I didn’t read Eat, Pray, Love. I know that’s kind of blasphemous to say given the fact that it was on the New York Times’ bestseller list for over 182 weeks, my literary agent friends are complaining because every author claims their book is the “next Eat, Pray, Love,” and I used to work at Viking—but I didn’t have much interest. That said, this film is visually stunning. It’s close-ups on delectable Italian dishes; the kinetic, beautiful streets of India; and finally the lush green tropics of Bali, stimulate your appetite both literally and figuratively. I went to this film hungry, and left nothing short of famished.
At the crux of this film is the focus on individual identity. What makes us happy, how to we measure fulfillment in our lives? The idea that we “should” be happy if we achieve our goals is highly relatable, as is the inexplicable desire for something more. However, parts of this film do come off as contrived. It is predictable; you go in knowing what to expect and leave unsurprised.
At the start of the film, Elizabeth Gilbert seems to have everything she's ever wanted. She is a reasonably successful writer living in New York, married to a loving man and living in a beautiful home she helped design from the ground up. However, Liz feels something integral is missing from her life. She keeps a secret chest filled to the brim with clippings from travel magazines, and photos from the exotic lands she so longs to visit.
It becomes harder and harder to ignore these longings, and when Liz is sent to Bali for work, she gets a reading by a medicine man that becomes the catalyst for her life taking on a different direction. The focus on relationship patterns and how we can become aware of them is particularly effective. For example, when Liz separates from her clean-cut husband only to shortly after “disappear” into the arms of David (James Franco), a yogic actor in one of her plays, she realizes she is enacting the same relationship pattern with a different person. As said by her boss Delia (Viola Davis): “I think this is the same behavior, with a different costume.”
It’s only when Liz takes the ultimate plunge, leaves her job and her new boyfriend totravel the world on her own that true discovery begins. While in Italy, Liz permits herself to fully experience what it means to slow down, to enjoy the pleasures of food, life, and good company. In India, there is a lovely cameo by Richard Jenkins, as Richard from Texas, an American who Liz befriends. He affectionately calls Liz “groceries” because she eats so much. Through her journey in meditation practice Liz goes from being frustrated and confused to resolute, and eventually sees a glimpse of peaceful. Finally, in Bali, she falls in love once more and realizes that she doesn’t have to give up her newly found strength and identity in order to have romantic love.
It was enjoyable to see Liz at first resist the all-consuming nature of new love, afraid it would take away her newfound strength. If she had run into Javier Bardem’s arms with total abandon of everything she had discovered, I may have thrown my cell phone at the screen.
Instead, the message is to be aware and forgiving of the universal effects of new love, but to not get lost in them.
Julia Roberts looks radiantly healthy in this film. Liz enjoys herself fully, she eats well, and succeeds in stopping the guilt tape American women are taught to play. This is a positive message. I left the theatre wanting to travel the world, too. Then I remembered how much money that would cost.
Is it annoying how many times Richard calls Liz groceries? Yes. Should you go out of your way to see this film in theatres? Probably not. Is it worth watching when it premieres on demand in the comfort of your own living room? Yeah. Just make sure you have snacks.
"Eat, Pray, Love" opens August 13, 2010 and is rated PG13. Drama. Directed by Ryan Murphy. Written by Ryan Murphy, Jennifer Salt . Starring Billy Crudup, James Franco, Javier Bardem, Julia Roberts, Richard Jenkins, Viola Davis.
