The newly released movie “50/50” is a dramedy about the journey to health of Adam, a young man who is diagnosed with a rare type of cancer. Directed by Jonathan Levine, “50/50” stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam and Seth Rogen as Adam’s best friend, Kyle.
After the doctor tells Adam that he has a rare form of cancer on his spine, Adam starts pushing all the people in his life away. He does not see that they care for him and want to help him through his illness—he only sees the bad in his relationships with them. Adam thinks that Kyle only uses him to get girls and even stays away from his over-protective mother (played by Anjelica Huston) so that she does not worry about him. Adam also shuts out his inexperienced therapist, Katherine (played by Anna Kendrick,) and does not let her help him.
When the cancer isn’t eradicated after chemotherapy, Adam has to go in for surgery, which becomes the turning point as he begins to show his feelings. This is also when he learns that his mother, his best friend and his therapist have been trying their best to cheer him up and help him through it all.
Although “50/50” was the right amount of funny and sad, the movie left me with a bittersweet feeling. Through directing the movie, Levine drew from his own experience of going through similar cancer treatments to direct Adam’s performance. This was most likely the reason why this movie was so successful at portraying Adam’s emotional journey.
The cinematography was very artsy and not at all like the normal static shots typically seen in movies nowadays. The movie was blue, not just figuratively speaking but also literally: the color blue was present in all the shots and sometimes it even took over. It would be worthwhile to watch just for the subtle symbolism and expressions of emotion characterized by the cinematography. The actors also did a fantastic job giving life to their characters; Gordon-Levitt’s performance was amazing and so precise that it was almost like watching a documentary about a cancer patient rather than a movie.
Although I didn’t get the one hour and 39 minutes of laughs I was waiting for after watching the previews, I was not disappointed. The movie is a masterful blend of comedy and drama—expect to leave the movie theatre with a sad smile on your face. During the movie I laughed out loud and came close to crying twice. The movie “50/50” brought me a sense that people can alleviate some of the tension of cancer by seeing the grand joke in it all and Levine did precisely that as he walked us through his experience, making it 50 percent comedy and 50 percent drama.