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July 26, 2008 -- “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” is the latest film in the continuing saga of FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigating crimes linked to the paranormal. It started with a hit TV show that lasted nine seasons and is considered one of the best ever in American television (it was also one of the first TV shows to be released on DVD). Then there was the 1998 feature film, X Files: Fight the Future. Here we are 10 years later with yet another X-Files movie. This one is toned down considerably. Almost no advance publicity, no aliens, no ghosts, no vampires, no conspiracies, just a lone psychic and a series of abductions and murders. It will probably be a letdown for X-Files fans because of what it lacks.
The story starts with both Mulder and Scully no longer in the employ of the FBI. Scully is a doctor at a Catholic hospital and Mulder doesn't seem to be doing much of anything. The two are drawn into a kidnapping case by FBI agent Dakota Whitney (played by Amanda Peet of “Martian Child”). She persuades Scully to get Mulder involved in the case to handle an odd psychic who is providing useful clues. After all, who has handled more odd psychics that Spooky Mulder? He is an expert when it comes to the paranormal. The psychic, Father Joseph Crissman (Billy Connolly of “Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events”) is a pedophile who has visions. In an early scene in the movie, he leads FBI agents to a severed arm buried in the snow (the movie is set in the winter in West Virginia, which is doubly odd for a summer movie). The severed arm is, indeed linked to the case of a missing FBI agent, the very case that Mulder is being asked to help solve. Scully is so angry over Crissman's pedophilia that she can't think straight, but Mulder is intrigued. Scully was raised a Catholic, a fact that was explored at length in the TV series. Mulder is, shall we say, open to lots of ideas.
While the TV series explored all manner of religious beliefs, legends and myths, as well as elaborate conspiracy theories, it returned to conventional Christianity, and Scully's Catholic upbringing, from time to time. Perhaps the most memorable episode (which aired December 15, 1995) involving Scully's search for faith is “Revelations” in which Scully and Mulder investigate a series of murders of people exhibiting stigmata signs. A demonic figure with a kind of fire in his hands kills everyone showing the signs, while one of the murder targets, a young boy exhibiting stigmata marks, is protected by a mysterious holy man, Owen Lee Jarvis (played by horror film star Michael Berryman of “The Hills Have Eyes” and “The Devil's Rejects” in a classic case of casting against type). Like that episode, “I Want to Believe” continues Scully's search for religious faith.In addition to her problems relating to Father Crissman, Scully's faith is also tested by a difficult medical case involving a young patient with a terminal illness. At one point in the film, Father Crissman turns to Scully and says “Don't give up.” Is that a sign not to give up on the boy? Scully isn't sure. Crissman is not exactly a reliable prophet. Father Crissman, like a number of other priests, has done a lot of damage in his life. He prays for forgiveness and he believes that the visions, which provide valuable clues for the FBI, may be one way of paying back his debt to society. He says the visions come from God. Scully thinks the visions may come from a sinister source. As Scully wrestles with her faith, Mulder wrestles with the skeptics who don't believe in Father Crissman's visions. In the end, despite their differences, Scully and Mulder are back together again, looking into the abyss and solving crimes. While the film lacks the grandeur and self-mocking comedy of the 1998 X-Files film, it does reveal a pretty good mystery and it comfortingly explores some familiar themes of faith and reason from the original TV series. It also shows a change in the relationship between Scully and Mulder. It is probably just as well that it leaves conspiracy theories alone. There are enough of those already. If you are an X-Files fan, this is a journey worth taking with enough comforting familiarity to make it satisfying. If you know nothing about the X-Files, the film stands on its own well enough. This film rates a C+.
Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.
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