Review of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) by Althier A — 07 Jul 2014

Not being able to watch the 1947 film adaptation of James Thurber's short story, I found Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty beautiful and heartfelt.

This film is about Walter Mitty, a negative assets manager of Life Magazine, who escapes his monotonous life through heroic & adventurous daydreams from time to time. As Life Magazine faces downsizing, Mitty finds himself in an epic adventure to track the famous photographer, Sean O'Connell for the missing negative that will be used as the final cover of Life magazine.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is visually appealing and has stunning cinematography. Most sequences are delivered to the audience with stylish graphics, making them have the urge to pay so much attention to the film. Visually speaking, the overall presentation is strikingly good.

However, the pace of the film feels long. This made some parts of the film dry and dull, that the audience painstakingly wait for the climax. The film seems to be too straightforward that I've predicted the outcome of events. It is also ambitious in a sense that it didn't reach its full potential to fully develop the character of Walter Mitty and his story.

Although, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty struggles to be humorous at some parts and feels like some scenes are overly done and has some shortcomings with the storyline, it is genuinely close to the heart and charming; A thought-provoking and inspiring film.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is surprisingly enjoyable & moving and will leave a smile on its audience when the credits start to roll out.