To be perfectly honest, I was quite apprehensive about it, which being a faithful chick-flick fan, surprises me more than it would you. The first time I saw the trailer for it, I was sold. Shoe-in; pretty much going to see it the moment it hit the cinemas. But each time I saw the advert after that, a slow but ever-present adversity began to rise up inside of me. I thought, "great, not another crap quality Hollywood sop-fest." This was the source of today being a toss up between the contender and Alice In Wonderland. But because 'John' was playing at 1.30pm, which suited me better than 2.00pm, 'John' it was.
My first observation of the film was that it was Nicholas Sparks through and through. Please don't mistake me for a literary snob - I haven't read any of his books, and don't know how true they are to the films. However, I have seen 'The Notebook' and 'A Walk To Remember,' and while these films are quite set apart from each other, they do carry a similar tune. And it's only today that I realised what that tune is. The sweet but sad melody of reality. These films tell tales of people who have loved, lost, been given chances, have missed opportunities, and been bruised by the cruel curveballs that life can throw at us.
In return for what I expected to be a sad, soppy and phony love story, was a raw, flawed and beautiful following of the lives of two people who love, endure, breakdown, lose and find it in their hearts to forgive, which is expressed through the most extraordinary gestures. Which is, now I come to think about it, the expression of love in its most pure form.
I don't want to give anything in the film away - all I'll say is that it is definitely worth seeing. It's not predictable (not to me anyway), and like the generic nature of the name 'John,' it depicts life in a very un-Hollywood-like manner of normal. Things don't always work out - relationships, dreams, hopes, expectations of people...People make mistakes - even stupid ones like saying the wrong thing, tripping and falling on hot coals, treading on pins (did that this morning - um, ouch!) and even neglecting to value someone before it's too late.
Somedays, life can seem like a fairytale. But others (most others), are days filled with drudgery, disappointment and difficulty, which often overshadow anything good that might happen.
And that's why I like this film. Amanda Seyfried does not have the perfect body shape. In fact, through the course of the film, she is shot without a skerrick of make-up. John (Channing Tatum), has a dysfunctional relationship with his father. Summer has to end eventually, and time runs out in other ways over the years, but life must go on, and they (and we), must find a way to cope with the broken pieces of leftover 'life' glass. Soldiers get shot in wars. Plans change without our consent, which sometimes forces us to make impossible decisions.
I wish more films would convey this reality. It's no 'Saving Private Ryan' or 'Slumdog Millionaire' but it does relate to the people of today.
I have to go to work tomorrow. And I really don't want to. I have lines to learn for NIDA, and I know it's going to be a struggle finding time. I don't have a lot of money in the bank at the moment. And if I don't have a shower soon, my flatmate will get annoyed at me, and I'll feel as though my inhabitance in this flat is being threatened. All I really want to do is win a role in a television series and start living my dream...
The road ahead is so uncertain. It's rocky, arduous, scary and tedious. And all I know, at the moment, is that I miss home so much it hurts. And I don't feel like I will prevail.
But if I want this as much as I say I do, I just have to.
Be encouraged. Find gem stones in the smallest of things, like a friendly colleague who makes an effort to say hi to you in the street or at the supermarket, or helping someone who is truly grateful and appreciative, regardless of how small your assistance is. Even receiving a nice text message from a friend...
I hope your Monday wasn't too manic. And that sparkly gems pop up in the stone walls of your burdens this week.
love, love, love
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