Day 109: Young Adult

Depressed author Mavis (Charlize Theron) heads back to her home town to try and get back together with her high school boyfriend. He’s married and has a child now but Mavis seems to think of it as a challenge and that she will be saving him from a miserable life.

My number one feeling for the entire film was, uuuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggggggghhhhhh. This could’ve been an interesting story but it just ended up being dreadful. Rather than perhaps explore the mental health problems that Mavis is dealing with, she just gets painted like this nutter who is trying to steal back her ex. We can see she is an alcoholic (or is definitely on the road to being one), and that she’s depressed, and we get quick glimpses of her having trichotillomania (when someone pulls their hair out). It would’ve been much more interesting to see her deal with those issues instead of what actually happened.

Mavis comes to town and phones Buddy (Patrick Wilson), her ex boyfriend, in the hopes that he will come out for a drink. It’s a bit difficult for him to just drop everything and come out now that he’s got a newborn baby but he says he’ll meet her the next day. In the meantime she sees Matt (Patton Oswalt) who went to her high school but who she never really paid much attention to because he was a nerd and she was popular. Over the course of the film the two spend quite a bit of time together; both are lonely and struggling to get past their high school lives and it has left them both bitter. He tries to get her to see that what she’s doing with Buddy isn’t right but she has convinced herself that Buddy wants to be with her. That is until she talks to Buddy, saying that they can take off to the city together and get away from his family life, and he shoots her down. He tells her that everyone just feels sorry for her and that he didn’t even want to see her but his wife made him because she felt bad. Mavis is obviously hurt and she heads over to see Matt and then they have sex. Right, no. He knew how hurt she was and he just has sex with her? Noooope. That is called taking advantage. I get the feeling we’re supposed to like Matt but that plan was blown out the water when he thought it’d be a good idea to sleep with someone who is clearly going through a hard time. Anyway. She then gets a little pep talk from Matt’s sister who seems to be harbouring some love for her (or I just see lady love everywhere, who knows) and she heads off back to the city. But it’s not like she’s learned anything, she hasn’t come away from this knowing what she did was wrong or any of that. It’s more like she thinks she’s better than them and to just forget the place. There is no point in this fiiiillm aaargh.

I’m frustrated by the film’s pointlessness and boring plot. And the acting was hardly stellar either, which is odd considering the cast. And I hate that I'm now saying 'adult' like how Americans say it, god sake. Nothing has gone right here.

3/10

Day 106: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Hearing that the world is going to end in 21 days, Dodge’s (Steve Carell) wife decides now is the time to leave him. After he finally get 3 years worth of mail back from his neighbour Penny (Keira Knightley), he finds that his high school sweetheart wrote to him saying that he was the love of her life and he decides he is going to see her before the world ends. Penny helps him on his journey because she feels guilty that she didn’t give him the letter months before. And in return he offers to get her on a plane that will take her back to her family. But then love happens and changes their plans somewhat.

Penny missed the last planes and is devastated that she can’t get back to England to be with her family, so when Dodge says he knows someone with a plane, the two set off. He is annoyed with her to begin with because he didn’t get to be with his high school sweetheart this whole time due to Penny having the letter but he warms to her quite quickly. After escaping from a drug-induced orgy, the two then have sex in their truck. She tells him she wants him to be her last. They get to know each other and both come to care for each other. He puts her on a plane while she’s asleep so that she can get back to her family even though it means he’ll be without her. And once she comes to, she demands to be taken back to him. So they spend their last minutes together.

Think about how important that must be, to have someone want to be with you at the end of the world. You would be the last person they’d ever see or talk to, and they would want to be with you. I just think that’s amazing. If you’ve got someone who wants to be with you at the end I’d say you’ve hit it big there.

Really loved this film, it made me so upset. This is their last conversation and he tries to keep her calm during the end of the world.

Penny:  I don’t want to fall asleep, OK? Don’t let me fall asleep. Promise.

Dodge:  I promise. What about your parents?

Penny:  They’re romantics, they understand. Besides they’ve got each other and I just want to be with you.

Dodge:  I want to be with you.

Penny:  I couldn't live without you. No matter how long. What do we do now?

Dodge: I just want to lie here with you. I just want to talk to you.

Penny:  What are we going to talk about?

Dodge:  Where’d you grow up?

Penny:  I was born in Surrey, my whole family are from there. My mum was a journalist before she married my dad. They never fought, or at least, we never heard them fight. Charlie’s the oldest then Benny then me. We had a sister but she died when she was born. I still think about her. Oh god.

Dodge:  What was her name? What was your sister’s name?

Penny:  Patricia. Patricia Hope Lockheart.

Dodge: That’s beautiful. That’s a beautiful name.

Penny:  I wish I’d met you a long time ago when we were kids.

Dodge:  It couldn’t have happened any other way. It had to happen now.

Penny:  But it isn’t enough time.

Dodge:  It never would’ve been.

Penny:  I’m scared.

Dodge:  I am madly in love with you, Penny. You are my favourite, favourite thing.

Penny:  I thought that somehow we’d save each other.

Dodge:  We did. Penny, I’m really glad I got to know you.

9/10