Matthew Perry, best known as Chandler from "Friends," proves himself to be more than a broad comedic actor in "Numb," essentially an autobiography of writer/director Harris Goldberg´s fight against depersonalization. Basically, this is the feeling of not belonging in your own body, looking at the things you do and not having any emotion about them. This disorder affects not only Hudson Milbank´s (Perry) writing career-and writing partner Tom (Kevin Pollack)-but also his quest to find the one woman who will love him.
Casting Perry in the lead role of a dark romance was precipitated, according to Goldberg´s commentary, by watching the actor´s guest star stints on "The West Wing." I´d argue, though, Milbank has more in common with Matt Albie from "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." For starters, there are superficial similarities between the two. Both are writers and are in recovery from one thing or another. Albie and Milbank also need to work…at least, Tom does, leading to the supposition Hudson does as well.
Then there´s the personality. Chandler found himself to equally be the butt of the joke or the comedian, with bigger than life emotions and not much use for subtlety. Yet when the camera is pushed up close to Perry, allowing him to work in a comedy sub-genre, he is able to display a depth of emotion we´re not used to seeing with him. Here is a man desperate to find out what is wrong, to make his life complete and, ostensibly, grow up. Though Goldberg never comes out and says it, the majority of Hudson´s issue comes in the form of his parents. Specifically, his father ("The X Files" Cigarette Smoking Man William B. Davis).
We only meet the elder Milbank once or twice in the production; those few scenes tell us everything we need to know about their relationship. Dad Peter coddles Hudson even when he is a fully formed adult capable of taking care of himself. The writer begins to hyperventilate during a trip home; Mom says to let him take care of it. Peter rushes his son to the emergency room. Hudson is a needy, near man-child of a person, incapable of taking himself or others seriously. Is the reason he has a drawer full of stolen pens because he gets a thrill out of it? Possibly (and Goldberg says he did the same thing as a youngster), though it´s equally possible the adult Hudson hopes to get caught, leading to attention he doesn´t get in his own life.
Which seems a bit backward, honestly, when other aspects of his life are taken into account. It is made clear several times Tom needs Hudson to sell the scripts he writes: Tom is the writer, Hudson is the salesman. So, at least in that respect, Hudson has an enormous weight on his shoulders. The person who truly understands him-the love interest, if you will-is Sarah (Lynn Collins). They meet at a pitch meeting and, shortly thereafter, she accepts Hudson´s world without reservation. She turns out to be the first person, including doctors, pharmacists, family and even Tom, to wrap their arms around the depersonalization. There´s even a sweet little scene where they discuss what they want out of a relationship. Sarah´s answer, and the way it plays into the climax of the film, should bring a tear to your eye.
Goldberg and the crew try to bring the sensation of being numb in your own body across, yet it is a tall order. Film is a passive medium. The people on screen interact; we watch. The production tries, though, to get us to understand depersonalization through a couple fancy effects shots: Hudson talking to a person in sped up fashion with disco ball-esque flashing. It´s not the best representation of the experience in my estimation. The result is akin to a drug or alcohol bender more than a psychological disorder.
That being said, as I alluded to in the beginning, "Numb" rests on the talents of Perry. Without him in the lead, and his ability to play subdued humor, the entire film would have been for naught. Goldberg never had Perry in mind for the role, considering him too broad a comic actor for Hudson. Despite his personae as Chandler, we never see that character in Milbank. Rather, Perry brings an everyman quality to the part, a neurotic and relaxed feeling combined into one single person. Some beard scruff, thrown together clothes and a sometimes-vacant stare in his eyes bring the character together.
So far, I´ve neglected the rest of the act. None is more compelling than Mary Steenburgen in a "When Harry Met Sally"-ish restaurant scene near the end of the film. Her therapist-turned-romantic partner for Hudson (Dr. Blaine, for the record) provides some of the best laugh lines-especially considering her signature scene was improvised. Pollack doesn´t do as much acting, bringing his "Kevin Pollack" character to the production. He eats, complains, makes a sardonic comment. Rinse. Repeat. But in a film where the lead isn´t over the top, he works nicely as a compliment to Perry.
Then there´s Collins as the love interest Sarah. A relative newcomer, at least compared to the rest of the cast, she successfully imbues the character with equal parts naivety and an off beat attitude, making it easy to see why Hudson falls for her. Even in the production´s most shocking scene (in a strip club), Sarah remains the most innocent person here. With every curse word or expletive which comes out of her mouth, Collins is able to endear Sarah to us even more. I can´t put my finger on exactly why it works that way; it just does.
VIDEO:
The 1.781:1 anamorphic transfer looks rather good, without a hint of the normal issues associated with lower budget productions. Blacks are deep while every other color is well rendered. Outdoor scenes are never given an ethereal quality, rather they look quite natural. Indoor shots aren´t over lit and appear natural. One minor quibble: late in the film, a thin strip appears at the very top of the screen. It seems to bring the elements underneath it into clearer focus than the rest of the picture. This strip isn´t terribly noticeable and disappears shortly after it comes onto the screen.
AUDIO:
The 5.1 and 2.0 (English, of course) tracks are interchangeable, to be honest. Both do the best they can in creating a depth in the sound field-despite this being a subdued romance. However, the 2.0 is a bit less dynamic than the 5.1. No discernable problems are present while the soundtrack elements come across clearly.
EXTRAS:
The jewel in the crown, figuratively speaking, is the commentary with Harris Goldberg. He rarely stops speaking for the entire 93 minute running time, imparting stories from the set (Steenburgen insisted she do her sex scene topless), directing (he continually asked Perry to ratchet down the comedy) and realism (people on set wanted to cover up running mascara when Sarah cries; he fought to keep it). Goldberg is an engaging speaker, though the inclusion of anyone else involved with the production would have been a welcome diversion.
A twenty minute featurette comes up next featuring sound bites from the entire cast. Most of the information we learn in the commentary is repeated here. Lastly is a series of trailers (all of which play at the beginning of the disc also). They are: "The Air I Breathe," "The Color of Freedom," "The Strange Case of Dr. Jeyll and Mr. Hyde" and "Che."
PARTING THOUGHTS:
"Numb" is a fun little movie featuring an excellent performance from Perry and solid supporting turns by everyone around him. Equal parts humorous, romantic and even a bit sad, it proves the leading man is more than the role we all know him for.