If you like Ernest Hemingway

Rating: 9/10 (24 December 2009)

People for the most part, like this movie. I love it. For those who don't love it, I feel like they are not fully appreciating the themes presented here. Perhaps because some of the user comments I've read appear to be from a woman's perspective (feminine user names such as melissa%*@#$ or am I stereotyping?), the main character being Clooney, a male, provides a more masculine approach to life. I could be sexist in presuming that stoicism is a masculine approach to life but that is the theme I most appreciate. I view Ryan Bingham as a stoic man much like Hemingway's Frederic Henry. He is a man's man of his own design and lives life unabashedly, stoically, and albeit efficiently tackling life day to day. People may view the movie as a whole or just the ending as "depressing" but I see it not as unapologetically realistic, but rather optimistically realistic. It very subtly highlights the kind of personal strength one needs to carry on through life with the connections they carry. I praise Ryan Bingham for the way he courageously carries on his life at the end, living not completely detached to humanity but at arms length. The apparent vulnerablness Clooney exhibits only adds to his character's emotional realism unlike Frederic Henry who could be viewed as maybe a little too unemotional but that's a whole other discussion.
On a side note, I thought the ending monologue was reminiscent to Cowboy Bebops when Laughing Bull tells of the passing of a warrior. Love it! I guess being written by a guy, this is definitely a movie that has more appeal to men rather than women.
On a quick note, I think the backdrop of the story being about laying off people was really just that, a backdrop and I feel that may have detached people from the real themes. Though I may rail against commercialism from time to time, there's a reason why commercialism works. But I digress. I believe this movie is a solid piece of work and deserves to be unapologetic, even for the times.