WHINE COMPLAIN MOAN: a review of "Eat Pray Love"

"EAT PRAY LOVE"
Based upon the book Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Screenplay Written by Ryan Murphy and Jennifer Salt
Directed by Ryan Murphy
*1/2 (one and a half stars)

I really, really, really did not like this movie.

Now before any of my dear female readers clock me with any potential statements of me, a man, not liking or enjoying anything resembling so called “chick flicks,” please allow me to have the floor for a moment.

I am happy to go on the record for Savage Cinema when I proclaim that I have never liked the term “chick flick.” It has always struck me as a derogatory term designed to denigrate and diminish the artistry and importance of movies involving and driven by female protagonists and catering to a female audience. That said, I can almost understand how this term continues to flourish as many of the major released films from Hollywood that center around women do tend to be more of a frivolous nature. If there were a wider variety of films, topics and subject matter and if there were more women writers and directors commandeering Hollywood dollars, then the presence of one more brain dead romantic comedy would not do much to damage to how women are presented in the movies. Unfortunately, that is not what we have these days. Even in the 21st century, most major releases starring women and created by women do tend to fall somewhere within the brain dead romantic comedy genre (I’m setting my sights upon you Sandra Bullock and Katherine Heigl).

The phenomenon of Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir Eat Pray Love has passed me by completely. So completely that I honestly had no idea of what it was about or whether it was fiction or non-fiction. By the time I had realized that a film version was to be released this past summer, my curiosity was piqued to discover its subject matter. The concept of a woman traveling around the world for spiritual transcendence spoke to me and by this point, I felt that perhaps here was an opportunity to have a major star and studio headline the exact type of film we usually see men fronting. Finally, we would see a big budget release that dealt with philosophical issues just as we have seen men tackle time and again. So imagine the profound level of disappointment I felt while I viewed Director Ryan Murphy’s adaptation as this was material with the inherent potential to be a transformative cinematic experience and yet all I felt that I received was a self-important journey of a whiny and unappreciative narcissist.

Julia Roberts stars as Elizabeth “Liz” Gilbert, a writer of perpetual dissatisfaction with her stage in life. When we meet her, she is working in Bali, preparing to interview Ketut, an elderly medicine man (Hadi Subiyanto). During their meeting, Ketut prophesies that Liz’s life will be long, she will have two marriages-one short, one lengthy, she will lose all of her money only to regain it in the future and finally, she will one day return to Bali to teach the medicine man English. After Liz returns to New York and her unhappy eight-year marriage to the wayward Stephen (Billy Crudup), she boldly divorces him and soon recklessly falls into the arms of David Picolo (James Franco), a 28 year old struggling actor, a decision which then leads to more emotional unfulfillment. Feeling a spiritual disconnection with the world itself and feeling troubled that since the age of 15, she has been in one relationship or another, she decides to walk away from her life for one year of travel to Italy, India and Bali, respectively, with the purpose of finding herself and emerging transformed from her experiences.

As I have previously stated, the concept is intriguing and I would like to think is somewhat universal. It doesn’t matter if one is a man or a woman to feel that societal itch and dissatisfaction to the degree that one would want to run away from it all to gain new insights into life itself. Who could not relate to that? During the Italy section of the film, Liz tries to find the pleasure in “the sweetness of doing nothing,” and in our accelerated society at this point in our collective accelerated place in history, I can honestly tell you that I would love the opportunity to discover that elusive sweetness. Wouldn’t you?

Since I have not read the source material, I am in no position to judge. But, as far as the film version is concerned, the problem with “Eat Pray Love” is a surprisingly massive lack of depth in relation to the heady subject matter. Liz is terribly self-absorbed, selfish, judgmental, impulsive to a fault and frankly, not very likable at all. Certainly I do not require all of my leading film protagonists to be likable, especially female protagonists. Just this summer, in Director Lisa Cholodenko’s excellent “The Kids Are All Right,” we were graced with Annette Bening’s outstanding performance of a character who is decidedly difficult to like as she is fueled through resentment, control issues, a superiority complex and a nasty alcohol dependency. But, what is gathered throughout that story is a certain understanding and empathy of who she is and why she is the way she is. With “Eat Pray Love,” I never felt that I received that level of complexity and attention to the character of Liz who seems to constantly be in a state of displeasure and self-pity and it made it nearly impossible to connect with her and find that empathy the filmmakers obviously wanted the audience to have. On and on throughout the movie she wails about how “No one is waiting at home for me!” or statements of that ilk and the effect is tiring.

I actually began feeling frustrated with Liz during the film’s first 30 minutes or so and I told myself to be patient as she had not begun her travels yet. That perhaps once she began to eat, pray and love, we would then see the work behind the self-discovery and feel a certain transformation with her. Yet, I could not figure out just why I was having so much trouble connecting with this woman. During those 30 minutes, I found myself thinking back to Writer/Director Cameron Crowe’s “Jerry Maguire” (1996), a film that truly elicited a sense of spiritual deliverance for me. I recalled how Crowe gave the audience enough detail at that film’s outset and in just the right amounts that you completely knew who Jerry Maguire was and what his internal dilemma and eventual epiphany was all about. When Maguire says during his spiritual panic that, “I hated myself. I hated my place in the world,” you understood it and the remainder of that film showed the hard work he put himself through to live up to the best of himself. By that film’s conclusion, we arrive at a Jerry Maguire who had reached a new spiritual level yet was indeed (and rightfully) more informed than fully transformed as evolution is a process.

With “Eat Pray Love,” the details of this character were scant at best. We know she’s unhappy but why really? Shortly after we meet Liz and her husband Stephen at a party and view them driving home, Stephen informs her of his decision to return to school and obtain a Master’s degree in Education. In the very next scene, Liz announces that she wants a divorce. But why? What was it about their marriage that disappointed her so much that she arrived at this point? While we didn’t need another hour of footage to illustrate their marriage, I felt we needed something substantial and it just wasn’t there. And soon, I felt this sense of resentment Liz had towards anyone who seemed to have a purpose in life that she did not have herself, another trait that kept her at arms length from me.

By the time Liz does embark upon her world travels, she, and the film, remains superficial and the more redemptive spirit I assumed would occur never arrives. Throughout everywhere she goes and everyone she meets, Liz never seems to learn anything or take anything inwards and her experiences are always presented as how she has effected the people and places around her and how wonderful she is for doing so.

For instance, Liz is particularly and maddeningly insufferable during an imaginary conversation she holds with Stephen while in India. It is a sequence meant to signify a sense of self-forgiveness due to her hurtful actions but it smacks completely false. What should have been “I’m sorry I hurt you and broke your heart,” was ultimately, “I am such a wonderful person that I will allow you to keep longing for me and allow you to forget me and move one and it’s OK because I’ve reached this new sense of enlightenment.” Another scene late in the movie, designed to present a new sense of altruism also reeks of self-aggrandizement. And another sequence, set in Italy, is sadly hypocritical as Liz explains to her new friend Sofi (Tuva Novotny), while eating a gorgeous plate of pizza, that she will no longer count calories, no longer obsess over weight and just enjoy this glorious food…and then, just buy a larger sized pair of jeans. But then, we are given yet another “Julia Roberts tries on clothes” sequence where she attempts to stuff herself into the very pair of jeans she claimed she would no longer purchase in the first place.

Where and how did this movie go so horribly wrong? By the film's conclusion, I had to wonder if it was possibly the wrong filmmaker for this material. Ryan Murphy, a director for the television series “Nip/Tuck”, the juggernaut “Glee” as well as the poorly received theatrical adaptation of “Running With Scissors” (2006), seems to still be learning and discovering exactly how to utilize cinematography for the process of storytelling. Even with the cinematography provided by the legendary Robert Richardson, Murphy’s camera is overactive and never allows scenes to flow naturally or allows viewers to completely take in the locations it desperately wants to flaunt. When I saw Anthony Minghella’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley” (1999) or Wes Anderson’s “The Darjeeling Limited” (2007) or Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (2008), all three of those films gave me sumptuous sights to languish in, and they even inspired an inner desire to travel to Italy, India and Spain, respectively. While “Eat Pray Love” is stunningly photographed throughout, Murphy is all swirling, spinning cameras, feverishly trying to create glory when all he needed to do was let the camera sit still and allow us to drink in the sensory experience via osmosis. Murphy needs to let the story inform the cinematography and not the other way around and his forcefulness made me disconnect.

There is also trouble with the screenplay written by Murphy and his writing partner, actress Jennifer Salt (who is also a writer for “Nip/Tuck”) as it seems to almost be afraid to delve as deeply as necessary to make Liz’s evolution palpable to audiences. This lack of substance can immediately be seen in a short and stunning sequence, set in India, and featuring veteran character actor Richard Jenkins as “Richard from Texas.” In mere minutes, Jenkins delivers a powerful monologue that essentially gives us a complete sense of this man’s life, his losses, his inner tragedy and his search for redemption. Again, we are given enough information to fully understand and empathize with this man. The same level of information that never exists for the leading character. Viola Davis as Liz’s best friend also strikes strong notes that inform the audience of her character’s life. Javier Bardem arrives within the Bali section of the film and he is also able to present to us a fullness of a life and the pain within--most notably in a tender moment between himself and his 19 year old son. And then, here’s Julia Roberts as Liz, dressed in beautiful clothes, framed by gorgeous lighting and flashing that smile we all know so well and for what purpose and to what end? By the film's conclusion, what should have been an intensely and entertaining road to a deeper understanding of self and one's place in the world at large just seemed to be a spoiled woman's year long vacation that really leaves her exactly where she began. The screenplay has too many holes that need to be filled and maybe Elizabeth Gilbert should have written it herself.

Quite possibly, the biggest problem with "Eat Pray Love" is indeed the elephant in the room and that is the character of Liz and the presence of Julia Roberts. If Murphy may not have been the right filmmaker for this material, I am thinking that Roberts was just not the right actress for this role. While not a favorite by any means, Julia Roberts is an actress I have enjoyed for many years and she does indeed have the ability to dig deeply as her Oscar wining performance in Steven Soderbergh’s “Erin Brockovich” (2000) and Mike Nichols' “Closer” (2004) demonstrated. But with "Eat Pray Love," she seems to be acting solely by the wattage of her star power and never portrays this character from the inside out, making for a person that is more than a little wearisome. I really do not know exactly who could have played this part in a way for me to connect to it better but as it stands, I think that Roberts just may have been dreadfully miscast.

For me, “Eat Pray Love” was a painfully phony experience where I felt to be sitting in shallow waters for the entire movie. There is no spiritual transcendence to be found in a movie that desperately wants, needs and promises it. The character of Liz and how Julia Roberts has portrayed her delivered a person who is not building herself for herself. She is building herself so that everyone around her can proclaim how much she has changed and we are to marvel at her for doing so. She essentially complains at the film's outset that she is living her life through other people and she wants to reclaim herself. But at film's end, she continues to live her life through other people and their perceptions of her. Liz is never really critical of herself and the movie is not critical of her either. I think that we are meant to embrace her and her journey and since there was nothing to her, I just couldn't.

I really do not think that was the purpose of a year long journey such as this one and I really do not believe that was the purpose of the filmmakers behind this movie. But, that's what I got, a geographic, philosophical and emotional "Tourist Approach" to spiritual elevation and for me, the end result was meaningless.

And if films designed for women want to elevate themselves from the fluffy confines of the "chick flick" genre, they have got to be better than this one.