Watched it with no preconceptions
I was told by two friends to see this movie. Never seen a a Singh movie. Knew nothing about the plot beforehand except that it was about a guy telling a story to a girl. So I thought I would share my first impressions having just finished it.
AMAZING FILM! One of the best of this genre I've veer seen. I notice that there are some silly posters on here saying there is no story. Are you kidding me?
A man finds the will to live in a girl who loves him unconditionally by seeing him as a fatherlike figure after she lost her father in a bandit raid. How difficult is this to grasp?
Both the two main characters have very convincing a dramatic arcs that make perfect sense! Roy had lost the will to live. It was restored by the girl because he realized that she was now a part of his story. Whether he liked it or not he now had brought her into his life unfairly and was now responsible for her. He was compelled outside of his suicidal desire by an outside force in the form of the girl who had become a part of his story now. "It's my story too" the girl says and he realizes it has gone beyond him. He does not decide to fight against his suicidal tendencies for himself but for her. Because it is so important for her.
She befriends him and takes an interest in his stories because her father died in a raid. She liked Roy. She saw him as a father figure. This is why she starts to call him father and act like she is a daughter in the story.
The stakes a very clear. Roy will commit suicide if the girl can't save him and the girl loses Roy if she can't convince him that she loves and needs him.
The bonus characters and changing scenery is simply the method in which the story is told. For those of you who don't "get" this kind of storytelling; movies like Second Hand Lions, Princess Bride, and Big Fish all do the same thing. It is where what is being presented is told directly from the characters perspective. So, what we are presented with is "unreliable" in certain areas and the story can change as characters change their minds.
For example, the Indian looks like a man from India but is meant to be an actual native american. This is pretty obviously the girl's imagination being inaccurate to what Roy is describing. It is funny, great juxtaposition, and frankly genius because it is so easy to glean yet is never actually described. The characters are played by the same actors the girl sees around the hospital. The old guy's teeth suddenly appear at his death within the story. That is how this movie presents its narrative. NOT through the dialog between the girl and Roy but through the story he is telling and how that story begins to model reality.
The characters start to die as Roy despairs and girl does not know why and simply wants him to live at the end. The villain (who obviously represents something much larger such as Roy's loss of his girlfriend) tries to drown Roy in his despair. Roy insists there is no happy ending. However, notice how the girl is slowly introduced into the story as Roy begins to fade? She is starting to have an effect on the story and therefore Roy in real life.
She starts to be able to change some of the details because she is having some influence on him. As a result, she manages to change Roy's mind about the ending of the story and hence he changes his view in real life to one that has hope. He decides to go on living.
I mean.... really? This movie was the complete package! AMAZING cinematography. GREAT performances. And yes, despite what you may have heard, there is a simple and straight forward three-act story present. All the major elements are in place and powerful because of their understatement.
Both main characters are three dimensional in that they have backstories and layers revealed throughout the story. Both characters are dynamic and experience a very logical and gradual arc. The stakes are high and very clear. The villain is man vs self. The story's first act introduces the characters and begins the story in a very light-hearted and fun way, it then progresses to the second act filled with numerous challenges and obstacles both characters face within reality and the story world, and the conclusion is battled out in both worlds as both characters face their darkest moment. They rise above their weaknesses with each other's help and find peace at last.
Anybody who says this has no story is not aware of the Hero's journey or the monomyth or basic film language. In the words of Gene Wilder "It's all there, black and white, clear as crystal!"
Damn good movie and any accusations it does not have a story are preposterous. This movie was amazing and I give it a very reasonable 9/10. We need more stuff like this and none of the b.s. crap that REALLY has no story.
Just sayin.