Review of 50/50 (2011) by Bryan D — 19 Oct 2012

A grippingly raw and captivating emotional experience like no other, "50/50" is by far and away one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Managing to find such hysterical hilarity directly adjacent to shattering drama and harsh reality, 50/50 is a completely unique film; a drama that rattles your core with its pure raw energy and tragic emotion, and yet somehow be able to make you laugh out loud the very next minute.

I honestly couldn't believe how much of an emotional ride this film is. It tugs and yanks at the very ropes of your emotional centre, it tested my feelings like no other experience in my life. Inspired by true events, 50/50 follows the story of Adam and his best friend Kyle; when Adam learns that he has a rare case of malignant tumor on his spinal column, the news pierces him with realization changing the course of his life as well as his family members and Kyle.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is powerful, loveable and humble, and this is definitely one of his finest moments. Seth Rogen, playing Adam's best friend Kyle, also makes a remarkable performance, kind-hearted and hilarious, making you laugh to your heart's content when you're rife with sadness or sympathy due to the concurrently melancholic mood, and in fact you may find yourself deciding whether to cry or laugh your complete ass off.

The relationship between Adam and Kyle is so loveably wonderful and realistic most of all, their bond is inseparable and Kyle's loyalty completes everything in order to make you smile and chuckle when the current point of the film makes you want to weep.

Of course, a great deal of the movie will do that to you alone; Anjelica Houston as Adam's mom is another source or sympathetic based tear-jerking, and the charming friendship created with Adam's fellow chemotherapy patients wrings out more to your freshly dried eyes.

An all-round great performance by this wonderful cast. With the story, I can't find a single fault; It not only is a devastating drama that somehow finds comedic relief in the darkest dustiest corners, but it is a rattling insight into the real-life effect cancer brings into people's lives everyday, and how simple fragile reality can be contorted into an obscure abyss, but always with a shimmering ray of hope remaining.

The script and dialogue always finds a way into your heart, at every corner of the film there will be something that will just pluck a chord inside. Maybe subtle, maybe confronting. I could rave on about this film for a very long time, but I'd come to realize I'd be repeating myself, that is because it doesn't have downfalls, niggling bits that got on my nerves, or parts that needed work, because this movie is perfect.

It is a beautifully moving and heartwarming drama that miraculously manages to bring plenty of laughs along the confronting and harsh reality that Cancer brings. Insightful, inspiring, charming, wonderfully good-natured and just a perfectly beautiful film.

Hopefully one day I can watch it without crying so damn much.