Pay It Forward
Directed by:
Mimi LederScreenplay:
Leslie DixonCinematography:
Oliver StapletonComposer:
Thomas NewmanCast:
Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment, Jay Mohr, James Caviezel, Jon Bon Jovi, Angie Dickinson, David Ramsey, Colleen Flynn, Marc Donato (more)Plots(1)
Everything in social studies teacher Eugene Simonet's life is in order--every shirt, every pencil, every person in its proper place. To keep the surface placid means never having to go deeper. And no one and nothing in his life has ever asked him to. Arlene McKinney is a single mother hanging on by her fingertips, working two jobs, and struggling to raise her son, Trevor. She is trying to give him a new life, but in her absence she is losing him. Eugene gives Trevor's class an assignment: look at the world around you and fix what you don't like. But can you fix people? (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (5)
An overly sentimental and manipulative Hollywood tearjerker for the masses that’s diminished by its own lack of credibility. But as an emotional viewer, I was still moved by it.
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The actors were great, but the screenwriter must have had an internship in a Venezuelan TV studio. Pay It Forward could have been a nice film with a positive message, but the monstrous, emotional blackmail of the ending made it typical Hollywood crap, good only for drooling over the tears of leftover popcorn on the laps of soap opera fans.
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Irritating cynicism that goes hand in hand with shallowness that has no equal. Not even the actors can pull it off. Although... actually it's hard to judge, because with one bright exception they don't act much anyway.
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Upon the second viewing, I couldn't help but wonder if the director didn't just make up the shocking twist ending to add a more emotional and fateful touch to her otherwise serious romantic story. However, since I really enjoy Kevin Spacey in this civil role and I enjoy being emotionally squeezed, I have no complaints and fondly remember this aspect. This is greatly aided by the excellent music by Thomas Newman, which adds a beautifully nostalgic touch of lost memories to the film.
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The hard-hitting dialogues unfortunately do not make up for the insanely sentimental backbone of the film, which is cynical to the point of woe. The characters are flat and simple, everything is superficial without any believability or realism. Throughout the film, Mimi Leder presents us with a fairytale story about a good boy, whose final act forces the viewer to shed a tear. I can imagine the sweaty director behind the camera trying to shoot some scenes with the highest possible dose of tearfulness, that's how it looks according to the final product. It's not completely bad and the script initially has a relatively interesting storyline. Unfortunately, it becomes increasingly clichéd and tearjerking. About eighty percent insincere.
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