Call me prejudiced. Whenever I've read an excellent book, like "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," or "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert, which was the #1 bestseller for many months, I'm already predisposed to like the movie ‒ as long as it's well cast, competently directed and reasonably faithful to the source material.
I watched the movie of Eat Pray Love with a friend who thought it was clichéd and didn't know that it's a memoir, not fiction. But it's a true story. I know ‒ critics have derided the character Julia Roberts plays, writer Elizabeth Gilbert, as being selfish and whiny. That's why she feels the desperate need to change.
After Liz's painful divorce in New York (the film's first section) from a staid writer (Billy Crudup) and a failed love affair with an aspiring actor (James Franco), she's in agony, no good to herself or anyone else. So she travels, something that people do when they are at wit's end.
Her first destination is Rome, where, after the frenetic pace and ambition of New York, she spends four months reveling in the Italian art of "dolce far niente" ‒ the art of doing nothing. And for the first time in ages, she is not with a guy. Instead, she studies Italian while relaxing into the sensual relaxation of the Roman lifestyle, indulging herself on pasta, wine and new friendships. It may be trite, but it's still a wonderful experience for stressed out, workaholic Americans, accustomed to fast food, to experience.
In a brilliantly abrupt edit that rips us from the languorous beauty and charm of Italy, we're immersed in the crazed cacophony of Liz's dusk arrival in India, where she's traveled to meet her recently adopted guru at an ashram outside Mumbai. We're thrown into the jangle of narrow streets jammed with noisy vehicles and people, the pressure of begging children, the dust and noise.
The ensuing sequence is an excellent depiction of what the spiritual seeker's life is like at an ashram. We see devotions in the temple, chores like scrubbing floors, extended periods of silence, and more.
Liz is befriended by a caustic, funny, and caring Texan with a painful family past (Richard Jenkins), who teaches her about their life of prayer and meditation. These two lost souls help each other and become fast friends. Through four months of work via meditation and devotion, Liz sheds her self-hatred, anger, and unhappiness and opens herself to a deeper level of consciousness and true happiness.
The final sequence is Bali, where Liz had visited previously and met Ketut, a local, aged healer who predicted her eventual return. In exchange for his spiritual teachings, she becomes his secretary, teaching him better English and organizing the reams of paper that he has spent a lifetime accumulating. The papers contain treatments and recipes for treating a huge range of ailments and illnesses, both physical and mental, many of which incorporate herbs. Liz also befriends a divorced mother who is herself a brilliant herbalist and healer.
The lessons that Liz learned in India are broadened and deepened by her four months in Bali, where she meets a divorced Brazilian businessman (Javier Bardem from Vicky Cristina Barcelona, No Country for Old Men). Wary and reluctant about him at first, she slowly falls in love with him. This segment is perhaps the least successful, since it's the most sappy or mushy.
Julia Roberts is excellent in an emotional part that ranges from profound unhappiness to joyousness. And Javier Bardem is, as always, wonderful. The supporting actors are good as well, including Viola Davis (Knight and Day, State of Play) as Liz's best friend.
Directed by Ryan Murphy (Glee and Nip/Tuck), Eat Pray Love is beautifully photographed by Robert Richardson (Shutter Island, Inglorious Basterds, The Aviator, Kill Bill).
Some of the soundtrack is over-obvious, with iconic, over-familiar songs that are too conveniently literal, like Neil Young's "Heart of Gold," Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)," and Jöao Gilberto's "S Wonderful," there's also Eddie Vedder's beautiful "The Long Road" and "Better Days."
Eat Pray Love received mixed reviews partly because it's uneven in numerous ways, partly because the mainstream critics almost always react harshly to movies that have spiritual content. But if you've ever felt seriously adrift in your life, ever felt the siren call to foreign travel as a possible means to change, ever reached rock bottom before you could open be opened to the possibilities love, happiness, and freedom through serious spiritual and psychological work, Eat Pray Love has much to offer. You may want to pick from its treats and overlook the unappealing bits, like an overfull platter piled high with a combination of spaghetti, curried lentils, and fresh mangoes ‒ along with some overripe cheeses and fruits.
