50/50 (2011)

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"You can't change your situation. The only thing that you can change is how you choose to deal with it."
- Katherine (Anna Kendrick) in 50/50
I've always thought it was a great idea to get children "little pets," like gerbils or mice. For one, they teach a little bit of responsibility. Most importantly, they don't live very long, so it's a way to teach children about death before a relative passes away and it becomes really heavy. Depending on your religion or belief system, talking about mortality can be either a stressful, terrifying thing or a peaceful, almost zen-like experience. Either way, death is imminent and, whether we like to admit it or not, it will happen to all of us - some sooner than others.
50/50 is screenwriter Will Reiser's own personal story, fictionalized for the screen. Taking cues from Reiser's own struggles with cancer at a young age, it centers around Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a 27-year-old journalist who takes care of himself physically and mentally - no smoking, no alcohol, exercises regularly. He doesn't even have a driver's license, since vehicles kill such a large number of people every year. After complaining about back pain, he goes to the doctor to check it out, only to find it's a very rare form of spinal cancer. He begins chemotherapy as a hope to fix the problem so he won't need extremely dangerous surgery that could cost him his life.

While the cancer itself is the driving force of the film (he finds out less than 15 minutes in), the real beauty of the film is the development of all the various relationships Adam has and which ones are worth preserving in his darkest hour. His girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard) is an aspiring artist who seems distant, at best, and can't handle caring for a man she wasn't even sure she wanted to be with anyway. Adam's best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) seems bent on using Adam's affliction to his own advantages, in an effort to score sympathy with young women. Adam's mother Diane (Anjelica Huston) is a typical worried mom, who already has the weight of caring for Adam's father, suffering from Alzheimer's.

During his chemo treatments, he meets two older gentlemen named Alan (Philip Baker Hall) and Mitch (Matt Frewer - he played Max Headroom!) who not only understand his pain, but have the wisdom to give him a bit of wake up call. After all, when your time on this planet is dwindling, why waste it with people who don't seem to care about you? While Adam insists he is fine, as the chemo goes on and relationships begin to materialize or break down, the stress and pain begins to break him down as he looks for a cure; not just for his disease, but for the internal struggle he has to maintain a brave face for the people he cares about, while wanting nothing more than to fall apart.

Of course, one of the more compelling relationships in the film is with Adam's therapist, a young doctoral student named Katherine played by Anna Kendrick. After his diagnosis, he is referred to her as a way to deal with the grief and depression that's expected. Meanwhile, she is still trying to build her ground within the her industry. It's a powerful look at what can happen when the lines between patient/doctor and friends become blurred. Kendrick's early mechanical "by the book" approach to the therapy is slowly broken down by her understanding of Adam and his life, who proves that, while patients do tend to show similar symptoms through cancer treatments, each individual patient is still more than just a statistic: they're people, and some of them incite a surprising desire of caring deeper than what may be professionally allowed.

All this is in a comedy, mind you, that is actually pretty funny at times. Rogen provides the most laughs in his interaction with Gordon-Levitt (though his best and most honest moments are in his limited screen time with Dallas Howard). As Adam goes through his treatment, Kyle decides the best way to handle this is to highlight the disease as a way to garner sympathy. In a way, he's trying to keep Adam's spirits up by showing him that this thing can be used as an advantage. While Adam assumes this is nothing more than Kyle taking a self-serving approach to his affliction, Kyle's insane attempts to capitalize on the cancer lead to some of the more potent moments of self-discovery for Adam, in some way, shape, or form.

courtesy of screencrave.com

Though 50/50 was critically praised and grabbed two Golden Globe nominations, it was overlooked, for the most part. The topic doesn't help - a comedy about cancer sounds like a blast, after all. But Reiser's very personal screenplay refused to dance around the topic and its seriousness. This isn't about a miraculous cure. This isn't about the power of prayer or the strength of love pulling you through the worst times in your life. This is about a horrific realization and how terribly awkward it is for people to express themselves to you. Diane loves her son so much that she refuses to give up when he won't call her back. Kyle may seem like the fun-loving guy that Adam needs (or hates), but he's suffering from the awareness that he may be watching his best friend die. Even Rachael - as horrible as she may be - is a good indication of just how something like this can be a breaking point. It seems selfish (it is), but it happens. It's human nature.

Katherine is the wild card. She's meant to be the professional "shoulder to cry on" for Adam, but between his push back and her lack of experience, it becomes a much more codependent relationship than either of them were prepared for. Kendrick plays Katherine as quietly confident, though, at times, a little bewildered. It's a perfect balance to Gordon-Levitt and his outstanding work. It's a wonder to watch him play a completely in control person who is, piece by piece, breaking down. When are people going to start taking him seriously as a legitimately brilliant actor? Between this, 500 Days of Summer, Inception, and The Dark Knight Rises, he has an outstanding track record over the past few years.

I've always tried to be a "live in the now" type of guy. It's changed a little since I've had children, but I still refuse to avoid things because I'm afraid of them. Living life to the fullest doesn't mean risking your life on a daily basis. It means taking opportunities that arise, never being afraid to take a risk, and making sure that you never waste a second of your short, but wonderful life.

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