Yes, the movie has the scenery and the food, but what it really focuses on is relationships. Elizabeth Gilbert (played adeptly and subtly by Julia Roberts), is on a journey to find balance, and ultimately to find love. This was the focus of the film and rightfully so. They could have just made a movie with gorgeous locations, stuck Julia Roberts in with hot guys (Oh my word James Franco and Javier Bardem are yummyyyyy), and not really cared about the journey. That would have been the Hollywood way to do the book on screen. Thank god they knew people would not put up with that!
Julia journeys to Italy to eat, to India to pray and to Bali to love. She accomplishes all three as her demons finally catch up with her. The supporting cast was amazing. Billy Crudup as the boring but sweet husband, Viola Davis as her editor and best friend, but I felt it was Richard Jenkins, as Richard from Texas, that really was perfection. His story of why he was at the ashram was heartbreaking. I also thought the movie was perfectly cast with Javier playing Philipe. He was the perfect mix of steady and sexy!
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11 comments:
I LOVED it! I was nervous that they wouldn't do justice to the book too. I saw it opening night with one friend and again last night with another group of girlfriends!
That's good to hear. 99% of the time the movie doesn't do the book justice. Thanks for the heads up because I was going to skip the movie.
I loved the book, so I was hesitant to see the movie. Maybe I will now! :)
A group of us are going to see the movie this week ~ so happy to hear a positive review. I read the book {loved it}and was afraid that the movie was going to be a bust. Now I can't wait.
Jo
I have heard you love it or hate it... I have not seen it yet, but LOVED the book and can't wait to get to the theater... with cosmos in hand, of course!
I confess I did not read the book. I thought the movie was well-done, but I did not like the main character. I am sure the rest of you will not agree with me. I thought Liz was self-centered and selfish, and I was sad to see her leave a husband who loved her. I know you all will slam me for these thoughts. I just felt like she gave up on her marriage way too easily. If her marriage needed to be more exciting to make her happy, they could have worked on that together, or at least tried counseling. Okay, I'm ready for the hate emails!
When I read the book I felt like screaming "Put on your big girl panties and get a grip!!!" It cannot be healthy to be that completely self absorbed. I am not saying that there were not good parts of the book but her attitude really got on my nerves.
Eat, Pray, LEAVE !
I so agree with Henley on the Horn.
And now Ms. Gilbert is hawking more crap we don't need (candles, beads,etc.) trying more rake even more money exploiting her story. Don't be a sucker!
OFM, I adore you so it pains me to disagree with you but I wasn't a huge fan of the book. I really enjoyed the Eat part, but I thought her journey and self-discovery was a bit self-involved and self-indulgent. She was lucky to have a job as a travel writer and lucky she didn't have children with her boring husband or her journey would have included trips to the pediatrician, preschools and playdates.
Having said that, the movie did reflect the book perfectly. Julia Roberts was great as Elizabeth Gilbert (at times I found her as annoying as the author in the book). The scenery was the unsung hero of this movie and Richard Jenkins knocked it out of the park as Richard from TX.
On the superficial front, the hair & wardrobe people worked their magic on this movie and I thought it was perfect throughout. Still want her damn aviators!
Discount some of my ranting above - part of me is jealous as hell that I can't go find myself around the world. But can you imagine a book about a man leaving his wife to do exactly what Gilbert did? He'd be called every name in the book by women around the world.
I acutally did not like the movie. Maybe I was just too tired that night, but I was so excited to see it and then was disappointed. I just felt like it glossed over so much, why she left, etc. Maybe I need to re-see.
Btw, I'm waiting for your review of the New Jersey Housewives reunion - cra-zy!!
Good to know, haven't seen it yet!!
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