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)aviet Eatdem and Jillia Roberls in Eal Pray iove."
Globe-Trotting and Soul-Searching
By A. O. SCOTT
A:u g u s t1 2 ,2 0 1 0
Published
The doublestandardin Hollywoodmay be strongerthan ever.Men
are free to pursue all kinds of adventures,while women are expected
to pursuemen. In a typical big-studioromantic comedythe
heroine'sprofessionalambition may not alwaysbe an
insurmountableobstacleto matrimony, but her true fulfillment not just her presumedhappinessbut alsothe completionof her
identity - will come only at the altar.
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r. IJutWill It Make You }lapp,v?
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This paradigmis, of course,much
SHARE
older than the movies,but it can be
refreshing,now and then, to see
somethingdifferentin the multiplex: a moviethat takes
seriously(or for that matter has fun with) a woman's
autonomy,her creativity,her desirefor somethingother
than a mate.
. t ml ? r e f : b o o k s
h t t p : / / m o v i e s . n y t i m e s . c o/m2 0 i 0 / 0 8 / 1 3/ m o v i e s /1 3 e a t h
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z. Op-Ed Coluurnist:AmericaGoesDark
GoneWild
3. Op-FldContributor:Congrcgations
4. I\4t' Lil'e in 1'hcrapl'
5. Op-h,tl(blr.rmnist:Steal'fhis Mor.ie
6. lircks: Horv to ]rintl CheaperCollegefcxtbooks
Should lrrxrciBe a Right lirr the I'oor?
7. India -A,sks,
8. Op-l)rl Curtributor:'I'his Bedbugs Liti:
q. Op-Ed Coluntnisl:Ho1\'to Los€'anEleclionWithout
'l'f
ReallY i1g
Page I of 6
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The scarcityof suchstorieshelpsexplainthe appealof
movieslike the two "Sexand the Citl'" features,"Julie &
Julia." "The Blind Side"and now "Eat Pray f.ove,"a
sumptuousand leisurelyadaptationof ElizirbethGilbert's
best-sellingmemoir of post-divorceglobe-trotting.
Directedby Ryan Murphl', who wrote the screenplaywith
Jennifer Salt, the film offers an easygoingand generous
blend of wish fulfillment, vicariousluxury, wry humor and
spiritualuplift, with a star,Julia Roberts,who elicitsboth
enly and empathy.
Related
Sumnrer i\,lovies:Nlother and
Mega-Star, I lappi l"i'llalanced (May
2,2OlO)
'GJcc."lht'n'1
Start Prror.Sprci-rd
ry
'Eat Pray Lor,e' (August 8, zoro)
EnlargeThlslmage
is dented
Playinga womanwhosenatural self-confidence
Ms.
remorse,
and
threatened
by
by disappointment
Roberts dims her glamour without snuffing it out
altogether,as shetried to do in Mike Nichols's
unfortunate"Closer."Her Liz Gilbert can be radiant and
witty, and rarely doubts her essentialattractiveness,but
she also suffersuncertainty, ambivalenceand real
anguish.The end of her marriage- to a kind, weak-willed
oddball playedby Billy CruduB - is wrenchingbefore it
has a chanceto be fully liberating. And her rebound
relationship,with a soulfulyoungeractor (JatnesFranco),
only exacerbatesLiz's sensethat she is drifting away from
8 l 1 2 l I 0 7 : 2 1P M
ro. AcrossNation,Vosque ProiectslvleetOpposition
Go to CompleteList ,
BernadettePetersis back on
stage
ALSO IN THEATER >
Star-cross'dsongs for star-cross'dlovers
Conneclwith Theateron Facebook
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THTATER
AOVERT]SEMENlS
trlr*ttsitr'E
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Find 1'ourdr*rrn hornewith
The Ner,\'ork Times Reallistate
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herself.
'Ihe
This may strike you as an abstractproblem, and one that
depends,for both its articulation and its proposed
Pictures-Sony
Franiois Duhamel/Columbia
PicturesEnlertainment solution,on a high degreeofmaterial securityand social
Ms. Robeds in fal Pray Lo're."
entitlement.So many peoplein this world confrontmuch
graver threats to their well-being: violence,poverty,
oppression.This woman has nothingbut goodluckl True
that would blame Liz for feelingbad about
enough,but the kind of classconsciousness
her life and then taking a year abroad to cure what ails her strikes me as a bit
disingenuous- a way of trivializing her trouble on the grounds of genderwithout having
new issle Lrf-Iis here
Seethe rews in the making.\Vatch
Timescasl.a daily rr$vsr'idco.
i ProvideThe Iinr,SFto rcf*ocl$t* hr,p broil{tenst*ftents
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iil th*it
*l.rssrtoms.
f&' l;r'L|"rrfierr
f,duccrtionllontrtiorr
LEARx*roRE) i
to come out and say so.
What "Eat Pray Love" has - what the superficial "Sex and the Cih'' z" notably lacked is a senseof authenticity. Whether you decideto like Liz, and whether you approveof
her choicesand the expectationsshe has set for herself,it is hard not to be impressedby
her honesty.The samecan be said for Ms. Gilbert (to distinguishbetweenthe author
and narrator of the book and the charactershebecomeswhen impersonatedby Ms.
Roberts).And the screenwriters,copiouslysprinklingthe author'ssupple,genialprose
into dialogueand voice-over,maintain a clear senseof her major theme.As the movie
meandersthrough beautifullocations,grazingon scenery,flowersand food, it keeps
and her
circlingback to the essentialtensionbetweenLiz'slongingfor independence
desireto be loved.
1.
2
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page C1 ot the New York €dition
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Reflecting on her earlier life, she observesthat for most of it she was
either with a man or in the processof leaving one, and so in the first
Not with
stagesof her journey she experimentswith singleness.
solitude, exactly,since Liz is naturally gregariousand acquires
friends easily.Backhome in New York shehas Delia (Viola Davis),
and in Rome a Swedishwoman named Sofi (Tuva Novotny)
introduces her to an amicablegroup of Italians, including a fellow
whoselast nameis Spaghetti(GiuseppeGandini).While he is seen
mainly in group shots,his namesakefood is filmed in loving closeups.
More About This Movie
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Summer l{ovies: Mother and
Ir{ega-Star, Happi11'l3alani:ed (May
2,2OrO)
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Liz's trip is
In keepingwith the themeof self-examination,
"L"
From
confined to countriesthat begin with the letter
the trattoriasand ruins of Italy, to an ashramin India,
and then to Indonesia.At the ashramshe meetsa
cantankerousTexan named Richard (Richard Jenkins)
whosenicknamefor her is Groceriesand whom she
accusesof "speakingin bumper stickers."This is a stone
tossedfrom insidea glasshouse,giventhe aphoristic,
wisdom-mongeringtone of much of "Eat Pray Love,"but
indicativeof
it is also a welcomewink of self-awareness,
the good humor that redeemssomeof the film's (and the
book's)muzzytherapeuticmoments.The three themes
enumeratedin the title are exploredwith a cheerfultact
unlikely to trouble any tastesor sensibilities.The food is
not overly spicy or exotic - spaghettiin Rome, piz.zain
Naples;the religion not uncomfortably,you know,
religious;and the sex discreetalmostto the point of
invisibility. In Bali Liz apprenticesherselfto an elderly
shaman(the irrepressiblescenestealerHadi Subiyanto)
and befriendsa healernamedWayan(ChristineHakim).
She alsofalls for Felipe,a divorcedBrazilianexpatriate,
http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/movies/l3eat.html?ref:books&pagewanted=2
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But \^Iill lt Make You Ilapp,v'?
2 Op-Ed Coltrmnist:AtnericaGoesDark
3 Op- lid Contributor: CongregationsGone \'Vild
'l'heraplLili: in
4 N,I1.'
5 Op-Fitl ()rhurnist: Ste:rlTiris Moric
t) Ilrrcks:llorq kr irind Chcagrr College'l'cxtbooks
Incliadsks, ShouldFooclBe a Right lbr the Poor?
8 Op-Frl (bntributor:'l'his Bedbug'sI-iti:
Ho$,1o Losean E]ectionlVithottt
9 Op-[t1 ColLrnrnist:
Realll"l'tfing
P a g eI o f 6
t
a
- JuliaRoberts
- 'EatPray
Bardem
in 'EatPrayLove'- NYT|mes.com
andJavier
Movie
Review
Love'
8l12l707:22PM
1(). AcrossNation, Mosquc ProjectsN'lectOpposition
,Glee,"fhen:1ry
playedwith insouciant,unshavencharmby Javier
Startpool,Spread
'EalPray'
(August
l.ove'
8, 2oro) Bardetn.
Go to CompleteList>
that had beenthe
Will her feelingsfor Felipecauseher to abandonthe self-sufficiency
point of her quest?And because"Eat Pray Love"builds its climax aroundthis question,
doesthat mean,in the end,that it revertsto the man-centricromantic-comedyformula?
Yesand no. Mr. Murphy, whosetelevisionwork ("Nip/Tuck" and "Glee,"most notably)
can be sharp-edgedevento the point ofmeanness,is much softerhere,and "Eat Pray
Love" can serveas a reminderthat televisionis, at the moment,a braverand more
radicalmediumthan the movies.
"Eat Pray Love" is unlikely to changeanybody'slife or evento provoke emotions
early and late,by its intrepid heroine.Its
anywherenear as intenseas thoseexperienced,
spanmay be global,but its scopeis modest,and it acceptsa certainsuperficialityas the
price of usefulinsight.Watch.Smile.Go home and dreamof Braziliansin Bali.
BernadettePetersis back on
stage
ALSOIN THEATER>
Star-cross'dsongs for star-cross'dlovers
Connectwith Theateron Facebook
"Eat Pray Loue" is rated PG-t3. A lot of grotun-up feelings and situations,but no blood
or skin, and just a bit of decoroussuearing.
nyfmor.rnm
EAT PRAYLOVE
AOVI RTISE I"IE NTS
Openson Friday nationwide.
Directedby Rr'anMurphy; written by Mr. Murphy and Jennifer Salt,basedon the book
by ElizabethGilberUdirectorof photography,RobertRichardson;editedby Bradley
, Buecker;musicby Dario Marianelli; productiondesigner,Bill Groom; costumesby
, MichaelDennison;producedby DedeGardner;releasedby ColumbiaPictures.Running
: time: 2 hours r3 minutes.
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WIIH: Julia Roberls(Liz Gilbert),.IarnesF'ranco(DavidPiccolo),RichardJenkins
(RichardFrom Texas),Viola Davis (Delia Shiraz),Billy Crudup (Stephen),,IavierBardem
(Felipe),GiuseppeGandini (Luca Spaghetti),Tuva Novotny(Sofi),ChristineHakim
(Wayan Nuriyasih) and Hadi Subiyanto(Ketut Liyer).
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@[$tr
A version of this review appeared in print on August 13, ?010. on
page C1 of the New York edrlion
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