Already There

= Already There = A drama created by point zero in Year 20. Directed by Todd Field and starring Ryan Gosling and Anne Hathaway, Already There dealt with morality and the consequences of your actions, no matter how big or small. The film received a divided response, with some calling it the year's best film, and others calling it one of the weakest. The film managed to obtain two Academy Award nominations, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress- Nora Zehetner. The film made 15.3 million dollars on its first weekend of wide release, and ended up making 52.1 million dollars in domestic release.

= Original write-up =

Already There
Tagline: "I know."

Genre: Drama/Fantasy

Director: Todd Field

Writer: David Benioff

Studio: Sony Pictures Classic

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Anne Hathaway, Joaquin Phoenix, Nora Zehetner, Matthew Goode, Adrian Pasdar

= Plot = Already There, the new controversial film by Todd Field and screenwriter David Benioff, follows two entirely different lives in an alternate universe where it is believed in the bible that the concept of heaven and hell is really just your next life on Earth, and depending on your actions in this life, your life will either be pleasant or unpleasant in the next. Ryan Gosling plays Jason Murray, a man born into a broken home who has never had a break in his life. He constantly tries to be a good person but always everything blows up in his face, leaving him in a worn-down apartment, alone, and an all-around mess. Anne Hathaway plays Kimberly Moore, a successful 20-something who has everything she could ever want; a high-class apartment, a job as New York's hottest newscaster, and a successful boy friend (Joaquin Phoenix). Whenever Jason is on the screen, the film has a red filter on it, giving the impression that his life is a living hell. Whenever Kimberly is on the screen, the film has a white filter on it, giving the impression that her life is heavenly.

The film begins in the 1950s, and covers the two characters in their past life, and how they interconnect from the very beginning. Jason was a KKK member, and Kimberly was a college student from the north coming to help out with the Civil Rights Movement. Turns out, Jason lynched Kimberly for helping out african-americans.in their previous lives, Jason was a cruel and evil man, while Kimberly was a good samaritan.

Jason's life at the beginning is already not very good, though the tint on the screen is only a slight shade of red. He has next to no living family, has an awful job at a Circle K, can't pay his bills, he has no girlfriend, but he continues to move along. But then he loses his job, and though he wasn't paid much, it was his only source of income, since he couldn't qualify for welfare. The filter gets a bit darker. He tries to then get a job elsewhere, but no one will hire hire him, forcing him to lose his apartment, and only have the clothes on his back. The red gets darker. You now see Jason walking on the sidewalk, and he spots a rich woman (Nora Zehetner) being robbed. He runs after the culprit and takes the bag back, to give back to her. She takes him to dinner and they hit it off immediately, and she insists on having him move into her apartment, since his economic situation is so grim. Jason and Nicole fall in love, and the screen tints to a pink color showing that his life may be turning around in the eyes of God.

Now we shift over to Kimberly, as she is seen having sex with one of her co-workers (Adrian Pasdar), though she is currently engaged to Michael, Joaquin Phoenix's character. In the next scene, we figure out that she stole him away from Nicole (Zehetner), and that no one knew of their affair. This was a scheme to sabotage both of them, as he got Nicole pregnant, though she has not told Jason, her new boyfriend, who Kimberly has yet to meet. She goes to the police and claims that he just raped her, why she lies about it we do not get a reason, but he is then arrested and thrown into jail immediately. Then we see her at a party rendezvousing with other guests, and then she gets into a strange conversation about karma, and how she doesn't believe in it. Jason and Nicole then walk into the house and Kimberly comes to greet them, as it is revealed that apparently Nicole and Kim are best friends. Right when Kim and Jason make eye contact, and the tint on the screen turns blood red, the camera starts to shake, and Jason starts to panic and goes straight to the bathroom. He pops unspecified pills into his mouth from his pocket, and lies down onto the ground. Meanwhile, Kimberly and Nicole are talking and Nicole tells Kim that she is going to check up on Jason, and then whispers as she walks away "I know." She then wakes up, panting profusely, and she sees Michael on the floor beside the bed, pills scattered all across the floor, with a note that says the exact same thing, "I know." Kim drives to Nicole's apartment, screen now tinted blood red, and kills Nicole in cold blood, and then kills her self. Jason is at his new night job at a paper factory, and receives a call from the police about Nicole's death.

We now see Jason at Nicole's funeral, right before he has to give a eulogy. But right when he's supposed to speak, he digs some earth from the ground, and throws it directly onto his seat. You then see a shot of him walking away, and everyone at the funeral, including the priest, is wearing red except him; he is wearing black. The tree leaves are all red, even the hearse and all the cars in the nearby parking lot. It is also evening. He drives away in his also black car, and goes straight to Nicole's apartment, and gets out of the car. He goes out to the stoplight, and screams "Heaven? Hell? Why the f*** does it matter? We're already there! We're already f***ing there! WERE ALREADY F***ING THERE!" It shows him walk into the middle of the intersection right before he gets hit, and it fades to black.

It then shows a woman in labor in a generic looking hospital room, and her having a baby. The last shot of the film shows her having twins, one a boy and one a girl. Once they are born, the screen tints to red again, and we are led to assume that the babies are Jason and Kimberly, being reincarnated once again.

All the main characters in Kimberly's story die because of all of their involvement in trying to cause trouble, and the film uses this to highlight how your actions affect you, but also others (in this case, Jason). Behind the supernatural undertones and melodrama, this is a simple morality tale of how what goes around, comes around, and how the smallest of occurences can catalyst events that change the lives of others (the robber in the street trying to steal Nicole's bag, leading to the meeting of Jason and Nicole, and both of their imminent deaths.)

Other Info
Rating: R for language, nudity, drug use, extreme peril and violence Budget: $30 Date: October 1st Theatres: 240, 2988