I've always enjoyed movies. Most of them are mediocre, some are atrocious, and even fewer are worth the time it takes for me to write out a blog post about it. It's not often that I'm left absolutely speechless after watching a film, but such is the case with 50/50. It's not even been ten minutes, so I can't say I've had time to properly digest it yet, but I wanted to just spew everything out into a post to highlight what it is that makes this film so richly captivating and beautiful, both in its execution and it's overall cinematography.
"50/50 is a 2011 comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Levine, written by Will Reiser, and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen. The film is loosely inspired by Reiser's own experience with cancer," so says Wikipedia. It tells the story of a 27-year-old radio journalist who one day learns he has a rare form of spinal cancer, and is the look at how he deals with it, how his friends deal with it, and what he learns about life while dealing with the knowledge that he will, more than likely, die from the experience.
The premise isn't, admittedly, revolutionary. It's not like it's a story that we've never heard before. What sets this film apart from all the others is how emotionally raw it feels with the way it approaches the idea of it all. There are parts in this film where you go from laughing to being outraged, crying, and then laughing while you cry. It is such a great blend of humor and drama that you almost never find in a film. Not only that, but you really connect with the characters. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who can do not wrong in my book (even in 500 Days of Summer, which I was certainly not a fan of), is the pitch-perfect choice for the role, and Seth Rogan, who I normally really dislike as in actor (it's hit or miss for me, I loved him alongside James Franco in Pineapple Express), compliments him really well.
I won't spoil any of the movie, but I will embed the trailer to further entice you to stop reading this and go watch the film.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMaJET7mD0M]
It's the best $4 I've ever spent on a rental, and without a doubt the Blu-ray will be en-route to my house very soon. I used to rate films with stars on this blog, but I refused to give out a 10/10. I'm changing that tonight. There may have been movies that I've enjoyed more (can't think of any right now; The Matrix is up there, but in a completely different way), but I'm not convinced there are many more objectively better films. So, undoubtedly, 50/50 gets a 10/10. Now go watch it.