Quid Pro Quo

From an actor’s standpoint, "Quid Pro Quo" is a doozy of a showcase. Nick Stahl and Vera Farmiga play opposite sides of the same transmogrified coin in an intriguing puzzle of a movie designed to keep audience discussions going long after the projector stops. Issac Knott (Stahl) is a New York public radio journalist confined to a wheelchair since age 8, when he was paralyzed in a car accident that killed his parents. Fiona (Farmiga) is a museum art restoration specialist obsessed with proving her inner paralysis by living like Issac, within the confines of a wheelchair. The two become lovers just as Issac discovers a pair of vintage shoes called "spectators" that enable him to walk. Writer/director Carlos Brooks makes an auspicious debut with a psychological drama that uses brush strokes from films like David Cronenberg’s "Crash" and David Fincher’s "Fight Club" to gradually develop a psychological revelation that is at once surprising and virtuous. Although not a perfect film, "Quid Pro Quo" is a highly crafted cinematic achievement that taps into its characters’ subconscious with surgical precision and elegant assurance.

Rated R, 82 mins. (B+) (Four Stars)