THEM. HER. HIM.
That’s the order to watch them in. The director made three films of the same story from three perspectives. Them (2014), he released a year after the other two. Despite the overlap, a distinct change in perception exists and shifts between the three. I found myself sympathizing with each character equally, depending on the perspective. However, the changes were subtle and the story often unaffected.
We are selfish beings who protect our own innocence and see ourselves as the victims. It is somehow healing to see the same story from three sides. It’s the essence of sociology. The same book sits on a table, but one person sitting there gets a view of the top edges and rough pages while another sees only the spine.
This beautifully acted story tells the three sides of heartbreak as tragedy tugs at us all differently. Some, like the husband, swim headfirst under the wave of sorrow and into the torrents of business and busyness and every day existence hoping to come up on the other side unscathed. James McAvoy runs a failing restaurant in New York City with his best friend Bill Hader . His father, Ciaran Hinds, runs a successful restaurant and can offer little support or advice that will help his wounded son find what he also cannot.
Others, like the wife, tumble in the riptide until fighting the wave feels too difficult and they want to give in to the dive knowing they’ll never resurface to breathe the same air again. Jessica Chastain dives and is reborn. She moves home, cuts her hair, starts over. She takes classes from the perfect teacher, Viola Davis . Sometimes, people inadvertently offer life-giving support just by sharing a coffee or a personal story. Her father, William Hurt, obviously aches beside his daughter but says little. No one can bring Eleanor Rigby back to life any more than they can revive her child. Healing takes time, turmoil, patience, forgiveness, and more love than any of them believe that they can spare.
These films are not for the fearful, forlorn, or finicky. They are dark, personal, pain-filled and foreboding. They deal in recovery, but hit bottom first. The layers serve to complicate and dissect the tumultuous waves of grief, which are unforeseeable and almost unnavigable, much like real life.
Liam Neeson narrates the bookended tales capping either side of this second Snow White.
Blunt as Ice Queen builds an army of kidnapped child soldiers in order to rid the world of love. Sadly for her, even the most highly trained automatons cannot erase emotional pangs, especially when Chris Hemsworth enters the room. If he liked a duck, it would probably develop a serious crush. So, Thor’s blonde tendrils woo even the stoic fighter Jessica Chastain as he waltzes through with his band of merry men hoping to save the world for love.
The special effects scenes worked, perhaps because they included A-list actors in leather fighting each other: battle blades and arrows versus witching forces wielding weapons of ice, blood, fire and gold dust. This film felt a lot like the show Once Upon a Time in a tuneless Frozen recap minus the charming snowman and sisterly affection.
This film is a giant leap for outer space storytelling after many films that take only small laborious steps from one malfunction to the next. This film achieves the same survival efforts but perks up the pace by blending them with upbeat attitudes and humor, a boost for math and science education, and a swell of hope.
We wonder if we’d make it. On the reality tv series Survivor, it’s more about interconnectivity and socio-relational survival. You’ve gotta win the trust of the right people. Our Martian is all alone but can somehow function, create, self-motivate, and build. Fortunately he is vlogging, or video journaling, instead of talking to a volleyball. There is a countdown, rationing, always a next step.
Then the supporting cast gets to work. The future NASA as it is presented, looks feasible as they pull an Apollo 13 by pooling their efforts and collective genius. Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Donald Glover, Jessica Chastain…the list goes on. It’s a beautiful cast on a film worth seeing.
Damon’s character Watney sees problems as opportunities. He strategizes and builds, sets deadlines and works hard to meet them. In his own quirky way, he says goodbye to every little thing, thanking storage bins and chairs for helping him make it each day. 
Gratefulness goes a long way. And whether he survives or not, you feel, as he does, simply thankful for each day, each sunrise, each plant, each breath.
The message of this film is clear: life is precious and worth fighting, striving, creating, growing, learning, laughing, surviving for. Don’t miss it, any of it.
Splatter: on FILM 