My Favorite Movie: Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward is an American drama/romance film based on a book of the same name written by Catherine Ryan Hyde. The film was released in October 22, 2000. The film made $32.8 million, according to Rotten Tomatoes. The director of this movie is Mimi Leder. Leder was born January 26, 1952 in New York City and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her father Paul Leder was a director, producer, actor, writer, and editor. Therefore Leder's interest in film sparked. She  was the first woman accepted to study cinematography at the American Film Institute. Leder began her film career as a script supervisor on films such as Dummy, The Boy Who Drank Too Much, and NBC's TV series Hill Street Blues. She then went on to direct and produce a short film called Short Order Dreams. Leder received attention for her work and was given the opportunity to direct an episode of L.A. Law. Later she was nominated for four Emmy's for directing episodes such as Crime Story, The Bronx Zoo, Midnight Caller, and China Beach. Leder's break came in 1994, when she was hired to direct the successful drama ER. In 1997 Leder received a job offer from Steven Spielberg to direct The Peacemaker. It was the first motion picture produced by DreamWorks. Leder continued working for DreamWorks and directed Deep Impact, and Pay It Forward in 2000. Pay It Forward takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Eleven year old Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) is given an assignment by his seventh grade social studies teacher Eugene Simonet (Kevin Spacey) to change the world for the better. McKinney's plan is to willingly do a good deed for three  different people in hopes that it creates a branching tree of good deeds. Though this bright young boy had a big heart, he lacked a stable home environment. His mother Arlene (Helen Hunt) was an alcoholic working two jobs to support her son and his father Ricky (Jon Bon Jovi) left them. McKinney's first good deed is to let Jerry (James Caviezal) a homeless man sleep in the garage. In return Jerry does car repairs for Trevor's mother. Arlene paid Jerry's favor forward by forgiving her own mother Grace (Angie Dickinson) for her mistakes in raising Arlene. Then Grace, who is homeless, helped a gang member escape from the police. The gang member then saved a girl's life, and the girl's father gave Chandler his new car. Next, Trevor targeted Mr. Simonet, Trevor's teacher, and set him up with Arlene on a romantic dinner date. Trevor and Eugene fight over her alcoholism, which led Trevor to run away. The incident once again united the teacher and Arlene. They eventually find the boy. The fresh relationship between Arlene and Mr. Simonet turned sexual. Arlene accepted Simonet regardless of his disfigured complexion. Their feelings and affection for each other grew. Their relationship came to a sudden stop when her alcoholic ex-husband returned begging to be welcomed back into their lives. Mr. Simonet gets angry due to Ricky's lies and Arlene's tendency to give in. Mr. Simonet later confessed to Arlene that his burnt skin was from his father intentionally burning him. Arlene learned her lesson with Ricky and left him. Chandler, a Los Angeles journalist, traced the root of these random acts of kindness to Trevor. Chandler conducted a recorded interview  in which Trevor described his hopes for the "pay it forward" project. The remainder of this film is more sweet than bitter. As A.E. stated in his poem, "Smart lad, to slip betimes away
                                                         From fields were glory does not stay
                                                         And early though the laurel grows
                                                         It withers quicker than the rose".

I was impressed with this movie from the lighting to the moral of the story. When Trevor's teacher tells the students about the "pay it forward" project I felt like that was unrealistic. How can a teacher assign a student to change the whole world? I realized that all it takes is one individual to transform a life and so on. The person doesn't necessarily have to impact six billion people, as long as they are being involved in their community. It is more profitable to give than it is to receive. The statement rings true especially this Christmas season. The film also taught me acceptance and perseverance. Fight for what you love and never back down. In the midst of Trevor's troubles he persevered and went beyond the call of duty. Trevor found a way when no one else would. The reason Trevor chose Mr. Simonet as one of his first deeds was because Trevor lacked a father figure in his life. Trevor tricked his mother and Mr. Simonet  into a dinner date in hopes that they fall in love. Furthermore, Arlene was a heavy drinker as opposed to his teacher. The teacher would be a better influence and keep Arlene away from drinking. Arlene in turn was afraid to let any man in her life because she was too afraid of getting hurt or she felt unworthy of it. She was so used to being treated badly by her ex-husband that she has been accustomed to it. Their relationship quickly escalated and Arlene learned to accept Mr. Simonet the way he was. To her looks did not matter. Acceptance also led to forgiveness. Arlene paid it forward by forgiving her mother for the way she grew up. Arlene forgave her mother in order to move forward. Arlene did not accept that whatever happened to her was acceptable, but to reflect, look at it for what it is, learn from it, and move on. These life lessons apply to real life. The acting was exceptional.  No one could have played Trevor better than Haley Joel Osment. Helen Hunt was a really good actor as well as Kevin Spacey. The lighting was substantial however it could have been better. Lights and shadows help set the mood. I didn't see that in the movie. The camera positions and angles were exquisite. Camera angles were awesome in the last scene. Overall this movie was phenomenal and uplifting.     Movie Rating: 5