50/50

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2013)

I was reading the latest edition of Entertainment Weekly where they announce the Entertainers of the Year 2012. I glanced through the pages to find Ben Affleck, the cast of Homeland including Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Anne Hathaway until I came across Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He's a peculiar kind of actor that came out of nowhere until I noticed him in movies like Inception and Dark Knight Rises where he's gotten momentum and noticeability, luckily not the wrong kind of publicity that we've come to expect from other young actors (see Lindsay Lohan) but a good recognition for their good work instead of their personal lives.
I read the article expecting to see his work on 50/50 which came out in 2011 but they only focused on The Dark Knight Rises and Looper (with Bruce Willis). Then I realized the title: Entertainers of the Year 2012. I prefer him in smaller films like 50/50 and 500 Days of Summer where his performance shines through. In 50/50, he plays a young man who discovers that he's got a rare life-threatening tumor and has a, you guessed it, 50/50 chance of surviving it. What I like most about the story is that, instead of being melodramatic and depressing, it turns out to be rather uplifting and, dare I say, funny. Based on the true story by Will Reiser, the film sees Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) dealing with his cancer treatment on his own. His father suffers from Alzeihmer's and his mother (played by the always wonderful Anjelica Houston) is so overbearing and protective of him that he chooses to deal with his battle with cancer alone with little to no help from his detached girlfriend Rachael (played by Bryce Dallas Howard). His best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) tries his darnest to be very supportive of him but he doesn't realize that his friend is slowly but surely slipping away and he doesn't know how to cheer him up. His therapist (Anna Kendrick) is not very experienced on the matter either (she only has 2 other patients under her belt) thus Adam becomes very defensive and brutally honest with her: he's sick and tired of everyone telling him that whatever he's feeling is "normal" , his attitude and mood swings "understandable" under his condition. He's tired of everybody being so "nice" when they learn about his condition yet nobody is really honest and upfront with him (except for Kyle who seems rather oblivious to the fact that his best friend has cancer). He wants somebody to have the guts to tell him that he may not be okay, that there's a chance that he may not make it and help him cope with that fact. I am glad that these movies gets made and they don't always have a Hollywood ending. I especially like the raw performance from Joseph Gordon Levitt that is deserving of an award or just recognition. He really holds the movie together by inviting us to look at how fragile one's life really is. There's a particular moment when we see Adam going for the eminent surgery that may either cure him or kill him quicker and, for a brief moment, he loses faith and needs somebody there for him. Luckily his mother is there and the moment is so brief yet so powerful that sends chills down my spine. I literally saw the fear in his eyes at the uncertainty that lay ahead of him. It's one of those moments that don't make it to the script but are worth 1,000 words.