Media Analysis - Movie Review Example

P.S. I love you is a visual film which fills the audience with a great sense of sadness and longing from the beginning of the film. The film is based on a story about true love and how one copes when losing your soul mate. This is a modern film set in Ireland as well as the USA and one can clearly see the differences in the culture of the two countries being displayed in the film. This film represents love and the obstacles and heart ache that comes along with it. It also represents hope as it shows that there is hope after you have lost a loved one. One could also say that the film strives to represent that ‘life goes on’, or that one could have more than one soul mate in a lifetime as the lead role, played by Hillary Swank, finds another love after her husband had died of a brain tumor. This film caters for a very broad audience, as every single person has either fallen in love once, is in love, or wants to be in love someday. The film would represent truth to those who have lost loved ones before and understands that it does not only affect the one who was closest to the deceased person, but the friends and family of the person mourning as well. When analyzing this film according to David Lodge’s Historical perspective, one would look at the two countries being displayed against each other, and it is clear to see in the film how the Irish differ from America, with their rich culture, traditions and music. In the beginning of the movie where the characters are first introduced one can clearly see that the film is set in the USA, and the characters lifestyles seem more modern and hound then the story displayed in Ireland. Looking at the historical perspective form a more personal point of view, one can see the conflict which has come from Garry and Holly’s history, with their parents thinking that they were too young to get married and the conflict it had aroused between them. Moreover Ireland’s beauty and history is beautifully displayed by the great clips of Ireland’s parks and countryside in the movie. From a technical perspective the movie is pretty well put together and one does not get lost wondering what happened or what you had missed while when the movie jumps from one scene to another. The scenes shot of the beauty of Ireland and the scenes of a growing love that takes place between Holly and Garry with the beauty of Ireland in the background truly grasp its audience and takes you into another world. Ireland is magnificently displayed in this movie and the cinematography is wonderfully done as it beautifully displays the background of the set with the feelings of the characters and the angles which were shot at always leaves one feeling like you are a part of the movie. When looking at the ethical perspective of the movie, it could be a topic that would be greatly debated amongst woman and men. From the beginning of the film, through to the end it is clear to see that Garry and Holly were soul mates. There existed a spark between them and the love that Garry felt for Holly was very deeply felt as one watched through the movie to see how much effort he had done in his final days to make sure that she would be able to go on with her life and know that he would always love her. But the ethical side of Holly truly comes into question when she has a physical relationship with one of Garry’s best friends. Some would argue and say that she had not been aware of the fact at the time, and others would argue and say that someone who had lost a loved one would not be able to fall in love so quickly with another, especially if they found out that it had been one of their deceased husband’s friends. This film raises a lot of questions about when it is ok for a person to move on with their lives, and whether they could truly find someone else to fill the void that the other person had left when they passed away. It is clear to see that there are two very different cultures and ways of life being portrayed in the film. The film is mostly concentrated in Ireland and the culture, traditions, music and people of Ireland are beautifully displayed and leave the audience with the urge to immediately book a one way ticket to Ireland as soon as they leave the cinema. Throughout the movie the audience gets a view into the culture of Ireland’s landscape, music and extremely fine men. P.S I Love You makes one think a lot of the book Anybody Out There by Marian Keyes, where the main character loses the love of her life in a car accident and then has to learn how to cope with her friends, work and family without her husband by her side (Keyes, 2007). From a personal perspective the movie could mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. P.S. I Love You is supposed to be a romantic- comedy, but too many people walked out of the cinema with bloodshot eyes and broken hearts to think of it as anything but heart wrenching. Others could see the bright side to the movie and appreciate the fact that Holly was able to continue with her life and to find new hope, and discover herself through her grief, but others would get stuck in the beginning of the movie where Gerry dies. It is hard not to appreciate the beauty of love that Gerry displays for Holly throughout the film, which makes it a little harder for the audience to like the new man who is supposed to sweep Holly off of her feet and help her to overcome her grief. Overall the movie hits home on a personal level as everyone fears losing the one person who means the most to them in the world. The actors in P.S I Love You all played along very well and one could definitely see that there was some kind of chemistry between Hillary Swank (Holly) and Gerald Butler (Gerry), although Gerald Butler’s dreamy blue eyes would make it hard for any woman not to be attracted to him. The only disappointment in the movie is unfortunately the opening scene where Gerry and Holly walk home to their apartment and are having an argument because Gerry had revealed to Holly’s mother that she did not want to have children/ The opening scene of a movie should be one which grasps the audience and which portrays the relationship and feelings of the characters towards each other. Unfortunately this opening scene seemed false and weak, and the argument was not very convincing ad lacked the spark that seemed to evolve between them throughout the rest of the movie. Unfortunately this means that the audience saw more of a spark between Gerry and Holly when he was dead then when he was alive. Combining comedy and drama is a very hard thing to do, and P.S I Love You is definitely a very dramatic movie as it combines the process of grief and the humor of life. This throughout the movie was very well portrayed, but sometimes the humor seemed lost in the sadness of the situation. P.S. I Love You is a movie which puts all contexts of life together and portrays it to the audience with a rich cast and a heartwarming script. Every actor had a great role and it would seem as if an empty space would be left if one of them would be removed. “You know those movies where all the characters were really fleshed out and everyone had a really important role?” (Hillary Swank, about.com) In the end, P.S. I Love You gives hope to people, making them see that grief is a process which takes time and support from everyone around you, and most of all, that life goes on in the end. Online References: Rebecca Murray, Hillary Swank talks about P.S I Love you, http/movies.about.com Book Reference: Marian Keyes, February 28, 2007, Anybody Out There, Avon Trade Read More