Almost everyone who goes to the cinema intends to go to have fun and most try to forget all their everyday problems with two hours of entertainment on the big screen. That's why it's still strange to watch a film like "A Little Bit of Heaven" made solely to make the audience cry a lot, a sad story with a few hints of comedy to try to disguise the real drama.
The plot is as cliché as possible, Marley (Kate Hudson) is a successful and happy publicist who without expecting it (as always happens in real life) is diagnosed with incurable cancer. Marley receives the news better than expected and with the famous phase of non-acceptance, it takes a while, but little by little she realizes that she will inevitably die. Marley has always been a person who doesn't care about relationships, in fact she runs away from them as much as possible. Her only serious relationships are with her dog and her three best friends, of course, to be even more cliché, one of them is gay. Even more predictable is when Marley ends up falling in love with the young Mexican doctor Julian (Gael García Bernal), after all, there is nothing more normal in life than having a relationship with the man who revealed her imminent death.
The film talks about how the discovery of the disease affects different spheres of Marley's life. Especially about the changes in her situation at work, in her relationships with friends and family and, most importantly, in her own personality. It is curious to realize that the script written by Gren Wells does not address those stages that follow the discovery of something tragic. What we see is a serene woman, at peace with her diagnosis and treatment possibilities and whose strength surprises everyone. Because, in reality, what we are waiting for throughout "A Little Bit of Heaven" is the moment when Marley will fall apart, and that will never happen.
Perhaps this does not happen because the focus of this story is not that. The film is not interested in these more dramatic moments (although they exist in "A Little Bit of Heaven", especially in some scenes made with the purpose of manipulating the audience's emotions). The focus of Marley's journey is to portray a woman who, after coming into contact with a superior force, begins to face her fears, in order to be at peace with herself, achieving moments of pure joy in what is the most difficult moment of her life. Life. And this message reaches its peak through the relationship that is established between Marley and Dr. Julian Goldstein (Gael García Bernal). With the final gift of finally allowing herself to love and be loved, the feeling it gives is that Marley's mission on earth has been accomplished and that she is ready for whatever lies ahead. In this sense, it is also important to pay attention to the nuances of the "A Little Bit of Heaven" script, which has an optimistic, positive and hopeful message, without making concessions for this, which is wonderful.
The viewer can infer terminal films at various levels of drama, such as "Dying Young", with Julia Roberts, with "Sweet November" being the most explicit reference to be perceived. The protagonist sees in her illness the possibility of restoring and repairing unresolved details in her life, mitigating her fear about decisions, especially in the sentimental department. Actress Kate Hudson (from "Almost Famous", "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days"), daughter of fellow actress Goldie Hawn, has always played roles in romantic comedies, focusing on attempts to introduce the insight of American humor.
The insightful element can be satisfying when the novelty is there. By massifying it in countless cinematographic scripts, it loses its experimental and innovative character, tending towards the obvious, cliché and lazy arguments, which serve as common triggers for the complacency that corrodes stories today. The vicious circle is clearly observed in the feature film in question. The inclusion of naive romanticism and the self-help narrative are more than convincing explanations of the desire for easy assimilation. The film focuses on the personal growth of the main character and everyone around her through grief, with everyone feeling the proximity of death. Marley begins to value other things in life and tries to make the most of the time she has left, something that some of her friends cannot accept so easily, including Marley's father.
Forced in those moments when the main objective is to provoke emotions in the viewer, without sparing appeals to clichés from films with a similar theme, the film portrays some situations with such precision that it immediately wins over people who have had contact with a terminal illness. Reactions motivated by an inexplicable fear of death, not because of the end itself, but because of what this event can cause in the lives of those we love most; the resumption of traumatic situations that compromised the relationship with our parents and who we are today; the understanding that not everyone will know how to deal with the situation. A complete package of concerns, forgiveness, fears and attempts common to those suffering from the disease, but which is less addressed than it should be. In dealing with this, "A Little Bit of Heaven", even if under the guise of a story of romance and faith, approaches the viewer who has experienced something similar and wins him over.
Of course, there is no identification that will make production problems disappear. Even though the cast is comfortable, the script's lack of naturalness in the construction of the characters can be noticed. As is the lack of chemistry between the main couple, which may be pleasing to the eye, but is unconvincing. Kate Hudson, with her already well-known charm, tries to add a little humor to the character and the plot, even surprising with a very confident performance both in the most dramatic moments, playing one of the best roles of her career. The actress known for her beauty also shows no fear as she appears in almost the entire film without makeup, showing the (many) imperfections on her face.
The biggest disappointment is Gael Garcia Bernal who, despite being a good actor, never manages to do well in Hollywood films, he always plays the same type of character, the charming and handsome Latino. His character is the main point of the plot, but it loses a lot due to the actor's insecure performance. The main novel, which already shows an unusual case of patient and doctor, with Kate and Gael, loses even more credibility and is not convincing. The secondary cast also deserves attention, such as the always great Lucy Punch playing the lively Sarah, Marley's best friend, Romany Malco a good actor who always plays smaller roles, this time as the main character's gay friend. Veterans Kate Bates and Treat Williams also perform well as Marley's parents, the first with a large role in the story, always moving when showing a mother having to say goodbye to her daughter. Treat appears as the absent father who tries to recover his relationship with his daughter. Two small but attention-grabbing appearances are from Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister from "Game of Thrones") who participates in one of the best moments of the plot, in addition to Whoopi Goldberg playing God, despite the exaggeratedly positive tone, the experienced actress participates one of the only moments in which it is really possible to laugh a little in the face of so much tragedy.
The good thing about the production is that apart from Bernal's weak presence and the terrible introduction, the production manages to turn things around. The script doesn't spare our heroine from the worst news and manages to escape the cliché in the way she deals with the people around her. Mainly, he manages to mix doses of humor with a certain harmony without losing his hand in the midst of Marley's fateful drama. "A Little Bit of Heaven" is bureaucratic, typical American canning and slips badly at times. And this coming from Nicole Kassell who already directed the sensational drama "The Woodsman". However, it is also - paradoxically - charismatic and affectionate with the viewer and with an ending that is both manipulative and uplifting. Even though opinions are divided, couples can venture out with tissue in hand.
The plot is as cliché as possible, Marley (Kate Hudson) is a successful and happy publicist who without expecting it (as always happens in real life) is diagnosed with incurable cancer. Marley receives the news better than expected and with the famous phase of non-acceptance, it takes a while, but little by little she realizes that she will inevitably die. Marley has always been a person who doesn't care about relationships, in fact she runs away from them as much as possible. Her only serious relationships are with her dog and her three best friends, of course, to be even more cliché, one of them is gay. Even more predictable is when Marley ends up falling in love with the young Mexican doctor Julian (Gael García Bernal), after all, there is nothing more normal in life than having a relationship with the man who revealed her imminent death.
The film talks about how the discovery of the disease affects different spheres of Marley's life. Especially about the changes in her situation at work, in her relationships with friends and family and, most importantly, in her own personality. It is curious to realize that the script written by Gren Wells does not address those stages that follow the discovery of something tragic. What we see is a serene woman, at peace with her diagnosis and treatment possibilities and whose strength surprises everyone. Because, in reality, what we are waiting for throughout "A Little Bit of Heaven" is the moment when Marley will fall apart, and that will never happen.
Perhaps this does not happen because the focus of this story is not that. The film is not interested in these more dramatic moments (although they exist in "A Little Bit of Heaven", especially in some scenes made with the purpose of manipulating the audience's emotions). The focus of Marley's journey is to portray a woman who, after coming into contact with a superior force, begins to face her fears, in order to be at peace with herself, achieving moments of pure joy in what is the most difficult moment of her life. Life. And this message reaches its peak through the relationship that is established between Marley and Dr. Julian Goldstein (Gael García Bernal). With the final gift of finally allowing herself to love and be loved, the feeling it gives is that Marley's mission on earth has been accomplished and that she is ready for whatever lies ahead. In this sense, it is also important to pay attention to the nuances of the "A Little Bit of Heaven" script, which has an optimistic, positive and hopeful message, without making concessions for this, which is wonderful.
The viewer can infer terminal films at various levels of drama, such as "Dying Young", with Julia Roberts, with "Sweet November" being the most explicit reference to be perceived. The protagonist sees in her illness the possibility of restoring and repairing unresolved details in her life, mitigating her fear about decisions, especially in the sentimental department. Actress Kate Hudson (from "Almost Famous", "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days"), daughter of fellow actress Goldie Hawn, has always played roles in romantic comedies, focusing on attempts to introduce the insight of American humor.
The insightful element can be satisfying when the novelty is there. By massifying it in countless cinematographic scripts, it loses its experimental and innovative character, tending towards the obvious, cliché and lazy arguments, which serve as common triggers for the complacency that corrodes stories today. The vicious circle is clearly observed in the feature film in question. The inclusion of naive romanticism and the self-help narrative are more than convincing explanations of the desire for easy assimilation. The film focuses on the personal growth of the main character and everyone around her through grief, with everyone feeling the proximity of death. Marley begins to value other things in life and tries to make the most of the time she has left, something that some of her friends cannot accept so easily, including Marley's father.
Forced in those moments when the main objective is to provoke emotions in the viewer, without sparing appeals to clichés from films with a similar theme, the film portrays some situations with such precision that it immediately wins over people who have had contact with a terminal illness. Reactions motivated by an inexplicable fear of death, not because of the end itself, but because of what this event can cause in the lives of those we love most; the resumption of traumatic situations that compromised the relationship with our parents and who we are today; the understanding that not everyone will know how to deal with the situation. A complete package of concerns, forgiveness, fears and attempts common to those suffering from the disease, but which is less addressed than it should be. In dealing with this, "A Little Bit of Heaven", even if under the guise of a story of romance and faith, approaches the viewer who has experienced something similar and wins him over.
Of course, there is no identification that will make production problems disappear. Even though the cast is comfortable, the script's lack of naturalness in the construction of the characters can be noticed. As is the lack of chemistry between the main couple, which may be pleasing to the eye, but is unconvincing. Kate Hudson, with her already well-known charm, tries to add a little humor to the character and the plot, even surprising with a very confident performance both in the most dramatic moments, playing one of the best roles of her career. The actress known for her beauty also shows no fear as she appears in almost the entire film without makeup, showing the (many) imperfections on her face.
The biggest disappointment is Gael Garcia Bernal who, despite being a good actor, never manages to do well in Hollywood films, he always plays the same type of character, the charming and handsome Latino. His character is the main point of the plot, but it loses a lot due to the actor's insecure performance. The main novel, which already shows an unusual case of patient and doctor, with Kate and Gael, loses even more credibility and is not convincing. The secondary cast also deserves attention, such as the always great Lucy Punch playing the lively Sarah, Marley's best friend, Romany Malco a good actor who always plays smaller roles, this time as the main character's gay friend. Veterans Kate Bates and Treat Williams also perform well as Marley's parents, the first with a large role in the story, always moving when showing a mother having to say goodbye to her daughter. Treat appears as the absent father who tries to recover his relationship with his daughter. Two small but attention-grabbing appearances are from Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister from "Game of Thrones") who participates in one of the best moments of the plot, in addition to Whoopi Goldberg playing God, despite the exaggeratedly positive tone, the experienced actress participates one of the only moments in which it is really possible to laugh a little in the face of so much tragedy.
The good thing about the production is that apart from Bernal's weak presence and the terrible introduction, the production manages to turn things around. The script doesn't spare our heroine from the worst news and manages to escape the cliché in the way she deals with the people around her. Mainly, he manages to mix doses of humor with a certain harmony without losing his hand in the midst of Marley's fateful drama. "A Little Bit of Heaven" is bureaucratic, typical American canning and slips badly at times. And this coming from Nicole Kassell who already directed the sensational drama "The Woodsman". However, it is also - paradoxically - charismatic and affectionate with the viewer and with an ending that is both manipulative and uplifting. Even though opinions are divided, couples can venture out with tissue in hand.