Film review of Eat, Pray, Love
On location in India in Columbia Pictures' EAT PRAY LOVE. © 2010 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Eat, Pray, Love is a Julia Roberts movie. Her elegantly chiseled features, distinctive curled upper lip and large, limpid brown eyes dominate the movie. It’s a travelogue all right – a travelogue of Julia’s face and her familiar, and limited, emotional range.
First, the positive
There are two things I like about Eat, Pray, Love. One, the male cast members. The filmmakers very wisely decided to surround the leading lady with excellent actors. James Franco, Billy Crudup and Javier Bardem are all excellent as the men in her life. The love story in Bali with Bardem is the best part of the movie. If they had simply made it a love story, set in the lush tropics of Bali, it would have been much more satisfying.
On location in India in Columbia Pictures' EAT PRAY LOVE. © 2010 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The star of the show is Richard Jenkins, who was also excellent in The Visitor. It’s worth the price of admission to see his scene on the roof of the ashram, when he tells Julia/Liz about losing his family. It’s the emotional centre of the film, and the raw honesty of that scene makes the rest of it look like an episode of The Love Boat.
The other think I like is, of course, the travel photography—the scenes of Italy and Bali are lovely. But how they could make sun-filled India look like Transylvania on a bad day is beyond me. And for the record, I stay in a lovely, clean ashram, full of white, airy buildings on acres of gorgeous gardens dripping with huge tropical flowers. It is a veritable garden-of-eden (to see pictures, read my post Auorvalley Ashram: A haven of peace and conscious living). I understand they chose this ashram in the movie because it’s close to the airport. They make it look like the airport hotel of ashrams. Oh, what a wasted opportunity to show how splendid and beautiful an ashram can be!
Missed opportunities
I have three main problems with the Eat, Pray, Love movie:
- I don’t know what it is about,
- it’s awash in wasted opportunities,
- it makes India look dark and gloomy.
I have spent hours thinking about this movie, trying to figure out what it is about, I really have. And therein lies the problem – should a movie that purportedly celebrates the joy of traveling, eating, praying and loving in exotic destinations be so difficult to grasp?
Maybe there is nothing to grasp. Maybe that’s the problem. The main character – Eat, Pray, Love book author Elizabeth Gilbert, played by Julia Roberts – is not interesting and her situation is just not compelling. She’s young, beautiful and successful and keeps falling in love with hunky men, who fall madly in love with her, too. It’s really hard to feel sorry for her; it’s really hard to understand her angst. And the problem is compounded by the charismatic Ms. Roberts’ limited acting abilities.
On location in India in Columbia Pictures' EAT PRAY LOVE. © 2010 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
EPL: Elephant Pushes Lady
This is movie that desperately needs a metaphor. Here’s one for you – and it is from one of my favourite scenes in the film. Julia/Liz is sitting outdoors at the ashram in India when a painted elephant starts walking towards her. She has been warned that a rogue elephant is on the loose, so she is naturally apprehensive. (By the way, this actually happened last spring when I was at my ashram in north India – though I never saw the elephant).
She gets up and touches the elephant and the elephant playfully responds, with no sign of aggression. The scene ends. It’s a lovely moment and the filmmakers do nothing with it. Julia/Liz doesn’t seem to learn anything from it; there is no epiphany; it doesn’t move the plot forward; nothing. That’s what this movie is like. Pushing an elephant. And missed opportunities.
There are so many missed opportunities in this movie! It’s heartbreaking. Kind of like visiting Shimla and seeing all the shabby cafes lining the ridge, in the way of the view of the Himalayas, rather than taking advantage of it.
Here’s another potential metaphor. Again at the ashram, our heroine gives up her SILENT badge to become a group hostess, kind of like Julie on The Love Boat. (Why does this movie keep making me think of The Love Boat?!?) She misses her opportunity to actually experience India, spiritual awareness and the chance to begin to transcend her ego.
On location in India in Columbia Pictures' EAT PRAY LOVE. © 2010 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
So my top two problems are related – and ironic given that this story is supposedly about a woman who goes in search of herself to an ashram in India. From a yoga perspective, the Julia/Liz character confuses her ego with her Self. Her angst stems from her egotism and her inability to commit to anything larger than herself. And her character – and therefore the movie – is severely limited by this egotistic perspective. She doesn’t transcend her ego, she doesn’t have a spiritual epiphany, she doesn’t open herself to god – she just falls in love again. What’s in it for me, the viewer?
But I’m still puzzling about what this movie is about. I think it’s about how Julia/Liz had to travel to Bali to finally commit to a man. Maybe the scriptwriters got Eat, Pray, Love and author Elizabeth Gilbert’s following book, Committed, mixed up when they were writing.
Okay, I’ve done way too much hair pulling and teeth-knashing over this movie. I’m going to meditate.
My word for this movie is boring.
It’s interesting to read this. I’m in two minds about going to see the film when it gets to NZ as I was in two minds about reading the book (which I did in the end). I can think of other books that I’ve read and the film version has stripped much of the content to replace it with a love story and it sounds like this may be a similar case. I think we have to assume that movies are not always meant for readers of books, and vice versa and maybe just try to enjoy them as separate things.
Hi there, I’m the one woman crusade against this book/movie/vomit.
120 pages of eating pasta. 120 pages of whinging about a Sanskrit chant. 100 more pages of woo-woo in Bali.
Where was the India I experienced? I didn’t find it in the book. The only good thing is that the movie will bring a load of American tourists to Bali, all looking for Gilbert’s imaginary woo-woo Bali (of course, the real Ubud was not anywhere in the trashy, whining, narcissistic banter in the book).
Seriously, I wish I could understand what it is that women see in this book, because it’s beyond me.
And no, I’m not going to see the movie. EVER.
Like your previous commentator I was in two minds about the book. Only read it because someone, a true traveller, who I love and respect very much, read it and recommended it. The biggest difference between that person and me is that English is not her first language, and her cultural experiences are different in many ways to mine, so I think she may have seen different things in the book.
I also totally agree that movies rarely depict the whole story. I suppose it just isn’t possible, unless the book has been a very slim one, to pack it all in to a film of acceptable length (look at Gone with the Wind), though sometimes they appear not even to have tried. Movies generally seem to be much more concerned with making money than are books.
That said, absolutely every single word you have written here which is critical of the movie I would also level at the book. I like Gilbert’s style. I admire her capacity to see an opportunity and make money (she had the book deal BEFORE she went off on her jaunt, and she had it all mapped out, time-wise, 4 months/4 months/4 months) I also love that TED lecture she gave which is doing the rounds just now, but I do not see the book as an answer to anyone’s quest, hers, mine or anyone else’s. I’m glad it’s going to make money for restaurants in Italy,gurus in Indonesia, and India in general (absolutely respect her refusal to name the ashram), but it doesn’t answer any questions, and at the end I wondered exactly what you wonder about the movie, what was it all about? I came to the conclusion it had been an easy and amusing read, and I put it on my travel book shelf, not my spiritual reading shelf.
Hmmm. Now the question is, to see or not to see!
I wondered how they were going to deal with the India section of the story. In my opinion it was the weakest part of the book, for the simple reason that it is extremely difficult to explain one’s spiritual awakening to anyone else, let alone convey it well in a book (and Gilbert quite simply doesn’t do much of anything else in India besides hanging out in the ashram). Conveying something like that in a movie is even harder, because you don’t have the ability to get into a character’s head the way you do in writing.
And, yes, you’re also right that this is not really a book that lends itself to the narrative structure of a movie. Julie and Julia had the same problem. I think the trend of turning gimmicky memoirs into narrative/fictional films is really overrated.
Thanks for the thoughtful comments. In the end, I think the main problem with the EPL book/movie is that it is over-hyped. As a memoir, it is fine, nothing special. But it has come to stand as an inspirational story about a spiritual quest. As my friend said on FB, she doesn’t change, she doesn’t transform, she just falls in love again. In terms of increasing spiritual awareness, it’s a baby step.
I agree with your points. I honestly think they should have made 3 movies. I think if they had 2 hours to do the Pray chapter it would have been 100X better. I LOVED the elephant scene BTW!!!
Yes, I also agrre. This is a quickie travel book (eye candy) and not a spiritual primer. The inner journey must be done in solitude and silence…not for commercial gain guaranteed a few months later.
It’s no secret that I’ve been excited for this movie. However, I recently read the book and saw it as neither a travel book nor a spiritual quest memoir. I saw it as a book that chronicled the emotional journey of a woman at the end of her proverbial rope. For the most part, I appreciated that part of it. I felt like the book fell apart a little at the end, when Gilbert started falling in love. But even that, as a woman, I understood. Who wants to finish a book about how confused you are when everything in your love life is going great? Even that resonated with me.
I haven’t watched any interviews with Gilbert, so I don’t know if she claims to be a spiritual giant or a travel expert. If she does, then I can understand the frustration with her book and the accompanying movie. I think the reason that many typical woman appreciate and understand the book is because even though the idea of year round travel doesn’t impress or shock the inner circle in the travel and spiritual worlds, it’s still a very novel idea for most to approach (even authors). Her reactions and responses are for the most part, pretty genuine and I think may make women feel like her story COULD be their story (if they ever did something like this).
Then there is the fact that I love Julia Roberts (always have since Steel Magnolias) and tend to jump at the chance to see her whatever she’s in. But now I’m bummed it will disappoint. Still gonna see it though!
Maren, Please check back after you see it and let us know what you think!
This is a wealthy woman who has the means to take off on a jaunt around the world on a mission to “find herself”. The book ends with her “finding” a man, with no indication of her having found HERSELF or not. If this book had been promoted as a book about just that – a wealthy woman in search of adventure and love – that would have been fine. But, it wasn’t. It was promoted and tauted as a book about enlightenment, finding oneself, etc. etc. To those of us on a true path of finding ourselves, this book – and I’m sure the movie too – is a slap in the face. An insult.
And you hit the nail on the head about Julia Roberts: she is indeed limited as an actress.
I read the book and wasn’t impressed. I will NOT be seeing the movie.
I picked up the book after watching a bit of Gilbert’s TED talk. I liked listening to her speak, so I finally took the book with me on vacation a few weeks ago. I ended up liking the book from p1. I liked Gilbert’s writing style, her anecdotes, and her simplicity in relating to others. I don’t believe she ever claims to offer a how-to-chart-your-spiritual-journey course in the book. It’s her personal journey, so it’s supposed to be about her, her thoughts and her take on what she experiences. She’s an established writer, and she had the connections to finance the trip by a smart publisher who knows what the mass population wants. We would have done the same, why do we fault her for that?
The movie, on the other hand, was produced by a savvy studio that also knows how to make money. That’s why it’s beautifully shot and why Julia Roberts is in it. (No offense to Julia, I do love her movies.) I spent the whole movie telling my siblings, this was in the book, this wasn’t, and when it was all over, I was very much ready to sleep.
But I’m keeping the book on my shelf, because I liked it. Even if it does get boring at the end, but then other people’s happy endings do tend to be boring.
I personally think that Hollywood likes to present India as poor and dirty and dangerous…it feeds our stereotypes – just think of Slumdog millionaire.
It’s sad – as I also see another side of India…but people just have one story in their head.
Thanks for the review. The movie isn’t out yet in Belgium – so I will be going when I return back to the US in September!
Thanks for your wonderful review, Mariellen. Just talking about the movie, I agree with so many of your points. I felt disconnected from the whole story, from the main character and from the point of the film- DEFINITELY, Richard Jenkins stole the show and he is the reason I feel any sort of satisfaction after watching the movie. Brilliant.
For a lot of people, travel is about discovering new things on a deeper level, learning about yourself, and connecting to and learning from the people who live in the places your visiting. Unfortunately, this move is not about travel and lacks any sort of substance. Too bad: it could have been really powerful, as it was a given it would be widely watched.
Lori, I know. The wasted opportunity to make a powerful, significant movie — instead of Julia Roberts fluff — is heart-breaking. I could cry. Seriously.
I have to say that, overall, I am grateful for two things:
1) Eat, Pray, Love has provoked so much thought about spiritual travel and journeys of self-discovery
2) I must have the best commentators on the Internet! All the comments I have received are so thoughtful, intelligent and conscious. Wow. I am learning from all of you. Thank you SO MUCH.
This has been a great exchange, a great experience. And we owe it all to a writer who went on a personal journey. Cheers to that.
Mariellen
As someone who hated the book, this review is interesting. The most interesting part is, nearly every top critic that slammed this movie said that Julia Roberts and her performance in the movie is the best and only redeeming thing about it (and Richard Jenkins). Some even called it Oscar worthy (like Richard Roeper of Ebert & Roeper).
The fact that this movie has no hook, or the stakes are low is a problem with all of Ryan Murphy’s films (and it doesn’t help that he also co-wrote this screenplay). He is good at being slick, Hollywood and creative, he is not at all good at, nor has he ever been, good at emotional depth. So you have a bad director, who also co-wrote the script, a woman writing her first screenplay ever, and below average source material (the book itself).
How can you feel something for Liz when it isn’t written? We don’t even know why she left her husband really. In the book she refuses to go into details so in the movie they glossed right over it, but what were they supposed to do, make them up? Again, in the book, Liz doesn’t go into details about why her relationship with David went to hell, so again the movie glossed right over it, but if Gilbert isn’t willing to give details, why should we care about her journey? The biggest problem to me with the movie was that the source material sucked. If you’re unwilling to divulge details about why you feel the need to go away, why am I supposed to care one iota about your journey? For instance, the scene in the bathroom where she asks God for help. In the book, that is played off as a joke. She makes her little “ha ha” comments and it’s hard to take her seriously. In the movie, it is a serious moment, a devastating one that was actually played pitch perfect. I felt more in that scene than I did the entire time I read that hammy book.
I found Gilbert self-congratulatory, narcissistic, annoying, and disingenuous. I don’t believe that she left to “find herself”, I believe she ran and much like in the movie – in the book, everyone she met just happened to fall for her or love her and welcome her. The only redeeming quality for the film for me was Julia Roberts, who is so completely endearing that I can understand why people would flock to her, and she somehow managed to tone down the self-congratulatory tone that was so present in this overrated book.
I find it so odd that so many people thought this movie would solve their problems or somehow give them great insight into what to do with their lives. The book didn’t! It’s just as someone said, a woman going on an adventure, only to end up in another man’s arms, where and how did she change in the book? I really do not understand what great metamorphosis occured in the book that people thought was missing in the film. The only difference between the book and the film is that I didn’t want to slap Julia Roberts’ Liz when the movie was over with.
Your review was pretty much bang on. I went with three women other women and three of the four of us thought it was a little slow moving, and somewhat boring and predictable. The fourth loved it and cried at the happy ending. Having said that, we thought the scenery was nice, but my friend Carol was disappointed that they didn’t show some of the more beautiful parts of Bali that she’s seen, and we all agreed with you that they certainly didn’t show India well.
We also agreed that it’s not paying full price to see (we saw it on a “cheap Tuesday” and the theatre was full. Other women we talked to briefly said they loved the movie, so it’s definitely got its fans.
Thanks for the review. I have not seen the movie yet, but I have read the book, and I did like it to a certain extent. Though I always wonder why India is shown in a unidimensional way in every Hollywood movie.
I saw the movie, and was disappointed esp. about the India section. The movie’s version of India was very different from the book, and the spiritual aspects were completely discarded. I have stayed in Ashrams in India in the past, and the movie could not capture the Ashram experience in any way, shape or form. Too bad, because in Gilbert book, her experience in the Ashram was the turning point in her life.
I just love Julia Roberts! The only reason why I would go watch the movie. Like she and the director said in an interview, you don’t need to travel to think about yourself, you can ask those ‘life questions’ everywhere and any moment. My experience with travelling is that you meet a lot of people, it’s intensive, you are continiously planning, and due to all the experiences, you don’t get a chance to think about your life during your trip. And..when you see some light, it vanishes as soon as you come back, and you’re pick up your ‘normal life’. Probably also the reason why I never read the book…too spiritual, too moralistic, too much like a fairytale, etc.
But still would like to see Julia in Monkey Forest, rice fields of Ubud, on a bike, been there, have done the same…and watching the movie will definitely bring back some good memories!
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On the morning of April 14 approximately 10 million people streamed into the sacred town of Haridwar in north India to bathe in the Ganga on the most auspicious day during the 2010 Kumbh Mela. I was one of them. Find out how I found myself alone, and at home, at the world’s largest spiritual gathering.
In Varanasi, where the veil between life and death seems very thin, a boat ride on the river can become a journey to the other side. Come along with me on a boat ride on the Ganges River in India’s oldest, holiest city and pierce the veil.
The Ganges / Ganga River is the Mother of India. The River speaks in many voices as she travels from the high Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. At the source, her song is joyous, full of the the jubilance of youth, the rush of fresh mountain streams, the sincere chanting of pilgrims and the excitement of the onward journey.
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