John Turteltaub directed the drama, which lapses into medical jargon and new-age clichés near the end, but it scores telling points with its respect for intelligence and optimistic view of human potential.
Opposing to the astonishingly acid critics review, to me, the story reflects deeply how fears (of being hurt in Kyra Sedgwick, of loving a father in her child when John Malley comes into their lives and he has the possibility of restoring the presence of a father, and his trauma for divorce abandoment drives him away from Malley, the isolation into fantasy of John's friend, who evades reality with Diana Ross not to confront his deep loneliness in terms of couple, social fears from the people when he becomes different...) can change our lives and keep us from relating to others, to love. Incredible actors, music, photography. Beautiful. Whoever focuses on the feasibility of the supernatural, did not understand the move. John Malleys dialogue with the doctor at the end, incredibly deep, therefore, not undertood by whoever is not able to go that deep into human experience in general. Only Travolta and Kyra Sedgewick could be the characters and Duvall the doctor and the friend...
Well-meaning and convinced it has something of value to say, its "Reach Out and Touch Someone" sensibility ensures that all its satisfactions will prove hollow, and so they do.
Autant le dire tout de suite, PhÃnomène n'est pas un film mÃmorable. En effet, il est l'exemple type de la gentille comÃdie tout droit sortie des studios hollywoodiens qui flirte avec le fantastique pour attirer les spectateurs (en plus du casting, composà tout de même de John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, Robert Duvall...). Avec une mise en scène plate et une bande son trop poussÃe lors des sÃquences romantiques ou tristes, le film ne cache en aucun cas son statut de divertissement amÃricain. Mais il faut bien reconnaÃtre que PhÃnomène reste avant tout attachant. En premier lieu par ses personnages, assez bien interprÃtÃs; et par son histoire qui prend enfin de l'ampleur après une première partie axÃe sur la comÃdie orientÃe fantastique/science-fiction, grâce à un retournement de situation astucieux sur ce que vit le personnage de Travolta. Un film juste attachant et pas dÃsagrÃable à regarder.