FROM THE ARCHIVES: The X-Files: I Want To Believe

Originally Posted 12.05.2008

Directed by Chris Carter
Written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz
Starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Billy Connolly, Amanda Peet, Xzibit, Mitch Pileggi

After much excitement and build-up, on 25 July this year I went to see the new X-Files film, subtitled I Want To Believe, on opening day. It had been six years since the TV show ended, and I had anticipated this film for a long time. It was bound to happen that I left the theatre somewhat disappointed. It wasn’t the film I had expected it to be, I’ll be honest. And yet, over the last few months, I have been thinking about the film a lot. A lot a lot. Now having got the DVD, and watched the film a couple more times, I am comfortable in saying it does justice to its pedigree, and may actually be one of my favorite films of 2008. Not one of the best, but definitely one of my favorites.

Let me be completely open up front: I am an X-Phile. I love the show. I spent a small fortune on the DVDs when they first came out, and have seen every episode at least four times. Many of them I have seen dozens of times, and a few – the first movie, Fight The Future, included – I can recite line-for-line. On a personal level the show means a lot to be. It is not simply a geek love that I possess for the show, it is so much more than that. The X-Files ran for nine years, during which time I was going through puberty, those awkward teenage years, growing up and discovering myself. Through it all, The X-Files was there for me. It became like a security blanket of sorts. No matter how much angst was going on in my teenage head, I knew that once a week Mulder and Scully would be there for me to take me out of my life and entertain me. Due to a combination of factors which will never be recreated, The X-Files became an integral part of my life. It may seem bizarre to anyone else, but to me it means a hell of a lot.

As I matured, as I started thinking about my own life, so The X-Files was there as a touchstone always. At first I aspired to be like Mulder and Scully. I acquired a dry sense of humor and a taste for sunflower seeds, courtesy of Mulder. Scully inspired me to take a more active interest in science. (I attempted an A-level in Biology, but despite finding the subject fascinating found I was unable to retain the details necessary for excelling in the examinations). And of course there was the philosophy at the core of the show…

In my mind, the current habit of comparing highbrow TV shows to a contemporary form of literature began with The X-Files. As philosophical as Lost might be, and as probing as The Wire may have been; The X-Files was there first. To me, The X-Files was always a show which dealt about with faith. In the very first episode we are introduced to the basic premise – two FBI agents investigate various cases that have elements of the unexplainable or the paranormal about them. One is a believer, and one is a skeptic. But there is far more to it that that. Really, although these characters are positioned as opposites they are far more similar. Mulder is a believer, predominantly, in aliens. Scully does not believe in extra-terrestrial life, much less that it has reached Earth. She, on the other hand, is a Catholic struggling to reconnect with a faith she had lost touched with. She wants to believe in God just as much as her partner wants to believe in aliens. Both their beliefs compliment each other whilst simultaneously mirroring as well. Neither belief can be proven or unproven; a belief in aliens is just as unquantifiable as a belief in God. Yet both belief what they do completely, they both have faith, albeit of a different kind.

It can be no accident for me, that as I was growing up and making up my own mind of what I believed, that The X-Files became a security blanket. As a child I was aware of the church, we had stories from the bible in school assemblies. It wasn’t so much that I was raised to be a strong Christian per se, but I knew the church was there, and had never really questioned it and just assumed that’s what everyone believed. But as I grew up, grew into myself and learned more about who I was, I discovered I was an atheist. I am a sceptic, actually, of most of these beliefs. Not only do I not believe in a God, neither do I believe in aliens, or ghosts, or anything of that nature. I am happy and confident in my belief, and I believe everyone has the freedom to believe and do whatever they choose, so long as they do not hurt others in the process. My point is, that The X-Files really put it front and centre for me that no-one has any right to make you ashamed of what you believe with your very core. Everyone is different. Everyone believes in different things. And yet if Mulder and Scully are so different, and yet can get along so well, why can’t we all? We might, everyone of us, put our faith in different things, but ultimately we have all been through similar experiences resulting in our believing whatever it is we do. For me, it’s something that continues to interest me, despite the fact I know what I believe, and know that I will never change my mind. And although it can’t be the sole factor, I credit The X-Files with playing a big part of my continued interest in the subject.

There is one particular episode of the TV show which I keep thinking back to as I go over my thoughts of I Want To Believe. It’s the fourth season finale, an episode entitled Gethsemane. There is a scene where Mulder and Scully argue over pursuing what is either a genuine alien corpse, preserved in a glacier, or an elaborate hoax. Mulder wants to go after it, hold the evidence in his hands, and discover the truth. Scully is far more reluctant, not only because this is not her quest, but also because she realizes that whatever proof can be offered either to support or detract from one’s core faith, it doesn’t matter. You believe what you believe whatever the evidence says. That is the very nature of faith. That scene encapsulates for me the very essence of what The X-Files is all about. And it is exactly what is echoed in I Want To Believe.

As I said before, watching the film for the first time I expected something different, and I think my first experience of the film would have benefited from a slight synopsis. So allow me to give you what I consider the necessary context for you to truly appreciate this film: An FBI agent is kidnapped, and Mulder and Scully are called in to investigate a psychic who claims to be having visions connected to the case. The “x-file” is the psychic. His name is Father Joe, he is an ex-priest and convicted pedophile. And so this case ties into the larger themes of the show as Father Joe’s very legitimacy becomes of utmost importance – if he isn’t faking it, what do his visions mean? Are they the voice of God working through him, letting him do something good to repent his former sins, in order to save his eternal soul? …Or something else?

Viewing the film on this level, its true brilliance is visible. Fight The Future was a big, gung-ho action blockbuster of a film. I Want To Believe is not. So it was understandable that this film got little praise, even from die hard X-Philes. It’s all about context. Because of what the first film was, people expected more of the same, and it couldn’t be more different. Because it was released in the middle of summer, traditionally the time of epic action flicks that are big of visual excitement and lacking in philosophy, people didn’t expect the very antithesis of that. This is a wonderful, wonderful film. But it would have benefitted much more if it had been released in late November, rather than the middle of summer.

I have long thought The X-Files is a wonderful storytelling vehicle. It is a show which could have gone on forever. Even with departure of its original believer/sceptic duo, and their replacements of Doggett and Reyes (two casually underrated characters) it continued to reach new heights every week. With I Want To Believe it continues this trend of success, of premier storytelling, and thoughtful explorations of eternal themes. Everything about the film is wonderful. I truly love it. I really do. It’s great to have Mulder and Scully back in action together. The visuals are stunning. The music enchanting. The whole thing, captivating. Throw in a Oscar-worthy performance by Billy Connelly as Father Joe, and you’ve got a near perfect film that sadly, it seems, will never get the recognition it truly deserves.

But then I am biased. I love The X-Files. Seriously. I love The X-Files. Even those episodes I’ve seen more than any others, they continue to touch me in ways few other shows or movies ever have. For those of you out there who can’t understand why I love The X-Files so much, well I hope I’ve put it into some kind of context for you. Hopefully you will appreciate the show more because of it. Hopefully you’ll go back and watch it all again. Go out and buy I Want To Believe. Hopefully if it makes enough money on DVD then we’ll see Mulder, Scully and (please!) Doggett reunite for a third feature film. It’s still possible, right? I want to believe.

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