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- First reviewAugust 15, 2010
- Last reviewAugust 15, 2010
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Jennierox's Reviews
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Eat Pray Love It!
PostedAugust 15, 2010
Jennierox
from New York, NY
In this social media driven world I currently find myself in it was refreshing to see a movie that harks back to some old fashioned values and does not create an Avatar in order to get its point across.
In an age that is more hype than circumstance, it was refreshing to hear a clear and honest voice grapple with the meaning of their own life and where “happiness” fits in. Their existence, not mine. For in doing so, it is my existence is being shown upon that large and historic screen of the Ziegfeld Theater.
Wasn’t that the venue for the Sex and the City 2 premier, which was all about looking at our lives through a Couture lens where Eat Pray Love is drilled down to life in its rawest form.
There were so many messages being throw up on the screen that it was hard to consciously take them all in. Which is why the sub conscious is so wonderful, as it can absorb what the other parts of us cannot. And, this way, we can reflect on the feeling long after the popcorn bag has been left spilled on the plush Ziegfeld carpet.
The beauty in this film was in the relationships, the depth and the natural beauty of life. Not the beauty one might find in the craftsmanship of a Louis Vuitton handbag.
As one who has often hungered for ways to fill the voids inside and has traditionally turned to the label loft rather than meditation, I find myself happy to be taken back to really what matters. Family * Friends * Food * Worship * Beauty * Happiness * Love
The one aspect that I remember commenting on at the end of this movie is that what we saw represented on the screen was the best of humanity not the worst. The angst in the lead character was representative of the worst of how we feel and how we get there, and therefore we did not need to see any more if it. It helped to focus on other aspects of our lives…aka..the good stuff..or the better stuff.
Eat Pray Love gave family and friends and fellowship new life and new meaning in the context of the movie. And, it made me reflect on many of the good times I have had with friends and family of my own over the years. It also put a lens on the world’s eternal beauty and the different types of beauty you can find in Italy versus India versus Indonesia.
We have all had shared experiences of being in this world of ours. And, it does not take too long to start asking questions. But, these were all the hard questions that were asked out loud. The questions were articulated with the pain and fierceness that usually comes when one has reached their breaking point. And, in this listening room we heard the questions..our questions..lound and clear.
Sex and the City 2 made me want to forget my life and dive into the fantasy (any run to the Louis Vuitton store and spend $2,500 on a handbag) and Eat Pray Love made we want to remember it., savor it, and rehash all those sweet memories, holding on to them like some cherished trinket (and run to the internet and purchase an airline ticket and hotel for $2,500). If only those memories could be in the here and now and not the filing cabinet of my life. The wonderful experiences I have collected feel better the first time around. I can’t help but wonder if memory is there to also remind us of better times to help us recognize when we are not in one.
I don’t want to blame but I want to point to my upbringing, which was about service to others, as a young woman with a Southern debutante for a mother. In that service, it is easy to lose yourself and defer to others, who happily lap up everything you have to offer them, like a cat with a fresh bowl of milk. Or a PG rated S&M relationship for that is essentially what it is…I do for you..and derive pleasure in doing so and you derive pleasure in watching me put you first.
It took decades to start focusing my attention on me (and my music) and not coincidently after my own divorce. People do grow apart and they do have different desires for their lives and I have long rejected the thought that two people should necessarily always be together. Those great relationships that are always good keep us coming back for more and we don’t need a marriage certificate or warrant to make it happen. We naturally gravitate to those who make us feel good about our selves even while not always realizing we are doing so, and we reject, even on an unconscious level, those who don’t make us feel that way. We avoid them. But, Eat Pray Love is about no longer avoiding those relationships that do not serve us. It’s about looking at them square in the eye and deciding to decide. It’s about moving off the fence and taking action….deciding we deserve something better for ourselves, what ever that might look like. The courage to look at our own lives with such clarity and honesty makes this piece of work brave…and for all of us.
Eat Pray Love has a happy ending and I am quite sure that aspect is why the movie is so powerful. You see for yourself how one woman can go through the worst of times, yank herself up and throw herself into something 100% different from her existing world and find a new way to live that is more satisfying..more fulfilling and essentially, makes her…”happy” How simple. The desire to be happy. And…she did it. That is as much as cause for celebration as the movie The Blind Side. Real people in the real world doing simple things to create extraordinary and lasting results.
Eat Pray Love is an important piece of work. The Paris Hilton’s of the Kim Kardashion’s of the world are great examples of just how far we have moved away from our core values.
In an age of branding, it’s refreshing to have a movie tattooed on your heart for only you to see.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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