Review of Liberal Arts (2012) by Cj W — 31 Oct 2013

Josh Radnor's Liberal Arts is one of the most pleasing and thought provoking films I have ever seen. It's a film that if you're a book lover and philosophical thinker, then you'll love it, otherwise, may be not so much.

Liberal Arts isn't really a comedy, although it does have some genuinely funny moments, and it isn't really romantic, in the context of the popular use of the word. However, the whole film pits Romanticism and Cynicism against each other, and honestly, it changed my whole view on life.

I, like Jesse, was a cynic who thought that questioning things was a necessity to live a meaningful life. But seeing how dull and mundane Jesse's life was, showed me exactly what he realizes, which is that when you spend all the time questioning things, you forget to enjoy life.

And Jesse is played by Josh Radnor, who also wrote, directed, and produced this film, he gives a very steady and restrained performance, but the prize performance comes for Elizabeth Olsen as Zibby. Olsen is very collected and appropriately impulsive for the character.

However, Jesse and Zibby's relationship is definitely the most interesting and well conceived aspect of this film; they are not necessarily in love with each other, they are more in love with the idealistic conversation that they can have with each other.

Jesse finds his college romanticism in this conversation, a way to spice up life, and for him, a way to find enjoyment in life. Zibby on the other hand, is attracted to Jesse's age and mind, and wants to think that maybe later life will be the same, but anyway you put it, they find a little bit of themselves in each other.

The only complaints I have about this film would be directed towards its photography, it isn't very inventive, it's actually just very conventional, and I would have liked to have seen some more shots of nature since that is an essential component to Romanticism.

But all in all, this is an amazing film that everyone should check out.