La vita in un attimo

...because I'm glad I did!!! For some baffling reason this has low IMDB rating...I almost didn't watch because of this and boy I would've missed out on yet another brilliant Dan Fogelman story. Crazy, stupid love happens to be a go-to movie of mine and This Is Us is one of my favorite tv shows. So my husband and I gave Life Itself a whirl hoping for something similar in style. I'm pretty sure my heart exploded with emotion...in the best possible way. I LOVE movies that make me emotionally vulnerable (like opening montage scene of UP!) and this movie nabbed at every emotion humanly possible in 90 minutes. My combat veteran husband (who keeps his emotions on reserve, mind you) said, and I quote, "Next to A Star Is Born, this is the best movie I've seen all year." On top of that, the acting is superb. Grab some tissues and enjoy.

Unpredictable, emotional, well- written dialogue, heart felt performances. When I read the bad reviews I was in shock. How can anybody not love this movie ? It touches on the essence of relationships, from the happy moments to the tragic moments. Please ignore the bad reviews and give this movie a chance. It deserves it.

Greetings again from the darkness. The theory is that heavy dramas find it challenging to attract an audience during times when real life and newscasts are filled with daily downers. One need only tune in to the local news to see that we are in just such a "downer" period right now, and it would be difficult to argue that this latest from writer/director Dan Fogelman ("This is Us") is anything but the weightiest of heavy dramas - with an emphasis on the preciousness of time and life.

It's highly likely that this film will fall into the love it or hate it category. It's a sure bet that many critics will bash it as pretentious and overly melodramatic. It will be labeled a manipulative tear-jerker with outlandish coincidences. I won't debate the merits of that criticism, and instead will remind all that creative fictional storytelling can often seem fantastical and improbable, but that doesn't mean it can't also be entertaining, thought-provoking, and carry a worthwhile message.

Because of the overlapping and intertwining stories, characters and timelines, filmmaker Fogelman breaks the film into 5 chapters. This should allow most viewers to keep track. Chapter 1 is entitled "The Hero" and features Samuel L Jackson as the unreliable narrator - a recurring theme throughout. It's also in this chapter that we meet Will and Abby. Will (Oscar Isaac) is an emotionally unstable man who has been in a mental institute for the 6 months since his wife Abby (Olivia Wilde) left him. He is despondent and attending required sessions with a therapist played by Annette Bening, and we get cutesy flashbacks to the Will and Abby courtship. See, Abby and Will are the kind of couple who see themselves as Tarantino characters, argue about the merits of Bob Dylan (poet or Chewbacca noises?), and come up with the worst dog name in cinematic history.

Chapter 2 is where we meet Dylan Dempster, daughter of Will and Abby, and granddaughter of Mandy Patinkin and Jean Smart. She is named after the poet songwriter, not the Star Wars character. There is a cool effect that evolves Dylan's face from a child surrounded by death and tragedy to a just-turned-21 year old played by Olivia Cooke (THOROUGHBREDS), who also happens to front an atrocious punk rock band and flashes quite the temper. Chapter 3 shifts from New York City to Carmona, Spain where we are introduced to "The Gonzalez Family" of Javier (an outstanding Sergio Peris-Mencheta), his wife Isabel (another excellent performance from Laia Costa, VICTORIA), and Javier's boss Saccione (Antonio Banderas). Javier works Saccione's olive orchard, as he and Isabel start a family. Chapter 4 focuses on their son Rodrigo (Alex Monner) as he grows into a talented young man while his beloved mother suffers with a debilitating disease. Finally, in Chapter 5 we meet Elena Dempsey-Gonzalez (Lorenza Izzo) and the story comes full circle ... or all the dots are connected. Even the identity of the narrator who took Samuel L Jackson's place after Chapter 1 is revealed.

Filmmaker Fogelman seems to be better suited as a writer (CRAZY STUPID LOVE) than as a director (DANNY COLLINS), and his script here is extraordinary in its ambition. While there may be some developments that seem contrived, there are also some terrific moments throughout. We see a cross-continent ripple effect that makes this the CRASH of family dramas (the 2004 movie, not the one from 1996). Who is a hero and who is a villain is one of the key elements here, but Fogelman seems intent on making the point that traumatic events and tragedy shape who we are as people. The message is that our ability to bounce back - to "stand up" after being knocked down, is really what defines the human experience. For those who keep an open mind, the emotional jolts provided here will likely resonate.

...it's a surprising film. I went into it thinking it would be a fun ride. It sort of started out that way but WHOA. It's NOT. The trailer made it seem it was going to be sunshine and daisies, which is what I was needing. There may be sunshine and daisies within the film but it was more like vinegar and caskets. Not what I needed this particular day.

That doesn't mean the movie isn't excellent. It's really a great story (stories?) You just have to be one of those people or in one of those moods where you find beauty and all the good things in absolute devastating tragedies. I can be that way...today wasn't one of those days for me.

I typically watch Olivia Wilde because she resembles my murdered daughter. August is a very difficult month for me, and this movie just pushed me further into my depression. I do not regret watching the movie, but I wish I had watched it while I was not already in an abyss.

Great cast, VERY unique style and blend, insanely surprising (good and definitely bad), it's really very good.

Just go into it when you aren't feeling suicidal or depressed, you may enjoy it more.

I was hesitant to invest the time in this film after reading critic reviews but I can absolutely say they were truly too harsh with Life Itself. No surprise but it's very reminiscent of 'This Is Us' and instead of an episodic narrative it's condensed to a two hour multi-chaptered film. While it did feel closer to three hours at points, there's a clear disconnect between the current reviews and the actual film performance. It was very emotional and most of the movie I had a lump in my throat. The way it's structured it's almost like three movies in one but the way it all comes together was so fascinating to watch as an audience member. My vote is you give it a shot, it's a really creative story.