On Sunday afternoon I went with a group of friends to see Eat Pray Love, a movie based on a book by Elizabeth Gilbert. Because I had read the book, I knew what to expect. It's a good thing I did, because my 84-year old neighbor panned it big-time. She didn't like the men in the movie (they were scruffy, she said) and she didn't like that some of the characters spoke softly. She also didn't like those people with accents. Since the movie was set in Italy, India, and Bali, it's no wonder she didn't like it!
The greatest strength of the movie had to be Julia Roberts,a fine actress by anyone's standards. She sails through the movie spot-on, with each scene evincing the appropriate emotion from the audience and keeping us moving forward with her quest for self-understanding. Her character, Liz, found ways to adapt to each new country's demands with grace, humility, and a sense of humor. Other actors, especially the actor who portrays Richard Hill, are excellent. When Hill gives Liz the nickname "Goceries," we see not only his humor, but his keen insight into her nature and her needs.
The movie's greatest weakness is that it is psychologically demanding. The viewer travels around the world with an emotionally fragile woman, slowly but surely watching her fall apart and come back together. This is a woman's movie; only a very sensitive man would see the point of all this emotional turmoil. While the scenery is great, the action in the movie is nearly non-existent. In fact, we don't even see her get on or off an airplane in her travels. It's mostly walking and talking.
So is it worth the price of admission? I say yes, but I am also a person who paid the money to buy the book, and I enjoyed the read. It's a woman's movie, and I don't know how else to put it. Unless you're into emotional growth, you'll probably wish you had stayed home.
But go anyway. It will make your wife/mother/girlfriend/aunt/sister happy.
Mrs. B
The greatest strength of the movie had to be Julia Roberts,a fine actress by anyone's standards. She sails through the movie spot-on, with each scene evincing the appropriate emotion from the audience and keeping us moving forward with her quest for self-understanding. Her character, Liz, found ways to adapt to each new country's demands with grace, humility, and a sense of humor. Other actors, especially the actor who portrays Richard Hill, are excellent. When Hill gives Liz the nickname "Goceries," we see not only his humor, but his keen insight into her nature and her needs.
The movie's greatest weakness is that it is psychologically demanding. The viewer travels around the world with an emotionally fragile woman, slowly but surely watching her fall apart and come back together. This is a woman's movie; only a very sensitive man would see the point of all this emotional turmoil. While the scenery is great, the action in the movie is nearly non-existent. In fact, we don't even see her get on or off an airplane in her travels. It's mostly walking and talking.
So is it worth the price of admission? I say yes, but I am also a person who paid the money to buy the book, and I enjoyed the read. It's a woman's movie, and I don't know how else to put it. Unless you're into emotional growth, you'll probably wish you had stayed home.
But go anyway. It will make your wife/mother/girlfriend/aunt/sister happy.
Mrs. B
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