‘Life Itself ’ is a stuffed, emotional turkey
The ensemble drama “Life Itself ” is essentially about the complex, intertwining nature of our stories and how life itself is kind of an unreliable narrator. Got all that? Cool.
Now you can avoid having to see this treacly, depressing and way-too-complicated generational mishmash.
Written and directed by Dan Fogelman, “Life Itself ” ( ★g☆☆; rated R; in theaters nationwide Friday) is like a very special two-hour episode of his hit TV series “This Is Us” that’s just as needlessly twisty and emotionally manipulative (if you cry for that, you’ll cry for this) but without the same important connection to characters. The film follows the main players of various love stories, romantic and parental, that play out over decades in New York City and Spain, yet with only a few exceptions, it’s a cast of ciphers in a multichapter melodrama of forced feels.
“Life Itself ” also is one gigantic spoiler with how each person relates to everyone else, for better or (usually) for worse. Will (Oscar Isaac) and Abby (Olivia Wilde) are “Pulp Fiction”-loving college sweethearts with a baby on the way as the movie pinballs among various stages of their relationship. (Watching Isaac’s facial hair is key: Clean-shaven Will is pretty happy, bearded Will a complete disaster.)
Then we meet Dylan (Olivia Cooke), an angry young punk-rock girl, and her caring grandpa Irwin (Mandy Patinkin), who raises her after a tragedy involving his son but struggles to connect with her as Dylan gets older. Before long, the narrative shifts to a Spanish olive grove owned by the wealthy but good-hearted Mr. Saccione (Antonio Banderas), whose foreman Javier (Sergio PerisMencheta) lives with wife, Isabel (Laia Costa), and son, Rodrigo, on the plantation. As the couple navigate their ups and downs – related mostly to Javier’s pride and a tragic incident witnessed by their child – Mr. Saccione fosters close ties with Rodrigo as the boy grows to college age (played by Alex Monner).
“Life Itself ” is a real downer when it comes to death: A few are so out-of-nowhere that it’s like the hipster version of the “Game of Thrones” Red Wedding. The movie does introduce intriguing thematic aspects – how a point of view defines heroes vs. villains, plus the concept that children continue their parents’ story – though they unfortunately are buried under the weight of everything Fogelman tries to shoehorn into two hours (including so many versions of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” that you’ll boot it from your Spotify).
The film is a stuffed turkey that wastes most of its noteworthy ingredients, especially Isaac, Wilde and Annette Bening (who has pretty much a glorified cameo as Will’s therapist). Somehow, though, Banderas finds a way to shine amid the constantly shifting storytelling, bringing considerable empathy and charismatic kindness to his olive king/father figure. As the beating heart of the film, Mr. Saccione is a little too good to be true but is welcome among so many others whose only raison d’etre is to lead the viewer from one maudlin scene to the next.