Pay It Forward is an American 2000 drama-romance movie based on a novel of the same name by Catherine Ryan Hyde. This is set in Las Vegas, and it's 12-year-old chronicle Trevor McKinney launched a goodwill movement known as 'paying forward'. Directed by Mimi Leder and written by Leslie Dixon, she starred in Haley Joel Osment as Trevor, Helen Hunt as her lone alcoholic mother Arlene McKinney, and Kevin Spacey as her social studies teacher who physically and emotionally contaminates Eugene Simonet.
The film was released on October 20, 2000 for various reviews, with most critics praising acting, writing, music and cinematography but criticizing the story and accusing it of excessive emotional manipulation, especially at the end of the story. It was a moderate box office success, generating over $ 55.7 million with a $ 40 million budget.
Video Pay It Forward (film)
Plot
Trevor (Haley Joel Osment) started seventh grade in Las Vegas, Nevada, his IPS teacher Eugene Simonet (Kevin Spacey) gave the task class to develop and implement a plan that would change the world for the better. Trevor's plan is a charity program based on a network of good deeds. He calls his plan "paying it forward", which means the beneficiary provides assistance to three other people rather than return the favor. However, it needs to be of great help that the recipient can not solve itself.
Trevor did good for three people, asking each of them to "reciprocate the favor" by doing help for three others, and so on, along the branching tree of good deeds. His first good move was to let a tramp named Jerry (James Caviezel) stay in his garage, and Jerry paid his favor by doing car repair for Trevor's mother. Trevor's efforts seem to fail when Jerry returns to drug addiction, but Jerry pays his debt later by talking to a suicidal woman, who will jump off the bridge.
Meanwhile, Trevor's mother, Arlene (Helen Hunt) confronts Eugene about Trevor's project after finding Jerry in their home. Trevor then selects Eugene as the next "pay-forward" target and trick, Eugene and Arlene to a romantic dinner date. It also seems to fail until Trevor and Arlene argue about her love for Ricky, her ex-alcoholic husband, and she slaps her in anger. Two adults were brought together again when Trevor escaped from the house and Arlene asked Eugene to help him find him.
After finding Trevor, Arlene starts chasing Eugene sexually. Eugene had a deep scar visible on his neck and face, and he initially turned down Arlene's offer for insecurity. When they end up sleeping together, he is seen to have extensive scar tissue all over his body. Arlene receives Eugene's physical defect and forms an emotional bond with him, but quickly leaves their relationship when Ricky (Jon Bon Jovi) returns to him, claiming to have stopped drinking. His return and acceptance of it made Eugene angry, whose mother himself had a habit of bringing home his cruel father. When Arlene tries to explain to Eugene that she believes Ricky has changed forever, Eugene explains that her father deliberately burned her by knocking her unconscious, then pouring gas on it and turning it on. She scolds Arlene for "one of the women" and warns her of Ricky's potential for abusing Trevor. When Ricky drinks again and resumes his abusive behavior, Arlene realizes her mistake and forces her to leave.
Trevor's school assignment marks the beginning of the story's chronology, but the opening scene in the film shows one of the next features in the "pay-ahead" tree, where a man gives cars to Los Angeles journalist Chris Chandler (Jay Mohr). As the film progresses, Chris traces the relief chain back to its origin as Trevor's school project. After her date with Eugene, Arlene pays Jerry kindness by forgiving her own mother, Grace (Angie Dickinson), for her mistake in raising Arlene, and Grace, the homeless, helping a gang member escape from the police. The gang members then saved the life of a girl in the hospital, and the girl's father gave Chris his new car.
Chris finally identifies Trevor as a "pay-ahead" originator and conducts a recording interview in which Trevor explains his hopes and concerns for the project. Eugene, hearing Trevor's words, realized that he and Arlene had to be together. When Eugene and Arlene come to terms with hugs, Trevor tells his friend Adam to be bullied by gangster-like children, as he did several times before. He paid him to Adam by rushing to the scene and fighting the bullies while Eugene and Arlene hastily stopped him. One of the bullies picked up a folding knife from his pocket and stabbed Trevor in the stomach with it. The bully ran away and Trevor was taken to the hospital, where he died of his wounds. This news was reported on television as well as the fact that this movement spread throughout the country; Arlene and Eugene were soon visited by hundreds of people who had participated in or heard of the "Pay Forward" movement by gathering in vigilance to give Trevor respect.
Maps Pay It Forward (film)
Cast
- Kevin Spacey as Eugene Simonet. He is Trevor's social studies teacher, and a man who is emotionally and physically wounded. As a teenager, he suffered abuse from his father (including lighting a fire) and still had burns on his face and body. She started the movie as a shy, self-conscious hermit, but eventually she entered into a relationship with Trevor's mother, Arlene and overcome her fears. He assigns assignments to Trevor's class, asking them to change the world for the better. He is significantly changed from the novel, where he was an African-American man named Reuben St. Clair who was wounded in the Vietnam War.
- Helen Hunt as Arlene McKinney. She is a single mother of Trevor's alcoholic beverage who works in casinos and strip clubs. She has a history of rough relationships, especially with her mostly absent husband, Ricky. He eventually enters a relationship with Eugene, and with his help and Trevor manages to overcome his alcoholism and abuse.
- Haley Joel Osment as Trevor McKinney. He is a 12-year-old boy who is troubled by his mother's alcoholism and his father's abuse and absence. He started the "Pay It Forward" movement. He initially believed that the movement was unsuccessful, and did not feel much pride in him, claiming that he acted to improve the world - not to receive recognition. He was stabbed and killed while trying to pay him to a friend he used, Adam.
- Jay Mohr as Chris Chandler. He was a reporter tracing the "Pay it Forward" movement from Los Angeles back to Trevor. He interviewed Trevor and wrote a magazine column about the movement after Trevor died.
- James Caviezel as Jerry. He is a homeless drug addict whom Trevor tries to help as part of the "Pay Forward" movement. Although Trevor believes his efforts fail after Jerry returns to drug use, Jerry ends up paying him by saving a woman who will kill himself on the bridge.
- Angie Dickinson as Grace. She is Arlene's mother and Trevor's grandmother. Though he was a careless parent to Arlene, almost forcing them to live on the streets, Arlene finally forgave her as part of the "Pay Forward" movement.
- Jon Bon Jovi as Ricky McKinney. He was Trevor's abusive and alcoholic father who had since left the family. Arlene often allows her to return to the family despite her harassment, but she studies throughout the film to deny it and protect Trevor and herself from violence.
- Marc Donato as Adam. He was Trevor's friend who had been bullied for the rest of his life at school. Trevor paid him forward by preventing him from being bullied, but he was stabbed in the process.
- David Ramsey also plays Sidney Parker, an African-American man engaged in the "Pay Forward" movement, as did Gary Werntz (real life husband of director Mimi Ledler) as Tn. Thorsen. Kathleen Wilhoite also plays Bonnie, sponsor and mentor Arlene.
Production
Leslie Dixon adapted the scenario from a book of the same name by Catherine Ryan Hyde, which is available as an open writing assignment. Dixon is struggling with book adaptation in part because of the many narrations in it. Particularly in that case the journalist, the central figure in the film, did not appear until the middle of the novel. Trapped, Dixon considered returning the money he paid for the job. He finally found the idea to start with the reporter and track down the reverse event. Dixon presented the idea to Hyde who in turn liked him so much that he decided to change the structure of an unpublished novel plot to reflect the film. In the novel, the character of Eugene Simonet was originally an African-American man named Reuben St. Clair. The role was offered to Denzel Washington, but he refused. Kevin Spacey was contacted later and accepted the role.
On November 19, 1999, it was announced that Osment had acted as Trevor McKinney.
The film took place in late 1999 and early 2000. Filming took place at locations in Las Vegas, Nevada and in a studio in Los Angeles, California, with additional shootings (for the bridge scene) taking place in Portland, Oregon.
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack was created by Thomas Newman and released by VarÃÆ'¨se Sarabande on October 7, 2000 (about two weeks before the film's release).
The soundtrack is generally praised by critics, and is thought to fit the movie's theme.
List of songs from the soundtrack are:
- Possible (02:34)
- Car Problems (01:08)
- Washer Vodka (01:53)
- Cereal Bum (01:04)
- Exit Jerry (01:10)
- The Vodka Schedule (01:37)
- Rat Bastard (00:57)
- One Kiss (01:47)
- Delay (02:11)
- In Recovery (01:03)
- Jaguar (01:04)
- Trash (01:11)
- Sleepover (04:33)
- Cosmic Aristotle (01:56)
- Euphemism (01: 6)
- Pay In Front (01:06)
- Night and Day and Night (01:09)
- Asthma (00:59)
- Powers of Three (01:03)
- Desert Drive (01:35)
- Wasted Water (01:42)
- The Bad Thing (00:51)
- Petrol (01:40)
- Velocity Organ (01:27)
- I Forgive You (02:26)
In addition, the song "Calling All Angels" by Jane Siberry is played in the movie and is included in the soundtrack.
Reception
The movie opens at # 4 at the North American box office earning $ 9,631,359 USD on its opening weekend, behind Remember the Titans , Bedazzled , Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 and Meet Parents , who were in her third week at number one.
Worldwide, the film achieved moderate box office success, generating over $ 55.7 million with a $ 40 million budget.
The film received mixed reviews, although the Spacey, Hunt and Osment performances were universally praised.
Rotten Tomatoes rated the movie with 40% based on 127 reviews with consensus saying, "Pay It Forward has a strong performance from Spacey, Hunt, and Osment, but the movie itself is too emotionally manipulative and bad ending."
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2.5 stars out of a possible 4 stating, "With a cleaner storyline, the basic idea can be free to deliver." Like that, we get more movies both of which we have, because the show is very good: Incredible as being vulnerable and hurt: Hunting as a woman who is not less hurt in her own way, and Osment, once again proving himself equivalent to an adult actor in the complexity and depth of his performance. on them and take care of them I wish the movie could get out of their way. "
Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum gave it the value of "D", calling it "deplorable" for using "shameless cliches about emotional and physical damage" and then "squeezing the audience to join the 'let-be-good' movement to be transparent Bait Oscar.
See also
- Chalk in a movie
References
External links
- Pay Home at IMDb
- Pay It Forward at Rotten Tomatoes
- Pay Home in Metacritic
- Pay Home in Mojo Box Office
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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