A vast response to the vast negativity this film received
I must say, I took an odd path to this movie. It came out 11 years ago and I hadn’t seen it until a few nights ago. I was only aware of this movie through music. My Morning Jacket is one of my absolute favorite bands. Years ago I stumbled across their song “Where to Begin” online somehow, I don’t even remember how now. But it is one of my favorite songs of theirs and is in this movie. That prompted me to give this movie a chance.
After watching it, I was completely blown away. Both in how good the movie was and negatively it was received. I thought this movie was deftly written and put together. This movie touches on so many important things: life, death, failure, success, sorrow, happiness, growth, and love. I think it is misunderstood because it is a movie that has to be experienced rather than watched, it has to be thought about, it has to be understood by identifying with the people and the situations they are in. I think people who have had similar experiences as Drew get this movie and those that can’t identify with him do not.
The story centers on Drew and all the terrible things that happen to him. He was destined for greatness, only to fail miserably, and is driven to the verge of suicide because of it. The only reason he didn’t kill himself is another tragedy happens when his father dies and he is thrust into further turmoil. On the flight to get his father he meets Claire, and the chance meeting with her leads Drew down a path of discovery. Their relationship really is the heart of the story for me. And I will explain why.
Drew’s only purpose in life is to achieve greatness. Because of this, he does not have meaningful relationships, especially with the people he should, and he is devoid of nearly any emotional connection to anything. He also equates success with greatness, which aren’t exactly the same things. He really is a sort of lost soul, meandering through life and chasing an illusion. He is also pulled in many directions by himself, his mother, his sister, his father’s family. Everything and everyone in his life demands something he is in incapable of giving, nor does he have any desire to give what is demanded of him. He only does it out of obligation.
His relationship with Claire is the one good thing in his life. She’s the bright light in the dark storm of his life. She is happy, disarming, truly helpful, and loving. She knows “people” and actually knows Drew immediately. She is attracted to him, yes, but not in a superficial way. She knows that Drew is not "fine”, that his father isn’t fine as he claims, that Drew is going through something terrible. And she is the only person that doesn’t tear at him and demand something from him. She is instantly supportive of him, "We are are intrepid, we carry on." A perfect example of this is when Drew is on the phone with his sister and mother, his girlfriend, and Claire. His sister pulls at him, his mother adds to the stress, his girlfriend breaks up with him, but Claire simply says, “I’ll hold” when he asks for her to wait for a minute. She doesn’t demand anything from him, she is the only one who is actually there for him. She is the only one that is actually helpful with funeral plans (shopping for the urn). And the all-night phone call solidifies that. They are able to talk about anything and everything and understand each other, and they learn that they are actually very similar in a lot of ways. They both feel like they’ve been asleep most of their lives and that they are constantly fooling everyone. Claire genuinely loves him from the start, and has a moment of realization of what is happening and what might occur while she's in the bath tub. She is afraid that it could be over, but he asks when she will be back. She bursts into silent laughter because he just affirmed that he is feeling the same thing. He doesn’t want it be over, because he genuinely likes her too. Now I say that he “likes” her and that she “loves” him. She loves him in a complete and unconditional way. But Drew is incapable of love at this point in his life. Deep down she knows this and knows that she must be patient, that he has to grow before they can truly love each other. Everything she says and does from that point forward is meant to help Drew get to the place where he can grow, put things in perspective, and understand what it means to live and love. She knows that this must happen first if they are going to be together. I get the idea that 99.9999% of the people who saw this movie missed that fact that she was working on the road map for him during that all-night phone call. People seem to focus so much on what the music means in Cameron Crowe movies, and rightfully so. Music is incredibly important in his stories. But there are little details in his movies that you have to watch for that are incredibly easy to miss. In Almost Famous there is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment when the Pink Floyd album cover is reflected in the windshield on the way to the concert. In this movie, there are many moments like that too. The fact that she is working on the map during their first phone call, for instance. At the end, when they kiss, there is the dreamy vision of his father that was seen earlier in the movie. One theme is how his father brought everyone together. His father brought them together too. Everything she says and does guides him to a place where he can deal with the things he needs to, that he must deal with alone, and ultimately brings them together. This is fully crystallized in that painfully bittersweet conversation after they spend the night together. She was so hopeful that he had gotten to that place, but realizes he hasn’t when he confesses all of his failures and inability to achieve greatness. It’s heartbreaking to watch her reaction, but even in this moment, she knows exactly what needs to be said. She redefines “greatness” for him, affirms her unconditional support for him, and makes him realize that they are not yet together. She knows there are things he needs to do first before their love for each other can fully exist. If she didn’t love him, she wouldn’t have done the things she did and she wouldn’t have come back after their sad departure from that conversation. People go on in reviews and message boards about how she pushes him away. She doesn’t push him away, because if she did, she’d be gone. She pushes him to the growth that he needs. I mean, what an incredible gift to give someone! The road map she made for him and the road trip he takes is the place he needs to be. That can only be done out of love. The map leads him to discovery, to resolution, through every emotion, to an understanding of what is actually important in life, and it leads him to her.
This movie was incredible. But it is a movie that a lot of people won’t understand. There are some wonderful messages and truths spoken in the movie that should not be dismissed. “His death was only the beginning of his victory”. And it is so true that “Some music needs air”. Everyone is solid in this movie. Paula Deen is great, Jessie and Samson are great, all the townspeople are spot on. Orlando Bloom does a solid job. His emotional journey on the road trip, laughing and crying at the same time was very true to life. The music is great, which goes without saying. I mean, it’s Cameron Crowe, of course the music is great. And Kirsten Dunst is simply wonderful in this movie. She is authentic and genuine and complex and simple and her performance was amazing and heartwarming. She is a great actress and it shows here. Almost Famous has been my favorite Cameron Crowe movie for a long time, but Elizabethtown shares the Number 1 spot now.