Sunday 12 April 2009

17 Again

Our kids chose to watch this (rather than Monsters vs Aliens, heck knows why) and although I was determined to hate it, I found it rather uplifting.

What kept my attention was the way that water seemed to be used as a metaphor for something-or-other; for example: the whirlpool in the river; the first rain-drop that falls on his nose when he realises that his wife has moved on; and the dripping puddles that the hero thought would lead him to his 'spirit guide'. There's then a brilliant scene about half-way through (where he goes to console his daughter, who is sitting alone in the amphitheatre) in which you very briefly see the reflection of the hero in a puddle just in front of the camera - despite the fact that he is dozens of yards away*. But after that the water allusions seem to dry up (pun intended).

Other good scenes: his 'abstinence' speech; Uncle Ned busting into the court room shouting "You can't handle the truth!" and the 'letter' he reads from a blank sheet of paper. 

* Was this coincidence, CGI or a carefully chosen camera angle?

1 comments:

Tim Almond said...

M vs A (in 3d) is a blast, especially if you like all that 1950s b-movie sci-fi stuff.