the early box office, looks like they needed it.
