100% Approved

Rating: Null/10 (19 December 2012)

50 50 2011
Inspired by writer Will Reiser's own experience with cancer, 50 50 stars the adorable Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He gives a heart wrenching, as well as warming, performance as Adam Lerner, a 27 year old journalist who is diagnosed with cancer.
Alongside Levitt, Seth Rogan gives an almost equally commendable performance through skilfully injecting humour into this sensitive story line. A particularly memorable example of this being when Lerner, worried about his chances of survival, confides in his friend, Kyle (Rogan) that the likelihood of him surviving cancer is 50/50. In response to this, Kyle shakes his head saying "Oh God, I'm gonna be sick, I'm going to throw up", his empathy and drama lifting the mood and providing light in this very dark story. This method of mixing a theme as serious as cancer with humour is done very intelligently; the film aptly tip toes along the line between appropriately hilarious and being rallied against.
Kyle is a very interesting character in 50 50 in the way that he seems to be, in ways, Adam's alter ego; it appears that Adam keeps burying his feelings about his disease and how the situation is affecting him but Kyle is an outward portrayal of what he is really thinking. An example of this would be the scene in which Lerner shaves his head. He is staring in the mirror holding the clippers and telling himself that it's going to look fine whilst Kyle, in the background of the shot, is shaking his head saying "No it's not, no it's not. It's going to look weird." This not only adds humour but provides the audience an insight into Adam's true feelings of the situation.
Adam shaving his head (Time 31:41) Moreover, Bryce Dallas Howard plays girlfriend and antagonist Rachael masterfully. The audience is able to not only recognise her as the film's "baddie" but also empathise with her and recognise that, despite how immoral her actions are, she believes she is also a victim; this expertly creates a three dimensional character whom we can both hate and understand. However, I cannot ignore that this is also due to a remarkable script writing on Reiser's part. Nevertheless I think that Howard is, without question, deserving of applause for her contribution.
A particularly moving scene in 50 50 is one in which Adam is in hospital and about to be wheeled off into the operating theatre and undergo life threatening surgery in order to overcome his cancer. There is an almost overwhelming degree of desperation to live that seeps from the screen and it, despite the cliché hand grasping, works beautifully.
Adam being taken to the operating theatre (Time 1:26:36) However, although this film seems initially without fault, after considering 50 50 further I came to realise the very strange way in which doctors are represented. Doctors are presented to the audience very negatively and without an obvious explanation as to why. An example of such negative representations would be the dizzy, unprofessional – in spite of her efforts - and under experienced psychiatrist, Katherine McKay (Anna Kendrick) that has been entrusted with this serious case. Her naïvity and youth exemplified through a reference to Doogie Howser and her confusion as to who/what that is and justification of asking, "Does he work here?" McKay progresses in the film to be a seminal character but is awarded such importance through such innocence and not via her skills as a psychiatrist. Another example of such representations would be when character Kyle goes as far as undermining a surgeon when she is telling him, and Lerner's mother, the result of Adam's surgery. In addition to this, the doctor who initially diagnoses Lerner's cancer is cold and distant when delivering the news and treats Adam as if he is a nuisance when he interrupts him making notes on this unique case. This coldness could be interpreted as exaggerating the protagonist's personality as polite and innocent with a juxtaposing character, however it just further reinforces the idea that doctors, or those in the medical industry, do not care.
Nevertheless, the fore mentioned scene, in which Lerner is diagnosed, is brilliantly shot. As he receives the news and the word "cancer" is uttered the audience hears nothing further than white noise. The screen fills with disjointed close ups and mid shots, illustrating that Adam is no longer concentrating on what the doctor is saying and is deafened by the weight of the word.
The film creates what seems to be an insight into an alternative view of the experience of being diagnosed with cancer. It provides us with a 27 year old man who, as well as deserving sympathy, still uses his illness to get girls, uses his friend's pubic hair trimmers to shave his head and, along with the other cancer patients, eats macaroons laced with marijuana when being treated with chemotherapy. 50 50 presents the audience with a cancer sufferer who is uncomfortable with sympathy and wishes people would be honest with him and isn't allowing the disease to become part of his identity or reflect how people interact with him. This alternative view, that alleviates the weight of the topic with wittiness and hilarity, makes 50 50 a refreshingly honest film.
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