I had my library order a copy of Gareth Higgins' book "How Movies Helped Save My Soul." I knew Gareth was a great writer because of his blog and Kevo valches for him. In his book, Gareth talks in depth about a wide variety of films and how they relate to spirituality. He suggests watching the film first, then reading his take on that movie. I did exactly that with Sean Penn's third directed film called "The Pledge" (which my library already had).
Although I love Penn, I hadn't heard of this 2001 film based on Friedrich Durrenmatt's novel, which stars the iconic Jack Nicholson. The film surrounds around Nicholson's character, Jerry, and the portrayal is impactful and moving. Jerry is a unhappy, retiring cop who decides to take one last case before making fishing his second career. Upon taking this case, which is a brutal murder and rape of a child, Jerry becomes consumed with fulfilling his promise to the victim's family for justice. The arrest and (possibly forced) confession of an Indian man (played wonderfully, yet briefly by Benicio Del Torro) closes the case for everyone but Jerry. The film follows Jerry's quest into obsession for justice.
After finishing the movie, I was severely moved and captivated. It was an un-Hollywood film that was difficult to watch and didn't hold anything back. Once I finished the film, I turned to Higgins' book for a further look into it. Packed into a three page section were poetically written thoughts that made the movie even more powerful. Higgins was able to talk about the movie in many different ways. He dissected the film making aspect, including the acting, directing, and technical elements in plain and interesting language. Then, he went on, to point out small (and easily missed ) aspects about the film that enhanced the film's power.
It was a great experience to watch a great movie and then read a great thinker's thoughts about that movie. I would highly suggest it.
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