January 3, 2014.
Cast: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Sean Penn.
Director: Ben Stiller.
Jim Carrey had “The eternal
sunshine of the spotless mind” and “The Truman Show” which cleared the doubts
of anyone who thought Jim Carrey is more of a Jim Caricature. Ben Stiller, who
can be equated a bit with the likes of Jim Carrey, though multi talented as
opposed to Carrey had only given us comedy mainly. Walter Mitty is amazingly
fresh and pure that gives an altogether different image for Stiller.
Walter Mitty (Stiller) is a
middle aged bachelor who has been working in Life Magazine negative assets
section for the past 16 years. He has a secret crush on Cheryl (Kristen Wiig)
and even manages to get the subscription of an online dating program just
because the recently divorced Cheryl happens to be a member. He keeps “zoning
out” every now and then when he travels into his own fantasy land where
anything is possible and he is the superstar adored and respected by everyone.
When one of the negatives sent by the famous photographer Sean ‘O Connell to be
used as the Cover Page of the last edition of Life Magazine goes missing,
Walter is forced to travel the world in search of Sean to retrieve the
negative.
If you go in expecting this
to be somewhat like “Bed time stories” where it’s all about a fantasy world and
a lot of graphics you are in for one helluva surprise. About a few minutes into
the film it gets quite clear that the tone the director (Stiller) has in mind
for Walter Mitty is something much more, much beyond the usual fantasy stuff
meant for the kids.
This also carries the
distinction of coming from the studio that brought us Life of Pi and it does
not disappoint! In whatever scenes the CG work is required it is delivered top
class offering sort of a surreal experience; something which will delight the
kids and adults alike.
Another fascinating element
in the film is it’s soulful music that is transcendental, it’s truly magical
and touches your heart. While some tracks are inspiring others are moving and
the rest are just fall into their rightful place in the movie.
The execution has a lot of
freshness where the text messages are shown on the side of mountains, the
titles roll onto the buildings and roads and then there are some real fine
moments; the one where Mitty talks about Papa John’s to Cheryl and when Sean
tells Mitty how he likes to stay focused in the moment when he sees something
spectacular.
The humor of course is there just like you have in any
other Ben Stiller movies but this cannot entirely be called a comedy movie it
has got a message for you if you are tuned in right, it has got a soul to it.
But still this movie is
meant for target audience and could only be enjoyed if you are empathetic
towards Walter Mitty. And arguably this is the best directorial yet from
Stiller.
I
am giving a 3.75 for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Beautiful things never
ask for attention!!
Rating Scale (Out
of 5)
Less than 2
-
Unwatchable.
2 to 2.25
-
Below average.
2.5 to 2.75
-
Average.
3 to
3.25
-
Good.
3.5 to
3.75 -
Really Good.
4 to 4.25
-
Great.
4.5 and
above
- Extraordinary.
