Elizabethtown
— Overview (multimedia)
— Overview Basic (dial up speed)
— Other Reviews
— Cast and Crew
— Photo Pages
A word, This review has been reposted and due to a glitch the photos were eliminated. Sorry about that folks!
In “Elizabethtown�, Cameron Crowe, reminisces about his father who died in 1989. Cameron Crowe lost his dad while sitting on the laurels of his success with his directorial debut of “Say Anything�. One thing Cameron Crowe excels in (there are many more things than one by the way) is the ability to communicate how he’s feeling. Cameron Crowe of course is the writer-director of this film and as such performs another great service to the average guy: Expertly displaying the surrealism of a parents’ death. This is the story of a sophisticated young executive man who loses his dad unexpectedly. This is news that is piled onto an already miserable day where-in our executive (Orlando Bloom) has just lost his highly visible job at a global shoe company (pretend you don’t know of one in Oregon). He not only loses his important shoe design job he tumbles from the sky in a visible decent of Icarusean proportion. Finally, our not so intrepid hero is convinced to go to Kentucky and bring back Dad by his insistent sister (Judy Greer) and mom (Susan Sarandon). It’s a good thing too, because the shoe engineer has rigged up a pretty inventive albeit interrupted way of committing suicide. He finds that the family in Elizabethtown doesn’t know that he’s fallen from grace, yet. They know him as “Mitch’s� famous shoe designer son (Drew).
Drew Baylor (Bloom) takes the red eye to Kentucky and on the way he meets an angel, Claire (Kirsten Dunst). She is the person we all need to meet when we are at our lowest ebb in life. She is perceptive, pretty, perky but pesky. She is over-the-top with positive energy and enthusiasm for life. She must be an angel as she seems sent by God to pull Drew out of himself.
The Baylor clan comes as a complete surprise to Drew. He is the sophisticated yet brutalized success story. They are the antithesis of sophistication and success. At least as we Americans tend to see it. Everyone in town knew Mitchell Baylor, he was apparently the type of person who would promote others. He probably bragged about his son to the point they recognized him when he pulled into town in a rented car. Not much is said of Mitch’s worldly success but he is portrayed as a great man. Both success and greatness can be measured. Success has monetary value and is calculated by what you leave behind. Greatness is measured by whom you leave behind. This entire movie caused deep thought about the difference between success and greatness. We tend to measure success and greatness in financial terms. Success and greatness aren’t necessarily oxymoronic. Nor are they the same things. Some successful people are great and some are not. I would like to be a great person. The kind of person who promotes others and makes others feel important.
The best parts of this movie take place during the process of saying good bye to Drew’s dad. The memorial for Mitch is an absolute hoot that goes from ridiculous to gloomy to utter pandemonium. Not all funeral ceremonies go this way but they often feel this way.
I lost my dad unexpectedly and could feel many of the feelings that this film addresses and displays. In Elizabethtown the emotions are raw and in some cases over-the-top. Some may not appreciate the wide open nature of the characters in this film. But I can tell you that funerals and the attending memorials, wakes and condolences put you in a fog in which everyone around you seems overbearing and way-too-concerned for believability. Bigger than life if you like.
Elizabethtown is both a fun and deep movie. But it has a pace of its own. Some of the characters become caricatures of themselves. Some of the film seems absurd. It appears to be plodding, but the inconsistent pace actually makes this film more realistic. Dealing with the death of a loved one can be Kafkaesque and almost supernatural. The catalyst for all this mayhem is a dead man named Mitchell Baylor. He was the one you come to love and appreciate in this film. Yet his scenes are all of about 2 minutes of flashbacks. Cameron Crowe says this film is autobiographical. I wish I could have known Mr. Crowe’s dad.
2 Comments:
that's awesome...
but what did you think about it spiritually?...about how at the very end the lead character who once wanted to kill himself has now found a reason to live?...through the death of his father? what do you think?
My intent was to show how our lives are lived are what is important. I believe that is a very spiritual thing. Life crises a God's best ground to comfort and make himself known. I perceived Kirston Dunst as the angelic representation of this fact. Both of my parents died 92 days appart. As sad and hard as it was, I felt God's comfort around me. I'd hoped to make God's role more clear in my review. But I also wanted people to see the movie. I believe God can make the connection in the theatre.
Drew's dad made an impact on him after he died. Perhaps Mitchel Baylor could have been a better father to Drew. We don't know. I think you saw what I saw. Drew was changed by the impact his dad had on everyone in his life.
Spiritually speaking, the lives we live are important and impactful. Most of us tend to live to fulfil our own needs or career choices. We want to be full of our own accomplishments. This film is important in that it portrays a humble man, loving his family and friends. These simple characteristics make a larger and more lasting impression on people than the splash we make professionally.
I like your perceptions on the death of Mitch to the change in Drew. As to spirituality; did I answer your question? What did you see?
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home