Secret life of Walter Mitty(2013)

A closer look

By
Aparaajith S
 THE MAKERS
Based on short story by the same name by James Thurber.
There has been an earlier film adaptation of this story.

Producers-
20TH Century Fox
TSG entertainment
Samuel Goldwyn films
Red Hour films

Director-
Ben Stiller.
Has earlier directed
Cable guy(1996)
Reality Bites(1994)
tropic thunder (2008)
zoolander(2001) and zoolander 2(2016)
 THE ACTORS
Ben Stiller as Walter Mitty
Kristen Wiig as Cheryl Melhoff
Kathryn Hahn as Odessa Mitty
Sean Penn as Sean O'Connell
Adam Scott as Todd Hendricks
Shirley Maclaine as Walters mother
 How I look at the plot
Walter Mitty is a normal man who has worked
in a magazine for 16 years.
He has been working since the age of 17
when his father died.
He used to sport a Mohawk and aspired to
backpack around Europe. But didnt travel
ever since he started working.
His romantic interest in Cheryl Melhoff, his
conversations with Todd Mahar and his wok
emergency, together push him to travel the
world.
He does things that he wouldve never done
before and lives by the motto of his employer
life magazine.
 Highlights of the film
Walter is shown leading a mundane life
which is signified by his dress, his
residential area and his body language.
He takes care of his mother and his sister
who wants to be an actress. He is always
looking out for them.
He is nervous about approaching his
colleague Cheryl who he has a liking for.
Walter keeps daydreaming: imagining
himself doing heroic things like saving
Cheryls 3 legged dog and
insulting/fighting his new boss.
 Highlights of the film
Walter loses the final cover photo
negative of the last ever issue of life
magazine. He gets fired for the same
reason.
He travels to Greenland, Iceland and
Afghanistan and finally finds it in the
wallet gifted to him by Sean.
At the end, he picks up his severance
check, finally asks Cheryl out and sees
the cover photo of life magazine which is
him examining negatives at a fountain
outside his office.
 Why it works
The storyline is not in-your-face. Ben Stiller has directed it
in a very subtle fashion. Every characters background is
known through the dialogues of the movie.
The visuals of his apartment, office and New York are
shown like a normal city would be shown. It is unlike how
other films portray New York.
The visuals of his travels are breathtaking and dreamy.
They inspire you to travel and see places for what they are.
The dialogues are poetic, but not aggressive. They are very
well written and are fluid in nature. They portray
characters and story in a very effective way, hence keeping
you glued to the screen.
His adventures like jumping from a helicopter, cycling
through a unknown route, skating through a winding road
and trekking to a peak in Afghanistan are fantastic and
show adventure in a non preachy way. These are more
about the places than Walter Mitty.
The narration is like a short story and connects to the child
in me.
 Why it works
The soundtrack/ background music of the film is
brilliant and leaves you calm at the end of it. Songs
have the power to portray emotion and move you.
Every relationship in this movie is life-like. Walters
bonding with his assistant Hernando, Cheryl and her
son, Walter's mom and sister, Sean O'Connell etc is
realistic and relatable.
The climax isnt heavy and doesnt determine where
their lives will go from here. But it does assure you
that theyll be happy together.
The film has a mix of heroism, romance, individual
growth, adventure, subtle drama, family bonding,
workplace bonding and positive acceptance.
I have recommended this film to all my friends.
I plan to read this story to my children some day and
also watch the movie with them. a life full of love,
adventure and hard work is truly a life worth seeing.
 This
write-up is
dedicated
to the
people
who made
this
beautiful
film

Thank you!