Young city couple goes from college romance to marriage and the birth of their child... and this should be enough to get you started.
The result is an ambitious sad drama that has enough of good stuff to win over some weepies' fans... but it did not save it from getting mauled by critics.
I understand what the reviewers don't like about it but personally, I still find the result compelling, and overall a solid job by by screenwriter and second time director, Dan Fogelman.
Essentially, "Life Itself" is about love, with all the necessary components that look real nice in such kind of a movie (good-looking people, big feelings, honest conversations etc).
Looking closer, though, it's most interested in a certain aspect or kind of love - this obsessiveness that comes from unfulfilled longing. One wants somebody or something from somebody more than the other one can not offer, and both suffer for that.
The story is playful - there are different threads that jump back and forth in time and place, from memories to real-life to meta-commentary (breaking the fourth wall and letting the characters talk directly to the viewer).
Also, the finale does an impressive job at stringing everything together, although I didn't appreciate the unnecessarily sugar-coated tone.
But despite the ambitious approach to building it all up, the story itself is actually quite shallow - more interested in showing off the actors and spreading Spirituality 101 slogans such as "power of love overcomes all" and "everything is connected" than going beyond the popculture mainstream views about what love is.
Having written that, the performances really are impressive all-around, and captivate with their passion and authenticity.
"Life Itself" is an ensemble work, so there are about 15 characters of importance, although many don't get much screen time.
I can't decide who to leave out, so I am just gonna list all that merit a mention: Oscar Isaac, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Antonio Banderas, Laia Costa, Olivia Wilde, Olivia Cooke, Àlex Monner, Mandy Patinkin, Annette Bening, Isabel Durant, Jean Smart, Samuel L. Jackson, and Lorenza Izzo.
Ensemble movies are relatively rare, especially those which really take the most of the big cast. I'd call "Life Itself" one of the more successful ones.
There's a lot of pleasure to be had just watching Isaac going through personal hell, or triangle of Peris-Mencheta, Banderas and Costa, or always solid Patinkin aka the human equivalent of a perfect comfort food, or even Jackson in unexpected but surprisingly humorous appearance in the beginning.
Oscar Isaac is one my personal favorite actors of the last five years or so, and "Life Itself" turns out to be a near-perfect showcase of his greatness.
The ease with which he adapts to the ever-changing first chapter really screams for the Oscar nomination - the volatileness, tenderness and playfulness all combined in one very f-d up young man... I loved it.
So. Despite its hidden shallows, this two hour journey has enough charms to keep the sad story lovin' audience invested.
Yes, the screenplay should dig deeper psychologically but even some "Facebook deep" is better than no deep at all.
Fogelman is still not quite the distinguished storyteller he'd like to be but this panorama of lives and loves is decidedly more heartfelt and inventive than any of his earlier work. Of which "Guilt Trip" and "Danny Collins" are the more noteworthy examples.
The result is an ambitious sad drama that has enough of good stuff to win over some weepies' fans... but it did not save it from getting mauled by critics.
I understand what the reviewers don't like about it but personally, I still find the result compelling, and overall a solid job by by screenwriter and second time director, Dan Fogelman.
Essentially, "Life Itself" is about love, with all the necessary components that look real nice in such kind of a movie (good-looking people, big feelings, honest conversations etc).
Looking closer, though, it's most interested in a certain aspect or kind of love - this obsessiveness that comes from unfulfilled longing. One wants somebody or something from somebody more than the other one can not offer, and both suffer for that.
The story is playful - there are different threads that jump back and forth in time and place, from memories to real-life to meta-commentary (breaking the fourth wall and letting the characters talk directly to the viewer).
Also, the finale does an impressive job at stringing everything together, although I didn't appreciate the unnecessarily sugar-coated tone.
But despite the ambitious approach to building it all up, the story itself is actually quite shallow - more interested in showing off the actors and spreading Spirituality 101 slogans such as "power of love overcomes all" and "everything is connected" than going beyond the popculture mainstream views about what love is.
Having written that, the performances really are impressive all-around, and captivate with their passion and authenticity.
"Life Itself" is an ensemble work, so there are about 15 characters of importance, although many don't get much screen time.
I can't decide who to leave out, so I am just gonna list all that merit a mention: Oscar Isaac, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Antonio Banderas, Laia Costa, Olivia Wilde, Olivia Cooke, Àlex Monner, Mandy Patinkin, Annette Bening, Isabel Durant, Jean Smart, Samuel L. Jackson, and Lorenza Izzo.
Ensemble movies are relatively rare, especially those which really take the most of the big cast. I'd call "Life Itself" one of the more successful ones.
There's a lot of pleasure to be had just watching Isaac going through personal hell, or triangle of Peris-Mencheta, Banderas and Costa, or always solid Patinkin aka the human equivalent of a perfect comfort food, or even Jackson in unexpected but surprisingly humorous appearance in the beginning.
Oscar Isaac is one my personal favorite actors of the last five years or so, and "Life Itself" turns out to be a near-perfect showcase of his greatness.
The ease with which he adapts to the ever-changing first chapter really screams for the Oscar nomination - the volatileness, tenderness and playfulness all combined in one very f-d up young man... I loved it.
So. Despite its hidden shallows, this two hour journey has enough charms to keep the sad story lovin' audience invested.
Yes, the screenplay should dig deeper psychologically but even some "Facebook deep" is better than no deep at all.
Fogelman is still not quite the distinguished storyteller he'd like to be but this panorama of lives and loves is decidedly more heartfelt and inventive than any of his earlier work. Of which "Guilt Trip" and "Danny Collins" are the more noteworthy examples.