I do not remember exactly what was said
which brought about the comment, but recently my brother told me, “I
think Dakota Fanning is under-appreciated” and I would have to
agree. I think she was amazing in I Am Sam, Man On Fire, Hide and
Seek, and The Runaways. Now, I will add this one to the list. First
of all, her British accent was so convincing, I looked her up to see
if she was British, and she's actually from down south in Georgia.
But enough about her and on to the movie.
Near the beginning, this movie reminded
me of A Walk To Remember, except without a lot of its innocence.
Later on I started to enjoy it for its own sake, and forgot about
comparing it.
On IMDB the storyline/plot synopsis
simply says, “A girl dying of leukemia compiles a list of things
she'd like to do before passing away. Topping the list is her desire
to lose her virginity” and while this is partially true, throughout
the movie Dakota's character, Tessa, realizes that some of her list
is a little silly, as she falls in love she adds things she knows she
will never accomplish, “...a joint bank account, listening to you
snore for years and years, to go to a parent's evening and [find out]
our child's a genius, actually all three of our kids...”
As well as having a good script, the
cinematography is wonderful, the music is well done, and it is,
overall a very beautiful movie. To someone who isn't a hopeless
romantic (which I am a most hopeless romantic) some of it may seem a
little unbelievable, I mean, what late teen/early 20-year-old guy
would really fall in love and be so committed to a girl he's newly
met and soon finds out is dying? But besides that, much of it is very
“real:” the mother just can't handle it, has moved out and
doesn't really deal with any of her daughter's sickness; and the
father, though he's doing his best, most of all just feels utterly
helpless. Some people may think Tessa's little brother is quite
heartless how he talks about her inevitable death, but it's just
something he's grown up with, knowing that his sister is going to
die. I like how the father is always slightly horrified by his
remarks, but Tessa is always just a little amused.
Here is a quote involving Tessa and her
love interest that I really like, because, as we die, isn't this what
most of us want:
“Stay with me, stay the nights.”
“What do you want from me, Tess?” “Night time, sleeping
together, waking up together, breakfast.” “What do you really
want?” “I want you to be with me in the dark, to hold me, to keep
loving me. To help me when I get scared, to go right to the edge and
see what's there.”
In summary, I think this is a movie
which is beautiful and heartbreaking. Though it leaves you feeling
sad, it is a sweet and warm sadness. If you like romantic dramas, I
encourage you to check it out.
Instead of giving it a content rating
myself, I will just put the MPAA rating. Rated PG-13 for mature
thematic material involving illness, sexuality, and drugs, and for
brief strong language.
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