Life Itself Review
By Myla Tosatto
I am going to make a HUGE confession: Movie Myla does not watch the extremely popular This is Us TV program. I know what’s going on in the show because my Facebook feed is 98% This is Us posts the day after any given episode. I’m afraid I wouldn’t have any friends if I had a real job because I would fail at the water cooler on Wednesday mornings. Know this- if you like This is Us, chances are high that you are going to like Life Itself. It was written and directed by the creator of This is Us, Dan Fogelman.
Like This is Us (I gather from Facebook and basic pop culture), Life Itself is told through twists and turns with flash backs and forwards. Time is a definitely a circle in this movie. It is told in five chapters that have two families, peanut butter jelly and sandwiches, death, fate, consequences, Bob Dylan, heroes and false narrators in common. I do not remember any mention of a Crockpot, however.
Basically, the snippets of stories are told by an all-star cast: Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Olivia Cooke, Jean Smart, Mandy Patinkin, Annette Benning, Sergio Peris- Mencheeta, Antonio Banderas, Laia Costa and Alex Monner. How they relate and interact is the beauty of this piece and I will leave that telling up to the movie. You need NO SPOILERS from the likes of me.
If you are one to get emotional during movies, go ahead and pack the Kleenex. And bring a shoulder to cry on. The feels are meant to be felt and Mr. Fogelman goes full throttle on giving them.
P.S. Jean Smart and Antonio Banderas should be in every movie from here on out. That is all.
“Life Itself” hits theaters September 21st! Be sure to go and see it!
As a young New York couple goes from college romance to marriage and the birth of their first child, the unexpected twists of their journey create reverberations that echo over continents and through lifetimes in Life Itself. Director and writer Dan Fogelman (“This Is Us”) examines the perils and rewards of everyday life in a multigenerational saga featuring an international ensemble including Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Olivia Cooke, Sergio PerisMencheta, Laia Costa, Alex Monner and Mandy Patinkin. Set in New York City and Carmona, Spain, Life Itself celebrates the human condition and all of its complications with humor, poignancy and love.