Movie Review Eat Pray Love (2010)

 

Eat Pray Love | 2010 | 2h 13m
Genre: Biography/Drama/Romance | Country: Indonesia
Director: Ryan Murphy | Writers: Ryan Murphy, Jennifer Salt, Elizabeth Gilbert
Cast: Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, Richard Jenkins
IMDB: 5.8
My Rate: 7/10

Liz, after ending her marriage because she feels she has lost her sense of self, tries to leave everything behind and find the meaning of life by taking a long journey to Italy, India, and Bali.

Warnings:

Contains sensual scenes, nudity, strong language, and alcohol.

 
Synopsis:

Liz (Julia Roberts) travels to Bali and meets Ketut (Hadi Subiyanto), who predicts her life. Ketut says that Liz has two paths in love, one short and one long. Ketut also says that Liz will lose her money and travel, eventually returning to Bali.

Some time later, Liz faces problems in her marriage to Stephen. Liz feels that her life is not as she wants it to be, and she feels she has lost her sense of self. Liz eventually decides to end her marriage.

During the divorce process, Liz has a relationship with David, an actor she meets. David introduces her to meditation, which Liz eventually tries to learn to calm herself mentally. However, her relationship with David doesn't go smoothly either. Liz ultimately decides to travel to several places to find balance within herself.

Liz travels to Italy, India, and Bali. Liz is drawn to Italy. She learns the language, interacts with new people, and enjoys the Italian food and atmosphere. During her travels in Italy, she observes the interactions between her friends, showing affection and love for their partners.

Next, Liz goes to India to meet the Guru. Liz tries to meditate and make peace with her thoughts. Liz meets Richard, who is initially unkind but becomes a significant friend to her. Liz realizes important things and regrets she has kept hidden for so long.

The journey continues to Bali, as promised to Ketut. They meet again, and Ketut helps Liz maintain balance in her soul. Suddenly, Liz meets Felipe (Javier Bardem), who offers her love.

Will Liz open herself up and start a new life?

 

Review:

Eat Pray Love is a film adapted from Gilbert's book, which contains her personal memories and experiences about her life after divorce. The film was shot in several locations, including New York City (United States), Rome and Naples (Italy), Delhi and Pataudi (India), Ubud and Padang-Padang Beach in Bali (Indonesia). Unfortunately, this film doesn't explore and show the beauty or local culture of these places well. If it had done so, it might have made the presentation more interesting.

Eat Pray Love is a title that perfectly describes Liz's journey. Unfortunately, once again, this film doesn't portray the meaning of the title well. There are many things that could be optimized to give viewers a deeper impression. So that viewers can feel what Liz feels during her journey.

Italy should have been the place for Liz to show the meaning of "Eat" from the title. There is even a dialogue where she says that most of what she does in Italy is eat. However, there are only a few scenes showing Liz "eating" or "enjoying her food." We are too busy watching Liz learn Italian from her friends.

India is the next place to find the meaning of "Pray." She travels far to India to meet the Guru. Liz tries to find peace by meditating. Instead of watching her try to learn or understand meditation and the meditation readings she does, we are busy watching her argue with Richard. One of the "foregneir" who also tries to meditate there. Richard's rude attitude and his interaction with Liz here are a bit distracting.

Bali is where Liz tries to feel the meaning of "Love." From her long journey and the reason for her separation from her previous husband, she should have learned meaningful lessons in her life. This is because she made a bold decision to separate because of something she felt was important. However, it seems like Liz doesn't really learn about that.

Liz, who has just divorced, is already smitten with an actor and starts a relationship. Then, when she's in Bali, she easily becomes attracted to Felipe. It's not that she shouldn't feel love, but it's a bit inconsistent because Liz seems to fall in love easily. They don't even have deep conversations about life goals, which was the root of Liz's problems in her previous marriage.

The story idea is actually quite interesting and simple. The issue is also relatable to marital life in general. Where perhaps some couples feel they have lost their sense of self while in a marriage. Some make bold decisions to leave everything behind and start a new life, while others make decisions, perhaps after careful consideration, to stay. This is the story idea that this film tries to portray. Although I can't compare it to the book, as I haven't read it personally.

The acting of the cast is good. However, overall, the film doesn't leave a lasting impression. It feels like during the 2 hours and 13 minutes the film runs, the depth of the story isn't felt. However, we can still find messages about life in this film.

 

Memorable Scene:

Liz dances with imagination of her husband while on the rooftop. She tries to let go of all the feelings that are still lingering from her previous marriage. This eventually makes Liz more calm in her life.

In this scene, we can learn that to live our lives, we must be able to let go of wounds, pain, trauma, and other feelings that linger from the past. It's not easy. But when we do, our journey becomes more comfortable.

 

Memorable Dialogue:

"To have a broken heart means you have tried for something."

 

Ending:

Happy Ending

 

Recommendation:

Worth to Watch

 

(Aluna)