The Pursuit of Happyness
The Pursuit of Happyness is based on the true story of how Chris Gardner rose from rags to riches. The film is directed by Gabriele Muccino in his English language film debut (he previously directed the wonderful The Last Kiss (the original) and Remember Me My Love, both of which were in Italian).
The time is the early 80s and Chris (Will Smith) lives in a shabby San Francisco apartment with his partner Linda (Thandie Newton) and their son Christopher (Jaden Smith). Chris sells bone density scanners for a living and Linda works at a laundromat. They are not making ends meet. Chris meets a man with a fancy car and asks him what he does for a living. The man is a stock broker and Chris decides to apply for an internship at Dean Witter. In the meantime, Linda is fed up with their lifestyle and goes to New York leaving Chris with their son. Things go from bad to worse and eventually father and son find themselves homeless. But as this is a true story we know that in the end things work out.
I really wanted to like this film. I love stories about underdogs. But there are some problems with this film. There are too many scenes of Smith running like a maniac. One of those scenes in particular seemed very improbable. The film is very slick and Hollywoodized and the music was loud and intrusive (I kept hoping that there would be a break from it but no such luck). I just wanted the film to feel more authentic.
On the positive side, there were some heartbreaking scenes that showed us what it is like to be homeless. Smith gives a fine performance as a man who, although he is hanging on by a thread, never gives up. Little Jaden (who is his real life son) is also very good. The father and son relationship is very well developed and is the best part of the film. But Thandie Newton is wasted in an underdeveloped role.
All in all, this is an okay film but it could have been so much more. Steve Conrad's screenplay could have been tighter. Muccino is a good director but I guess he wanted to please the studio with this glossy product. When I left the theater I kept thinking how much better it would have been if the film's positive message came in a different package.
The time is the early 80s and Chris (Will Smith) lives in a shabby San Francisco apartment with his partner Linda (Thandie Newton) and their son Christopher (Jaden Smith). Chris sells bone density scanners for a living and Linda works at a laundromat. They are not making ends meet. Chris meets a man with a fancy car and asks him what he does for a living. The man is a stock broker and Chris decides to apply for an internship at Dean Witter. In the meantime, Linda is fed up with their lifestyle and goes to New York leaving Chris with their son. Things go from bad to worse and eventually father and son find themselves homeless. But as this is a true story we know that in the end things work out.
I really wanted to like this film. I love stories about underdogs. But there are some problems with this film. There are too many scenes of Smith running like a maniac. One of those scenes in particular seemed very improbable. The film is very slick and Hollywoodized and the music was loud and intrusive (I kept hoping that there would be a break from it but no such luck). I just wanted the film to feel more authentic.
On the positive side, there were some heartbreaking scenes that showed us what it is like to be homeless. Smith gives a fine performance as a man who, although he is hanging on by a thread, never gives up. Little Jaden (who is his real life son) is also very good. The father and son relationship is very well developed and is the best part of the film. But Thandie Newton is wasted in an underdeveloped role.
All in all, this is an okay film but it could have been so much more. Steve Conrad's screenplay could have been tighter. Muccino is a good director but I guess he wanted to please the studio with this glossy product. When I left the theater I kept thinking how much better it would have been if the film's positive message came in a different package.
posted by Film Fanatic | 3:03 PM
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