Every Thing Will Be Fine

An artistic film about everyday life focusing on the popular writer Tomas Eldan and other artists and their close-ones whose paths cross upon each other when tragedy hits, unfolding a series of events that span over a decade. A small and realistic film by director Wim Wenders using brilliant 3D techniques centering around time and light that makes huge waves with the storytelling, the breathtaking cinematography and scenery with impressive performances, especially from James Franco and rising actor Robert Naylor. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rachel McAdams, Peter Stormare, Patrick Bauchau, Marie-Josée Croze and the young Julia Sarah Stone, Lilah Fitzgerald and Jack Fulton also feature. There were a few question marks in the script that stood out for me but the overall film-production and the skills they used satisfied me totally.

It happens rarely that I disagree with the majority of the film critic reviews to such an extent as with this film. So, without repeating the plot here for the hundredth time, I'd like to jump straight into it: Contrary to the general feeling of slowness and flatness of the film, I feel that the story and the script called just for this sort of painfully slow, cinematic and gently nuanced filmmaking and Wenders is the master of this type of cinema. Yes, there are clichéd conversation exchanges including the somewhat melodramatic ending, however, the more alert viewer will have already been warned in advance that such will be the case in a scene right before the final sequence, so one is not surprised and can enjoy Tomas' agony to the very last second. Also, I very much enjoyed the cinematography and music, which is the best company to the lonely and painful journey Tomas is going through - a guilt and inner scar that is there to stay for life and one can only have little hope to get rid of such a stone ever. There was also a comment of one reviewer about the flatness and "lack of arc" of the female characters in the story. I disagree that this is the film's flaw - quite the contrary again - it is only very well crafted as such - as the women (actually, as well as Tomas' editor and father) only appear sort of "at the periphery" of his life, doomed never to fully understand his inner notions - a combination of a struggle as a lonely artist only topped by the tremendous guilt and pain he has to live with. The only meaningful connection he has - amazingly perverted, yet understandable at the same time - is with Kate, portrayed - yet again - so mesmerizingly by Gainsbourg, that can hardly breathe during their scenes together. The only flaw that I see in this film is the casting of Franco as Tomas. I don't really understand this choice because even though he is a great actor, this role, I feel could have been better fit to a less "boyish" actor, who could grasp all the weariness of Tomas' everyday grey and burdensome reality a bit better.. However, Franco does his best here and it shows he does get the thin line he has to walk on never to flip the character into too much melodramatic position. So, overall, quite an achievement again for Wenders and the whole crew for keeping this film balancing on the thin edge of the knife the film's tone depends on.

Everything Will Be Fine is a small intimate movie, but suffers from an average screenplay and you can almost feel Wenders trying to bring intellectual depth to the movie. Although the center ultimately is the grieve and guilt following the death of a child in a car accident and coming to grips with that, it touches many themes which leaves the viewer purposively confused about the center and where to root himself in this movie in the first place: Broken relationships and families, stalking and a writer offering almost everything for success and coping with his remorse.

The use of 3D in the movie is sometimes quite effective. For example, the first two scenes worked well, showing dust and then snow creating a haze in the image suggesting the troubled mind of Tomas. In addition, there are other clever movie techniques at work: turning the camera in directions where you would not expect it to go (turning the camera away from the action or showing a wider angle of the situation); also making effective use of time, hopping forward frequently so the viewer has to adopt his frame of reference. Although the cinematography is not bad, you start missing the collaborations with Robby Müller producing his best movies in the past.

Gainsbourg (illustrator) I think is one of the oddest actresses around as she doesn't (or maybe can't) act. Franco (writer) is consistently clever and restrained in the movie, although you see him struggling in the first scenes. The score of Desplat is very apt for the atmosphere of the movie.

I hope Wenders finally wins his deserved first Oscar, not for this but for the excellent Salt of the Earth documentary.

Wim Wenders became known as one of the leaders of New German Cinema in the 1970s. His work includes "The American Friend", "Until the End of the World" and "Buena Vista Social Club". "Every Thing Will Be Fine" is a very different turn for him. This look at the effect that a tragedy has on a writer (James Franco) takes a while to get going. Wenders's previous movies often looked at political issues, but this is more of a psychological drama. It comes across as flat. It's not terrible, but I expect more from Wenders.

Basically, I recommend Wenders's other movies. "Until the End of the World" is his best. Probably one of the greatest movies ever made.

James Franco van become a great actor in the future. Has already proven to be not only comical. The film was good in its arthouse genre. At times predictable, but also with suprising elements, compelling acting and fine camera work a succesfull film. Beautiful locations btw! I can imagine that some may find it boring. I assume they are people who love Marvel movies, wich incidentally is nothing wrong with that!