Reviews

I remember reading Liz Gilbert's book and watching the movie shortly after it came out. Back then, I was a naive 18 or 19-year-old focused on the travel part of the book/movie. I totally missed the blatantly overt ME ME ME, first-world, third-wave feminist narrative going on. Well recently, I rewatched this movie and wow, what an eye-opener. All I can say is that this story is about a narcissistic woman who abandons her bewildered husband, supportive friends and comfy job and proceeds to: have a fling with a young, loser actor, eat herself silly in Italy (what is it with people gorging on Italian food, anyway?), pretends to find enlightenment in India by hanging out with other privileged, sad westerners and a depressed Indian girl, then goes to Bali to continue complaining about her first-world problems all the while being pursued by a hunky Brazilian. This movie should serve as a cautionary example of what modern day women should NOT do (or should serve as an example to men of what kind of women to avoid), and yet, women like Liz Gilbert are held up as role models in our backwards society. Abandoning all of your responsibilities and focusing exclusively on yourself, all the while traversing the globe, will not make your problems go away and will not bring you long-lasting fulfillment!

The bumbling, socially awkward and allegedly "savant" character of Roman is played very well by Denzel Washington. I understand that the movie was attempting to highlight two very important life lessons: "be true to yourself" and "don't compromise yourself and sell out." However, aside from these life lessons, the audience learns nothing profound about the world in which Roman resides, except that it's cruel and that nice guys finish last. Throughout the entire movie, Roman is constantly abused by people to the point that you're rooting for him and hoping all will end well, because he is well-intentioned. He wants to help those who can't help themselves. He wants to change the legal system for the better. He may be awkward, but he has a photographic memory that he tries to put to good use. Spoiler alert: It doesn't end well. After being abused throughout the whole movie, and after selling out for money, then realizing his mistake, Roman is killed off. I suppose you could argue that Roman passed his final life test by acknowledging his mistake and trying to make amends. However, it was an extremely sad and unnecessary ending to the movie. Roman never got a break for all of his good intentions, and often, even the people he was trying to help turned on him. I suppose the movie did have one final life lesson: No good deed goes unpunished.

I really wanted to like this movie. I really did. The premise is extremely interesting and the fact that it's based on a true story made it even more of a harrowing tale. My husband and I stumbled upon this movie while channel surfing overseas (go figure!). We had never even heard of this movie, but decided to give it a chance since it was an American-made film. While all of the actors are extremely attractive, the majority of them cannot act. Additionally, the portrayal of the natives is poor at best and racist at worst. I don't think the costume/design team did any research into what the natives in that particular area actually wore. When the main character, Barbara, (played by Kelly Greyson) is kidnapped and shown years later living among the natives, she's wearing a jean jacket and has a feather in her hair. Can you get any more generic?! Not to mention, all of the captives are forced to dye their blonde hair black? Really? It seems unlikely that this act actually took place back then. Additionally, the actors who portray the natives are speaking in somewhat broken English with perfect American accents. It's comical at times and annoying during other parts of the movie. I wish they could have effectively incorporated the natives' language rather than speaking in English. SPOILER ALERT AHEAD: The native who is in love with Barbara, named Galasko, is axed down by his rage-prone brother quite randomly. I understand that the brother has anger issues throughout the movie, but the plot fails to set up an arc of tension between himself and his brother effectively, or even develop the characters enough to warrant this random act of violence. In fact, this is a problem throughout the whole movie. The characterization and plot development are totally lacking. For example, when Galasko expresses his desire to marry Barbara, she is quite content. Literally one scene later, she realizes she cannot marry him because of her Christian faith (and the fact that her father's scalp hangs above Galasko's tent/home). You'd think that the Stockholm syndrome arc would be played out a little longer than one scene, but it's not. Another thing that bothered me, which bothers me about most Christian films, is how forcefully the topic of Jesus is introduced. I am a Christian and agree that we need more religious films out there. However, if the films are poorly made, then what's the point in making them? For example, in this film, Barbara has a discussion with Galasko about Jesus. The scene is so forced and cheesy, it's quite painful. Overall, this could have been a harrowing story about faith, love of family, and never giving up hope. Instead, it's a movie you watch to have some laughs.