Shadowlands (1993) – 4/5
I thought this movie was good but not so much as a movie as a message.
I loved how they didn’t play up the big points of the movie to make them stumbling blocks to enjoying it. While it might not be a completely accurate, it’s a good portrayal of a man, his relationships, pain and change thru it all.
They seem to start an early thread about ‘magic’ which I seemed to lose after a while. I’m not sure if they meant to maintain that or not???
The main theological point o by C.S. Lewis in the movie is that ‘suffering is God’s megaphone to a deaf world.’ In the movie, that starts with the death of his mother at a young age. Later it’s the death of his wife.
He explains that twice in life he’s been hit by this pain:
Twice in that life I’ve been given the choice: as a boy and as a man. The boy chose safety, the man chooses suffering. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That’s the deal.
So the movie presents him as hiding in his comfortable world hidden from pain and question. Pain finds him and he learns and embraces it.
I also like the part where he says he’s not looking anymore. He’s happy w/ the way things are – no longer living in the shadows where the sun shines always around the bend.
However, life doesn’t stop. Pain finds you (See “The Village” for another view of this theme).
Good movie. Very touching on the part of the adults and Douglas, Joy’s son.