This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 11th, 2007 at 11:45 am and is filed under Drama, P, Romance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Starring: John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, Robert Duvall
This is a wonderful, and uplifting drama about human potential, as well as our treatment of those who don’t fit into our comfort zone of abilities. John Travolta, who plays the ordinary man better than anyone other actor (except, maybe Tom Hanks), nails this role. For those of you who were forced to read Flowers For Algernon in school, you already pretty much know the basic story here. It was an enjoyable book and is a fantastic movie.
John Travolta plays George O’Malley, a simple mechanic who finds learning difficult until one night when he sees a brilliant light that knocks him off his feet. From that time on, George finds learning and logic coming far easier to him. As he grapples with the cause of this phenomenon, and deals with all its effects, both on him and on how others react to him, O’Malley struggles to keep his life together. Forest Whitaker lends support as his best friend, and Robert Duvall, as his friend, and the local doctor. At the same time, he is trying to win the heart of a defensive, single mother played by Kyra Sedgwick. That’s quite a lot of stuff to have going on, even for a guy who appears to have superhuman capabilities.
This is an excellent, and very underrated film, that is another of my favorites. The sense of wonder it brings, along with the warm characters created, make this a very enjoyable viewing experience.
