Eat Pray Love Was more Than Just one woman's story from the very Beginning - writer Elizabeth Gilbert Funded Her year-long trip around the world with a publisher's advance, and Experienced Her stays in Italy, India and Indonesia with the KM That THEY would go Into a Book, and Hopefully A Successful One. Resulting bestseller The Phenomenon IS something no one Could Have Anticipated, goal Now That We Have Eat Pray Love the movie, it's Clear Than Ever That Liz Gilbert as Played by Julia Roberts, is more women Than avatar for all year actual Human Being. We watch Her and Her blond highlights and Her clothes / bad travel the globe Because We Can not do the Sami, and whatever story Might Along with it come to not only besoins get in the way of all the wish-fulfillment going on in the theater.
Ryan Murphy Might prononcer like an odd choice to handle all of this, Given That Loved current hit show gets in Glee ITS Constantly Own Way, subbing cute lines and manic plot twists for actual character and story. Eat Pray Love Purpose swing the opposite direction, Taking Itself and Its way too gravement star to carry the thrill Sami have Gilbert's book. POSITIVELY Roberts sparkles in the lead role - and she's in Nearly Every frame, so that helps a lot - the loose structure and purpose Deliberately uncertain resolution of the oddly book translate to the screen, A Woman Struggling to Find Her purpose in a movie That Does not Understand Itself, Much less him or.
For All The Things Eat Pray Love Does right, it must Constantly Overcome cardinal sin of ITS Turning Into a quick little book has bloated monster of a movie. Eat Pray Love Is Nearly Two and a half hours long, To The Point That Before 45 minutes go by Gilbert Does "any of the Three Things Promised in the title, The Story Lingers On Her divorce (from year affable and Slightly pathetic Billy Crudup) along Than the book did, god Create a romantic fling out of a minor (played by a disheveled and sexy James Franco), and doggedly stick with Gilbert's New York life Until we're Practically Screaming At Her to get the hell That is flat. Gilbert in Her book has few "Established in quick sentences the total devastation of divorce, purpose Murphy and His co-screenwriter Jennifer Salt Spend Much more time telling us Much less; When Gilbert arrived in Italy we're Intended To Feel Her thrill of Being Alone At Last, All That goal despite exposure're Still Struggling to Understand this unusual woman Able to live the fantasy of Leaving it all behind.
There Was a sharp realism at the center of Gilbert's book That grounded all the self-obsessed yammering, drank all Of That, predictably, IS missing here. The Real Gilbert Spent Her Time in Rome learning how to live life On Her Own Deliberately and Resisting Romance; movie Constantly Gilbert shares meals at tables full of laughing, international sides, and ends with a stay Her speech about how lucky she Is To Be by of a community. The segment at year ashram in India IS Mostly unscathed, thanks to a beautifully Felt performance from Richard Jenkins as a Fellow Worshipper, drank in the movie version of Gilbert visits the ashram at the suggestion of Her young boyfriend, David, not due to Her Own Spiritual devotion, What Was Originally a symbol of self-reliance in the movie Becomes Another example of a woman doing something Because Encouraged Her To A Man.
The final section in Bali Is The MOST traditional - a woman travels to exotic rental year, exotically handsome man meets annually (Javier Bardem, delectable), falls in love - And Also The Best Executed, Because maybe all the spirituality of India and Hedonism of Italy Were harder to translate to the screen. Still, as fun as It Is To Watch Bardem Roberts and roll around in the sheets and marvel at Bali's exquisite beauty, the real-life Gilbert IS ounce again let down. Her romance with Brazilian Felipe IS Deliberately left uncertain in the book, written by a woman burned by divorce just Learned Who has to live for herself again. Movie Gilbert says vague things about heated aim not to love Needing someone else to PROVE That She loves herself, just in time goal for closing shot she's clambering onto a boat With Her Love and riding off quite Literally Into the sunset. It's an enormous cop-out, but not Surprising Given the Two and a half hours of incredibly simple platitudes and "tough decisions" that Have Come before it.
Honestly, this would all Be fine if it Were not For The Gargantuan running time, WHICH IS bad at having to test the patience of Even The MOST Devoted guilty pleasure seekers. Yes, it is fun to sit back and marvel at the scenery and the food and Julia Roberts's enduring star power, and You Will walk out of the theater and Either Immediately book a trip to Bali or, the cheaper option, make a beeline for your Neighborhood's best pizza place. Eat Pray Love is year effective and satisfying indulgence frequently, but not Nearly as Much as the Book Was, and it did not have Much Could Have Been With A Little More focus and confidence in ITS Own Ideas.
Directed by Ryan Murphy
Starring: Julia Roberts, James Franco, Javier Bardem, Billy Crudup, Richard Jenkins, Viola Davis
Cast
- Julia Roberts as Elizabeth Gilbert
- Javier Bardem as Felipe, a man Gilbert falls in love with on her journey
- Billy Crudup as Steven, Gilbert's former husband
- Richard Jenkins as a Texan whom Gilbert befriends at an Indian ashram
- Viola Davis as Delia, Gilbert's best friend
- James Franco as David
- Luca Argentero
- Christine Hakim as Wayan, Gilbert's best friend in Bali
- Tuva Novotny