Stunning scenery, inspiring music and impeccable performances were just a sampling of the delights featured in the new movie “Eat Pray Love.” Coming in at number two at the box office in its first weekend, the movie, staring Julia Roberts, follows an unhappily married woman named Elizabeth Gilbert, as she embarks on a life journey after her painful divorce.
Based on the book of the same name, its lead character and author, Liz, travels first to Italy where she learns to eat good food without feeling guilty. She indulges in all that Rome has to offer including jeans that come in a size larger than two. Next she journeys to India where she learns the meaning of devotion. She wakes with the sun, scrubs floors until her hands bleed and somehow learns that, “God dwells in you, as you.” That is, she learns that she doesn’t have to be anyone other than who she is, even though the definition of who she is still remains just out of her reach.
She never comes across as whiny, but definitely wounded. This hurt is what makes the character so relatable. When she travels to Bali, to end her year long sojourn into her own self, she meets a man who challenges her ideas about love. After a series of personal battles, she ultimately decides to take the chance and she literally sails off into the sunset with her beloved. As unrealistic as this all seems, the creators managed to handle the story with an incredible amount of honesty.
Roberts’ performance was real and mature. Liz is every woman. She is every human who has ever felt like he or she was missing it; like they were ignoring an essential part of who they are.
A pleasure from beginning to end, this film captures beautifully one woman’s exploration of the world and of what it means to be your real self.
Director: Ryan Murphy
Release date: August 13
Running time: 133 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Main cast members: Julia Roberts, James Franco, Richard
Jenkins, Viola Davis, Billy Crudup, Javier Bardem