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    Movie Review

    Life Itself undercooks attempt at emotional storytelling

    Alex Bentley
    Sep 20, 2018 | 3:00 pm
    Life Itself undercooks attempt at emotional storytelling
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    Movies with an obvious intent of making their audience cry have a long history in cinema, from Love Story to Terms of Endearment to The Notebook to The Fault in Our Stars. If you combine those relatively simple stories with a star-packed, intersecting storyline movie like Love Actually, you’ll get the new film, Life Itself.

    The film is told in chapters that focus on different characters, starting with Will (Oscar Isaac). We’re told in so many words and via flashbacks that he had an amazing romance with Abby (Olivia Wilde), but at the time we meet him, he’s at an extremely low point in his life for unknown reasons.

    Those reasons come to the forefront in counseling sessions with Dr. Cait Morris (Annette Bening), which bring into play the other major players of the film. They include Will’s mother and father (Jean Smart and Mandy Patinkin); Will and Abby’s daughter, Dylan (Olivia Cooke); Mr. Saccione (Antonio Banderas), a wealthy olive grower in Spain; Javier (Sergio Peris-Mencheta), one of Saccione’s workers; and Rodrigo (Alex Monner), Javier’s son.

    The key to making any good tearjerker is establishing a great connection with the film’s characters. Unfortunately for this movie, it starts out extremely dark and can never find its way out of that darkness. There are periodic moments when characters are allowed to be happy, but they are short-lived, followed very quickly by more drama and tragedy.

    The “amazing romance” between Will and Abby is shown to have a creepy beginning, and that colors almost every interaction they have for the rest of the film. Javier appears to be a good and decent man, but he has a stubborn streak that goes unexplained, which leads to several baffling decisions. Only Dylan and Rodrigo, by virtue of being products of the lives their parents led, act in ways that are clear and understandable.

    The film is written and directed by This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman, who inserts two concepts that weigh the story down. The first is the repeated use of Bob Dylan’s song “Make You Feel My Love.” The reverence of Dylan by one character and apparently Fogelman himself becomes too much, with the song turning into a burden for the film instead of an emotional through line.

    He also repeatedly brings up the idea of unreliable narrators, something that is supposed to make the story deep, forcing the audience to actually think about what they’re watching. Instead, it only serves to make it extra confusing, as you can never be sure what you’re watching is actually happening. Also, storytelling clichés abound, with elements that have been overused in better movies cropping up again and again.

    Almost nobody comes out of the film unscathed. Isaac and Wilde are not remotely believable as a couple, and this lack of chemistry prevents their characters from ever gaining a foothold in our hearts. Elder statesmen Patinkin and Banderas come off the best, as they’re well-practiced in making the most of whatever screen time they’re given.

    Fogelman and his team have done wonders in creating heartwarming and heartbreaking drama on This Is Us, but he cannot create the same magic in Life Itself. It’s an undercooked and overwrought story that never comes close to earning the emotions it seeks.

    Oscar Isaac and Olivia Wilde in Life Itself.

    Oscar Isaac and Olivia Wilde in Life Itself
      
    Photo by Jon Pack
    Oscar Isaac and Olivia Wilde in Life Itself.
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    This Week's Hot Headlines

    Exotic ice cream shop sweetens this week's most popular Dallas stories

    CultureMap Staff
    Jun 21, 2025 | 10:00 am
    Kwality Ice Cream
    Kwality
    Kwality Ice Cream

    Editor's note: The top Dallas news of the week is all about food, from innovative Indian concepts to a high-profile steakhouse. Catch up on our most popular stories below, then visit our event planner for the best things to do in Dallas this weekend.

    1. Kwality Ice Cream shop to bring creamy exotic desserts to Frisco. An ice cream chain with an Indian flair is dipping into Dallas-Fort Worth. Called Kwality Ice Cream, it's a concept founded in New Jersey that specializes in traditional Indian ice cream and cold drinks, and it's opening a location in Frisco.

    2. High-profile Palladino's Steak & Seafood heads to Preston-Royal Dallas. A high-profile new steakhouse is coming to North Dallas. Palladino’s Steak & Seafood, an eponymous concept from Dallas restaurateur Joseph Palladino, will open at 5959 Royal Ln., in the former Spec's space.

    3. Veteran Dallas restaurant team to open innovative Indian to-go spot. A Dallas restaurant team versed in Indian food is opening an innovative new to-go spot. Called Elephant Indian Grill, it’s a to-go-only restaurant opening in the Park Cities, in the former Granny’s Cajun Cooking, where it’s set to launch in late June.

    4. Dallas chef nominated for James Beard award parts ways with restaurant. Dallas chef RJ Yoakum, who has earned scads of acclaim in Dallas in his role as executive chef at Georgie, the high-profile restaurant in the Knox Street district, is no longer its executive chef.

    5. Savvy team to open expansive Indian restaurant Silk Road in Coppell. An Indian restaurant from a team of hospitality veterans is coming to Coppell. Called Silk Road Indian Cuisine and Bar, it will open soon at 160 W Sandy Lake Rd. in the former JC’s Burger Bar space, where it will feature flavors from northern and southern India.

    openingssteakhousechefsindian foodfriscocoppelltop stories
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