Mr. Nobody

This film is not for everyone. It has a sprawling, non-linear, non-conventional approach to storytelling. It follows the life (lives) of a man called Nemo Nobody (Jared Leto) whose life could have followed multiple different paths depending upon the smallest of chance occurrences.

Whereas films such as Sliding Doors follow a simple two-path narrative, this film has multiple branches. The achievement is that all of them are interesting (in different ways) and it never feels confused.

The central theme is love, and how random chances affect who we love, and how that love changes. There is joy, loss, betrayal, grief and a whole swath of other emotions on display here. My only complaint is that there is no really satisfying conclusion to the film, but I am not even sure that such a thing is possible.

If you are willing to try something different, something unconventional, that doesn't necessarily make sense, then give this a try. If nothing else, it will give you something to think about.

This beautiful surreal movie is full of memorable lines that will make you reconsider your outlook on life, but this one is my favorite:

"At my age, the candles cost more than the cake. I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid I haven't been alive enough. It should be written on every schoolroom blackboard: Life is a playground - or nothing."

9/10

This is one of those movies that you want to see at least a second time, because even though the first viewing is perfectly satisfying, you just know you'll pick up more the second, and third, time around. I lost track of how many parallel lives the main character was remembering, and as far as I could tell, it was never really explained how he could be aware of so many parallel universes, but those are minor points in a film that seeks to bring up ideas to be pondered. And it does just that. I think this would be a great first date movie, because the potential for it sparking a meaningful conversation/debate is tremendous. The main point, of course, is that every decision we make affects the path that the rest of our life takes, and there are many of these turning points in a lifetime. There are also ideas about the nature of reality, which I found intriguing. I don't think it will be long before I give this a second view. The only criticism I have is that, even though there were some fairly dramatic moments, and the acting was good, I didn't feel particularly connected to the characters. There was much more of a sense of detachment than I would have liked to have seen in a movie like this. But all in all... great film. A must see for anyone who likes to ponder life's imponderables.

There's one thing about this film that makes me overlook the flaws:it's like nothing I've ever seen before. Some people walked out 20 minutes before the movie ended. I can't really explain to myself why ANYONE would do that (it was really tempting to ask but I literally couldn't take my eyes off the screen). It's really pointless to describe the plot because this movie is so much more then any summary could say. This film has so many stylistic, tonal and narrative changes that it seems absolutely mad for the first half hour. It's easily the most unique and worthy cinema experience in the last year, its feels very current. I could go on and on about the things I loved about this film but there's nothing right now that I would recommend seeing more to a person of any age, sex or taste in cinema. It's everything I could ask for in a film:funny, touching, thrilling, surreal, beautiful...

Of course I understand if someone says/thinks this is pretentious. But if you're a fan of weird Science Fiction and/or Terry Gilliam, you should feel right at home. This really out there movie, gives you a lot to think about (if you're up for it). It's also kind of a twisted version of Lola Runs.

It just takes that "what would happen if" concept to another level (or is it dimension?). Every decision you make has consequences. The bigger the decision the bigger the consequences obviously. Which doesn't mean that small things don't matter. Quite the opposite, but the movie has to concentrate on a few things and it does so very well. Nicely acted and maybe not the easiest movie to follow this is executed very well ...