Up 2
Posted: 9/16/2009
Written By: Matt
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I saw Up a few nights ago, at the cheap theaters, because that's just how I roll.
Don't look at me like that. Here in Michigan, dollars mean something again.
Anyway, since I knew I was going to see it at some point, I never did read Dan's blog post about it. So risking unnecessary redundancy, I'll post my own here.
My initial reaction, as whispered to my wife as the closing credits started rolling: “I'm very sad.”
Up is a story about redemption, but to end there we need to first lay the foundation of disappointment and loss. It did this very pointedly in a mostly dialog-free montage of the passing of life from youthful expectation to elderly reality. In doing so, it does not shy away from the fact that life is, at often the same moments, both heartbreaking and beautiful.
I've heard it said of well-written, thoughtful music, that it makes happy people sad and sad people happy. Up did this to me.
Maybe it is due to my phase of life that I identify so closely with the main character. I am now in my 13th year of marriage and I realize that up until now, it has been mostly seed-planting, but as we age, those roots will grow and our later years will be mostly harvesting. The guiding principle, then, is to be very careful of the seeds that are planted. I understand, therefore, the thoughts of a man who realizes that his wife's adventure has never reached her goals, and his drive to see it done while he still can.
He is old. He is crochety. I will be too someday. But I recognized his heart as looking much like my own, so I am sad for him, and happy for him, and I root for him to find his way.
And just when the heaviness gets to be a bit much, Up gives some of the best laugh lines that Pixar ever put to screen.
It is writing worth watching.
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