Here's the basic info on Elizabethtown:
Released in 2005
Written and directed by Cameron Crowe (Vanilla Sky, Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous)
Main Actors: Orlando Bloom, Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Kirsten Dunst
Overview of the plot: Main character, Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) gets fired from his employer, learns of his father's death, and gets dumped by his girlfriend within a short time frame. He heads to his father's hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, to bring his father back to Oregon. Along the way he meets quirky Claire Colburn (Kristen Dunst) and there is a spark of romance.
My thoughts: At first glance, this movie may appear to be one that would fall into the category of "Chick Flick" and only to be viewed by men on holidays or a birthday. However, the movie's themes do not center around romance. The romance adds to the story and carries the theme, but it is not dominate in the movie.
The movie has charm and gracefully takes the characters down a path of self discovery by defining what success and greatness means to the individual.
I happen to be a big fan of movies with inner dialog. Especially when it incorporates the themes of a movie and stimulates thought. I also enjoy movies with character development. Elizabethtown delivers on both of those items.
Some of my favorite passages from the movie:
"In that moment I knew. Success. Success, not greatness, was the only god the entire world served."
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"Then have the courage to fail big and stick around. Make them wonder why you're still smiling. That's greatness to me."
The reason I enjoy the first quote is because it's too true. There seems to be some type of society driven definition of success in the form of annual income, where you work, what type of car you drive, etc. While those things can mean success to some individuals, I think as a society there has been too much emphases on success on the surface instead of digging deeper.
I love the second quote because I think that someone's true character can be revealed in how he/she handles failure.
This movie looks at how a small change in perception can lead to big changes on how we define what success and greatness means to us.
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