“There should prolly be a statute of limitations for how long it can be since I’ve seen a movie and still be able to write it up. It’s been two weeks and a day on this one. I could just walk away and no one would be the wiser, but I had a lot of thoughts on it. I didn’t do the write up immediately as I should have because I spent the whole film wrapping someone’s bday present and then it was late and I was tired. Then it’s been deprioritized after theater movies and write ups within the hour of credits rolling on the DVD.
I’ve come a very long way since I first saw this ten years ago. I pretty much just went to see it because of Elijah Wood. Remember, this was prime Frodo time for him. I would have followed him to any film. I was kinda intrigued to see Jim Carey in a more serious role. I’m generally a fan of comedic actors going dramatic like that. I wasn’t a fan of the seemingly romantic storyline, and I only knew Kate Winslet as that chick from Titanic. I’d never even heard of Mark Ruffalo.
I didn’t like it then. I was confused by the non-linear storyline. It was too sappy. Elijah Wood was kinda dumb. I simply didn’t get it, and I didn’t understand why people spoke so highly of it. I eventually acquired the DVD as a gift from a friend who owed me a favor. I gave it another chance, and wasn’t as opposed to it, but I was still missing something.
Over time, as it’d come up and I’d think about the movie, my opinion got more and more favorable of it. I learned more about film, and realized that this truly is a masterwork. When it’s cubby came up in the movie wall rotation, I had to give it another go.
This time, I loved it. The imagery is beautiful. The “”confusing”” storyline is inspired. The characters may be a little bit annoying for me, but the performances are spectacular. Jim Carey truly does nail it as Joel, in a very un-Jim Carey piece. Winslet is captivating and whimsical before she started chasing more serious and stoic roles. Maybe I still got caught up trying to untangle the order of things, but it didn’t matter. Maybe it was still a little sappy for me, but I didn’t care. I’ve seen so many movies over the past ten years, and nothing I’ve seen is anything remotely like this beautiful film.”