THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (2013)
Walter (played by Ben Stiller who also directed the movie) is a negative assets manager at LIFE magazine, he spends a lot of his boring life day-dreaming due to being under-appreciated and just not really much of a risk-taker. In an effort to get the perfect cover for the magazine’s last issue, Walter must literally travel the globe to find a missing photo negative taken by a photographer he’s worked with over the years. The movie is based partly in real life in regards to LIFE magazine’s demise. It did actually stop publishing magazines on April 20th, 2007. The storyline itself is loosely based on a short story written in 1939.
This movie is freakin long, let me just warn you ahead of time. I am not saying 1 hour and 54 minutes is long if you are watching a full-blown action flick moving from scene to scene, but this thing is just loaded with long shots and sequences that seem to drag out forever. There are some instances where you feel like you could go to watch another movie and Walter would still be somewhere in Iceland. None of that takes away from this extremely unique and well-crafted film. Pretty much everything about this movie is just a series of frames, capturing one piece of the beauty of life and nature after another. The plotline is trying to establish Walter’s creative day-dreaming, but there is one really weird scene that not only doesn’t fit this movie, it simply shouldn’t have been filmed at all.
The casting is superb and even Adam Scott who plays Walter’s new boss is great in the role. I will say, his beard however has got to go. That damn thing is just taking up precious space on the screen where there could be something else (like a smaller beard, or his chin). Kristen Wiig plays a co-worker of Walter’s named Cheryl who seemed to really click on-screen with Walter. The cinematography is mind-blowing and wow…this thing is just amazing overall. I don’t want to say the movie is funny, but it has a bunch of touching moments that really give this thing some emotional layers that make you care about Walter and Cheryl.
I have to give this movie a 6 out of 7. I enjoy watching it each time I do. It’s really quite an accomplishment. I will also say, if you have a home theater or a projector, see it on that. The bigger you can get your screen the better it is. Don’t forget I said it was long though. Be sure you are ready for the movie when you stream it or watch it in another format. Some of the slower snail-paced parts and that really strange scene bumped this one down just a bit.
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