Thursday, January 22, 2015

Since I haven't had much time to watch movies lately, I am frighteningly out of the loop. But one night over the holidays my sister brought out THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY, insisting I would love it.

She was right. I ended up watching it again the very next day, in fact. The film was endearing and heartwarming, much like Mitty himself. Even though there are not many young adults in the film, it felt very much like a coming-of-age story. Except that instead of a confused, self-conscious teen, the protagonist was a quiet, unassuming middle-aged man who spent his free time caring for his aging mother, pining for a pretty co-worker, and daydreaming of adventure.

When Mitty finally embarked on some real adventures of his own, I felt like a supportive parent shouting, "You go, Walter!" Yes, the adventures were far-fetched (i.e., jumping from a helicopter into shark-infested waters off the coast of Greenland), but somehow it all came off as charming and delightful instead of annoying.

MITTY, starring Ben Stiller (who also directed the film), was understated and carefully executed. The cinematography was cleverly artistic and the scenery breathtaking. I still get goosebumps thinking about Mitty skateboarding down that deserted highway in Iceland. With a great soundtrack and supporting cast that includes Shirley MacLain, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott and Sean Penn, the movie is quiet and profound, humorous and quirky and surprisingly sweet, all at once...


The film was based on a four-page short story written by James Thurber in 1939, so I immediately tracked down the original story and gobbled it up. Of course, Stiller took a lot of creative license creating his version of a modern-day Mitty adventure. All I can say is, it totally worked.

Have you seen this movie yet or read the short story? What did you think?

5 comments:

Kristan said...

Haven't seen it yet, but it's on my DVR, and after reading your post, I'm determined to watch it very soon! Sounds kind of magical. :)

Mary @ BookSwarm said...

I LOVED this movie! Didn't expect to. Even convinced my parents to watch it. Loved the cinematography of it all.

iLuvReadingTooMuch said...

I seriously love this movie. I’ve already seen it two or three times, and it never fails to impress me. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, the cast is great– amazing. Need to watch this one again soon :)

Ingrid Palmer said...

I know what you mean-- I could watch this movie over and over. I keep watching the trailer just to get a SLOWM "fix"

Unknown said...

I hadn't heard of this movie either until you mentioned it. I'm gad you liked it though. I think it could be a nice bucketlist-type movie to watch.

-Mari

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Stephanie, Ingrid, Sarah & Kristan — we read, write, discuss and celebrate Young Adult lit.


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The Bitter Kingdom
Wild Awake
The Raven Boys
Mind Games
Eleanor and Park
The Shattered Mountain
The Shadow Cats
Transparent
Froi of the Exiles
Days of Blood & Starlight
Every Day
Jellicoe Road
Finnikin of the Rock
Guitar Notes
The Dead-Tossed Waves
The Crown of Embers
New House 5: How A Dorm Becomes A Home
Bitterblue
The Fault in Our Stars
Pretties


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