Happy TrailsBy John DeSando, WCBE's "It's Movie Time," "Cinema Classics," and "On the Marquee"
"Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience." Sir Francis Bacon
Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) travels to Italy for 4 months and eats, India 4 months and prays, and finally puts the two experiences together in Bali and loves. Based on Gilbert's 150 week New York Times best-selling memoir, this travel romance is slow going largely due to the intrusion of voice over narration and director Ryan Murphy's love affair with Julia's face, which has the most close-ups so far this year. Because Liz is "finding herself," as they say, I suppose such languid reflection is necessary.
Not having read the book, I can only speculate that it moved faster than the film. Liz's attempt to find herself after a failed marriage and subsequent love affair is the stuff of romantic clich?s, as if a beautiful woman will have any trouble connecting romantically anywhere in the world if she looks like Julia Roberts and is an accomplished writer besides. But then the real point is to eschew the normal entanglements, which Liz mostly does. While the ending is more traditional than feminist spirited, it gets points for trying to present a strong front against stock responses of a lonely woman who "needs a man" as they say.
Happily the film includes Richard Jenkins as Richard from Texas, another lost soul in India; his portrayal is honest and truly heart-breaking as he reveals his family loss from his mistake. He must, like Liz, discover truths inside himself and ultimately forgive himself.
The film confirms the most basic lesson of moralized tales about lost love: Give love and it will find you again, especially if you confirm the value of familial love. Roberts seems lost in the role herself as if she were trying to find the character while the character is trying to find herself.
I suppose feminists will be happy with the independent roaming Liz but not particularly pleased that it aims to be validated by the love of a man. They should have stopped at the family.
Lesson learned and a long lesson that turns out to be.
John DeSando co-hosts WCBE 90.5's It's Movie Time, Cinema Classics, and On the Marquee, which can be heard streaming at http://publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/ppr/index.shtml and on demand at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/arts.artsmain