Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, "50/50" is an original story (inspired by the real experiences of the screenwriter) about love, friendship, survival and finding humor in the most unlikely of places. It's also stars a cancer patient. Unlikely place indeed.
Gordon-Levitt's character is diagnosed with cancer, and meets with a young psychologist (played by Anna Kendrick) in order to work out his emotions. What he ends up finding is a deeper appreciation of life and what bizarre turns people take to consider themselves "healthy."
This week, I am stretching back to 1983.
Okay, let's keep the heavy topic of cancer. "50/50" may keep it light, but I'll take a film that treats the disease with a bit more gravitas. Surprisingly, that really narrows my options. People don't like films about terminal illnesses, at least not nowadays. However, back in 1983, a cancer film received a Best Picture Oscar along with 4 other statuettes.
This week, I'll look at the 1983 tearjerker "Terms of Endearment."
"Terms of Endearment" follows Aurora and Emma, a mother and daughter pair. They have their ups and downs, as all mothers and daughters: Aurora is fiercely protective, Emma marries a wishy-washy teacher, Aurora hates the new son-in-law but loves the grandkids, Emma and her husband both fall into affairs. You know, comedy stuff. About 75 minutes of the film is simple 80's schlock, like "Steel Magnolias" without the diabetes. Speaking of that particular dark turn... like "Steel Magnolias," "Terms of Endearment" turns heavy when Emma is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Mother and daughter need to come to terms before Emma dies. Emma must let Aurora care for her children, and Aurora must let her little girl go. So yeah, really heavy by the credit roll.
The Final Stretch:
Cancer is hard to tackle as a filmmaker. Either of these films could have been weepy or piteous. Despite this, both of these movies approach the topic in a respectful manner, showing the human side of an inhuman illness. One captures the modern fight by using gentle humor, while the other looks at how a fatal disease can upend families in one fell swoop. Cancer is a hard topic, but putting that fight on film can share the human experience and showcase great light in dark hours.
"Human side of an inhuman illness" . . . I like that. Going through the experience with my father, focusing on the human side was the only thing that keep us sane. And I experienced that family "upending"—not an easy thing to go through. Thanks for your post and for your great writing.
ReplyDeleteThese both seem like great movies.. I haven't seen either of them.. yet. I think I will plan on watching them both. The stories will hit home in a way I haven't been able to understand before. That probably means, I will cry, but hey. Great movies should invoke an emotional response, right?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the introduction of two movies for my "to-watch" list!