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Totally worth your time
Totally worth your time, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, About Ben Stiller. To begin with this reviewer is no great admirer of Ben Stiller. But in ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,’ which incidentally is also directed by him
To begin with this reviewer is no great admirer of Ben Stiller. But in ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,’ which incidentally is also directed by him, he does an excellent job putting to shame his earlier directors not using him correctly.
This film is a remake of the one in which Danny Kaye played the lead role and is based on a book of the same name by James Thurber. And Walter Mitty (Stiller) is an employee of ‘Life’ magazine in the photography unit who, in all his 16 years, has never lost a single negative.
But it so happens that the famous magazine is about the shut down and for their swansong cover they need a picture shot by ace photojournalist Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn) called the “Quintessence of Life” and the negative no, 25 is missing and so the task of tracing it falls on Mitty.. He goes for help to fellow employee Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig) and she does her bit in the search.
But the boss (Adam Scott) is mad about the loss and has already started downsizing the staff. Mitty’s head is on the block and he has to move heaven and earth in his efforts. But Mitty isn’t known for his intelligence. He is a sort of dreamer and some of his dreams confuse the audience which has by now grown on him.
Thankfully poor Walter has to go on a long, long search. as O’Connell is always on the move and hard to trace He uses the plane, bus, floor-board skates and even goes running which gives ample scope to cameraman Stuart Dryburg to display his skills with fetching outdoor shots.
It takes Mitty to Iceland, Greenland and even to our own Himalayas. Some shots of a serious Mitty with a frosty moustache are telling as is his encounter with O’Connell looking for the snow leopard. The latter is sure to thrill wildlife enthusiasts
For dramatic relief we also come across Mitty’s feisty sister Odessa (Kathryn Hahn) and cool mum Edna (Shirley MacLaine) and their reaction to his escapades.
What about his budding romance with Cheryl ? Does he have to resort to remote control ? Well, no clues.
Ben Stiller is excellent in underplaying the role and is ably supported by Adam Scott, his bearded boss. Kristen Wiig has a minor role and so does Sean Penn but seeing the ageing seeing Shirley MacLaine is an added bonus who this reviewer first saw in “Sheepman” along with Glen Ford way back in 1959. So don’t miss ‘Walter Mitty.’ -EEM
