I GET that this is not another spectacular action picture starring Mr Schwarzenegger- heck the air disaster isn't even shown, only the two blips merging and then disappearing from the screen. Yet, despite that this movie really doesn't suffer for it and truly it was pleasantly surprising that Mr Schwarzenner has the acting chops to portray a man eaten by the cancer of endless loss.
The acting is a big plus in this movie, and Schwarzenegger surprises with a wonderful acting job that just makes us cringe as we almost viscerally feel his loss. He was VERY believable in the scene where a gun was put to his head near the end of the movie and he just said to "Do what you have to do" as a man given in to his pain.
Life has NO guarantees, and the happy person who made love to their spouse before work and gave their child love and guidance may return home a shattered and broken person- if they return at all. The movie does a GREAT job of showing that transition with the air traffic controller and his wife and son. We are never treated to that with Arnold's character however. We see him as a dutiful worker at his construction foreman job, and he is stiff and wooden as he tries to straighten out the "Welcome home" sign. But the greatest weakness in his characterization is that the character is never truly shown as a vital, loving human being. We DO, however, get clips of his wife and daughter in his "Memory flashbacks" and they are vital, lovable people.
For me this was indeed a terribly weak part of the movie. In real life we see subtleties that show us that a person is a real human. In the movies it falls to the actor or actress to get us to care, to project their humanity on the screen. I have known stoic people who didn't easily show their true feelings, and this is definitely a difficult thing to portray on the screen while still coming across as a loving human. I get that, but great acting is NOT necessarily easy. At times his character does some creepy things, such as sleeping at the grave where his family is buried. BECAUSE of his lack of projection of humanity this action and others come across, to me, as more creepy than tragic.
Even with that flaw the characterizations are gut wrenching and sad, at times almost unrelentingly so. Real life sometimes is like that, and we can forgive it in a movie if it shows us a reason to go on and persevere.
This is perhaps the greatest weakness, and to some, the greatest strength of the movie- that it comes to no conclusions, even the "Fault" of the accident is not determined. In reality, the buck has to stop somewhere. When Schwarzenner's character show his family picture to the lawyers glibly offering him money, and a "Fair settlement" would it have been too much for them to look at the picture of what the man lost and humble down a bit and say that they were very sorry for his loss? I get that his character wanted an apology, and in a perfect marriage of art and reality this movie is released to DVD just as the Doctor was dragged off an airline for not surrendering his seat and beat to a bloody pulp. Shortly afterwards the CEO of the airline involved posted that it was all the Dr's fault in not yielding his seat. Corporatism CAN easily become arrogant and inhuman. I get that. It is part of most of our lives, as the connection to most of our lives as companies no longer seem to value long term workers is very applicable to our daily lives. In the instance of the Dr dragged off the aircraft the lie was undone by the numerous cell videos taken of the incident, where he was forced to apologize.
In a strangely ironic way this movie also forgot about the movie. Movies, at their best transport us to places and situations we seldom encounter in real life and show us a slice of life that we might otherwise not get to experience. The BEST movies give us hope and reason. This movie had a great setup to do just that, but ultimately failed to deliver. In that sense it was a little too much gritty reality. People still want movies to deliver- which is why I believe the movie is rated this low.
In another life meets art moment this movie kind of accurately reflects the "Fall" of Schwarzenner, who was himself fired from the "Apprentice" and has in the last several years had some sad and tragic divorce wars publicized.
There IS dignity in just going on and keeping one's life going. But his character missed a great opportunity to help others when one of his fellow mourners sought him out for counsel and he delivered.
Schwarzenner has the chops, we know that now. I hope in a future product he can deliver maybe not a storybook ending, but at least an older wiser and mature sense of hope and Faith in something greater than his own limitations. Or else his famous line "I'll be back" will remain just a few words.
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