MovieChat Forums > It's Such a Beautiful Day (2016) Discussion > Is Bill's backstory real or imaginary?

Is Bill's backstory real or imaginary?

posted 9 years ago by joe_lvc
3 replies | jump to latest

Hi, I just finished watching this and it's definitely been one of the most profound and touching movies I've ever experienced.
One question though, are all the stories of Bill's relatives just a figment of his imagination? because when they're narrated in "I'm so proud of you" most of them certainly seem outlandish and later in "it's such a beautiful day" it's revealed that Bill's condition makes him loose his memories and replace them with made-up stories. So, are all the weird relatives with strange but hilarious deaths by train just the product of his brain trying to cope with memory loss?? and, if so, which parts of his backstory are supposed to be real and which are imagined? I know that the author probably wanted to leave these kinds of things open to the viewers' interpretations but I'd appreciate it if anyone had some insights on this.

[–] Theplatypus13 9 years ago

It seems to me that that is one of the questions that make the film so poignant. We see the film from Bill's point of view, and since Bill himself cannot discriminate between his real and false memories, we cannot either. Nobody knows if the memories are real or not; some certainly seem more absurd than others, like the girl starting on fire or the boy with aluminum arms, but the uncertainty gives us a little taste of the anguish Bill is going through while losing his mind. I think that's the purpose of the memories' ambiguity.

[–] hmbrtoguzman 8 years ago

Almost everything is to be questioned in the film. It's what makes it so amazing. Some things are real and some aren't. We can make educated guesses about what is, but for the most part, a lot of the details and stories are mixed up and confusing on purpose because of Bill's condition.

[–] MoviemanCin 8 years ago

I think you guys nailed it.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, and / or doesn't.