For me, winter break was the perfect time to catch up on all the movies I’ve missed lately as a result of living in a small college town. I saw three movies during my copious downtime: “Up in the Air” and “The Princess and the Frog” in theatres, and “(500) Days of Summer” in the comfort of my own living room.
As I discovered, they are all excellent films in their own right, and all emphasize the same theme: They address the importance of having someone with whom to share your life.
The theme was expressed in a spectrum of ways. One film approached the subject through sadness, one through song and one through love. Nevertheless, all depicted humankind’s need for companionship in order to have a fulfilled life.
“Up in the Air” stars George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizing expert who lives his life surrounded by people physically but emotionally alone, up in the air as he goes through life. In essence, he travels the country the vast majority of the year, firing people for head honcho bosses day in and day out. His living is made on the losses of others, and so his life is one of loss as well. He attempts to free himself from the baggage of life by choosing a life of solitude, but at the same time he loses all human connection.
The viewer feels just as isolated as Bingham, and so the tone is melancholy as well as thought provoking. The viewer gets the feeling that Bingham does not want to be saved — but, as the viewer, all I wanted was for him to be just that. But, as with many of the best films, he and I were left without a true answer. Undoubtedly, it was one of the most well-written films I’ve seen this year.
I followed my first movie almost immediately with “The Princess and the Frog,” which was a colorful reminder that, in some cases, love does conquer all (even reptilian voodoo). Disney finally goes back to its roots of traditional animation in the film, while at the same time introducing its first African American princess in Tiana, voiced by Anika Noni Rose. As a working girl consumed by her dreams of success, Tiana loses sight of what really makes dreams complete: someone with whom to share them. And she finally finds this person in … a frog prince.
Though the song and dance routines do not rival classics like “Beauty and the Beast,” the film used music to advance the plot as well as the love story. In a scene reminiscent of “Kiss the Girl” in “The Little Mermaid,” Tiana realizes that ove can’t make dreams come true, but it can certainly help them along.
In “(500) Days of Summer,” the title character literally makes one man’s dreams come true. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tom, a hopeless romantic who finds his true love in Zooey Deschanel’s Summer, a woman who rivals any man in cynicism about love. Though Tom tries his best to convince her of the merits of love, Gordon-Levitt’s character finds himself up the creek without a Love Boat to rescue him. Summer leaves him, and though he initially sinks into depression, he finally realizes that the best part of love is all the forms in which it presents itself.
“(500) Days of Summer” brings to a head the idea of companionship that “Up in the Air” and “The Princess and the Frog” sought to address. The idea is that for a person to be good companion for someone else, they first need to be a good companion for themselves. Liking oneself is ultimately the key to liking someone else, the films suggest; if you aren’t comfortable in your own skin, then you can never be comfortable in someone else’s arms.
In the end, Ryan Bingham of “Up in the Air” was not happy with his life and who he was, and he closes himself off to the world; consequently, he finds himself within his loneliness. Tiana in “The Princess in the Frog” was so secure in herself that she was naïve and even almost arrogant enough to think that she didn’t need anyone else, until love came hopping up to her door. And Tom spendt so much time looking for love that he cannot believe it will find you when you least expect it.
All of these movies provoked a different reaction in me, but, in the end, as the credits began to roll, I had the same thought every time. I thought, I am so glad to have someone here to watch this movie with me. I thought, I am so glad to have people in my life who keep me from floating along in the clouds alone.
And that is what companionship is. Comfort and love.
