This is not a new movie, next year is going to make 20 years, but that doesn't take away anything from its value. It's been more than a decade since I watched it, but I'll never forget it, that's for sure.
I remember I was visiting my cousin and she had some brand new DVD's sitting on her shelf, unopened for years. The Bucket List was one so them, so she suggested watching it and I said yes.
Apart from the title of the movie, that is pretty suggestive, I only knew who the main lead actors were, which was enough for me to give it a try.
Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers have nothing in common except for their terminal illnesses. While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to leave it and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die according to their bucket list. In the process, both of them heal each other, become unlikely friends, and ultimately find joy in life.
Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) met each other in the worst place you can meet people and as the storyline says, they were both in the worst period of their lives as being in hospital with cancer is definitely not what anyone would want for themselves of their loved ones.
I'm not going to lie, it hit me hard and needed to pause the movie, to give myself a few minutes to think, to see if I want to continue or not. It hit hard because not long before watching the movie I lost my mom to cancer and the wound was still fresh back then. Being the one who assisted her in her journey, I knew more about what cancer treatment meant than most of the viewers, which is why for me it was never just a movie.
The movie goes through the process of being diagnosed, being presented with the available treatment options as well as the decision making process. When I saw Carter Chambers's wife, trying to convince him to follow treatment, I said to my cousin, "as if I'm watching myself" and I really meant that.
They say you don't know, till you're put in their shoes and that is true. People say they understand, but I can assure you, they don't. When you have to decide what to do and a person's life is on stake, you make a decision and you're going to have that on your conscience for the rest of your life. You can't delete that neither from your mind, nor from your conscience.
Basically you have two choices. One, to follow treatment and suffer like a dog, literally, go through the cruel consequences and side effects of chemo, while there's no guarantee the treatment is going to be successful. The other option is to refuse treatment and live your life as you want and that's exactly what the two protagonists of the story did. They made a bucket list each and decided to live the rest of their life, literally, as they wanted.
I'd say the movie is food for thought. For me it was very different as I relived the whole experience and made me question the decisions we made, which it not something you should do. Life is lived onward, but it is better understood backwards, which is why torturing yourself with what ifs is the worst thing you can do.
The funny thing is, when you know you don't have long to live, you make a bucket list and try to accomplish what you can. What not many can see or realize is that this is basically a race against time. The two characters had the golden opportunity to finance their dreams without any problem as Edward Cole was a wealthy man. Again, they say money can't buy happiness, but this is just half of the truth. In this case due to the wealth of Cole, they had the opportunity to do a lot of things.
Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman were the right choice for the role, both for their exceptional talent and very different look and character as actors, and the chemistry between them was amazing. I'm sure the two names were the reason so many have watched the movie, but the story is exceptional too. Now obviously, for those who are not emotional like I was, this could look like another Hollywood cliche, so I understand that.
If you haven't seen it, give it a try, you won't regret it. It's definitely a good exercise, to see what you would do in such a situation, even if reality is totally different and when you're in their shoes, you may think differently.
This is my entry to @wiseagent's contest
Rating: 95/100
