So recently a lot of my viewing decisions have been being made by my Plex server's automatic rankings that are drawn from the history of online ratings made by users and I guess professional critics and one of the places that it draws from in IMDB, which I have become increasingly suspicious is rigged to favor big studios.
That obviously would not be the case with this film which was made in 1992 because back then there was no internet really, and certainly no IMDB. I didn't manage to ever see this film because I was in high school and had more questionable activities to get up to, but because Plex said this was a "top unwatched film" and it had Brad Pitt in it, I figured I would give it a go.
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The movie depends very heavily on narration in order to get this family story across and honestly, they needed to do so. There is so much information that apparently was necessary for us to understand that is going on here that the movie would have had to be 17 hours long otherwise. We end up finding out in a quick fashion that this is the story of a somewhat religious family in Montana that likes fly-fishing a great deal.
There's obviously a lot more to the story than just that and perhaps I am just not artistic or smart enough to get it. The Maclean family and more specifically the brothers Norman and Paul are growing up in a small community in Montana where they are home-schooled, have a great family relationship, interact with the community a normal amount, and get taught a great deal about fly fishing, which Dad instills in them throughout the time that they are growing up.
The boys are a bit different because Paul (Brad Pitt when the boys are older) has more of a wild and anti-establishment personality, whereas Norman is more inclined to play life by the rules. They are both good kids though and turn into mostly good adults. This has a lot to do with their upbringing, which wasn't super strict but certainly didn't let them just run wild.
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Norman runs off to college and pursues the world of intellect whereas Paul just stays in the hometown or nearby and does alright for himself but also gets into more than his fair share of trouble by engaging in nightlife, gambling, and other such things that can lead to bad things happening to a person.
Paul is also seemingly the more interesting of the two brothers and at times their father seems to favor Paul more and find him more interesting than Norman also. You can see that although the shoes should definitely be on the other foot that Norman is also jealous of his younger brother because everyone seems to gravitate towards Paul despite his obvious shortcomings as far as being successful is concerned.
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As is explained multiple times in the start and middle of the film, fly-fishing is basically the ultimate gauge of worth in this family, and Paul also is generally regarded as being best at that also.
Keeping in mind that there is a very good chance that I am totally missing the artistic message of this film what it appears to be is a film about how as you start to get older, certain things in life stop being important such as Paul's fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants approach to life and how living like a wild child with zero attention paid to responsibility and personal-growth might seem admirable for a while, but eventually this stops being something that a person can maintain. Norman spends most of his life being secretly envious of his younger brother, and there is one scene when on a double date with his younger brother than Norman's "girl" seems to be far more interested in Paul than she is in Norman.
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Maybe this was what the director was trying to make us feel or maybe it was just me. I can't say for sure because I haven't looked into it very much and even if I did it wouldn't matter that much to me.
The point I am trying to make here is that this film definitely has its merits such as wonderful scenery and for the most part, good cinematography as well as better-than-average acting, but I don't really feel as though its rating of 8/10 (which is very high for IMDB) is necessarily deserved.
I say this because not a great deal actually happens in this. We get to see the story mostly through the eyes of Norman and some of it is tragic, other parts of it are mildly humorous and very small portions of it are filled with a bit of action and triumph.... but for the most part, there really isn't a story here other than 2 brothers in life having very different paths in life despite having exactly the same starting point and resources in which to grow up in.
It won an academy award and is one of the highest rated films of the 90's but I can't shake this feeling that this is at least partly because of the fact that Robert Redford is a Hollywood darling and anything he does is going to be praised. Oh, Robert Redford directed this film by the way.
Pitt received a lot of praise for his portrayal of Paul and I guess that was deserved. He did a good job showcasing a fella who appears to have it all together on the outside, but inside he is actually struggling but too proud to actually ask for help,
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Many have said that this was Pitt's proof that he is more than a pretty face and maybe this film kind of pushed him towards more serious projects in the future. Personally, I feel as though the storyline in this might have been at least somewhat of an inspiration for Legends of the Fall which is kind of the same story but has 3 brothers and also a war involved. Seeing as how "Legends" was released a mere 2 years later, I suppose that is always a possibility.
Should I watch it?
To be honest with you, I don't really think you should. This might bring about feelings of anger in some people but understand this: I don't think this movie is at all bad, I just don't think it deserves its spot as being considered one of the best movies of the 90's and I don't understand why it is. The film is just "fine."
Tom Skerritt and Brad Pitt put on wonderful performances and the scenery and everything about the filming is great. The music is good and it has a decent message built in that is both very real and very tragic. It just isn't amazing enough to be near the top of various lists is all I am trying to say.
I don't think many people will be wowed by this the way that they would and should be with other top movies of the 90's like Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, and The Shawshank Redemption.
Disagree with me? I'd love to hear why.
