The Upside
[Devin Dayley]
Year Released: 2017?? (that's what it says on IMDB.)
Director: Neil Burger
Stars:
Kevin Hart
Bryan Cranston
Nicole Kidman
General Summary:
A convicted felon (Hart) is hired to help a billionaire with quadriplegia (Cranston). What ends up happening is an unlikely relationship begins to form between del (Hart), Philip (Cranston), and Yvonne (Kidman).
Review:
This film accurately shows what it is like to help someone with disabilities and to be someone with disabilities. Believe me, I should know, I am disabled and rely on a wheelchair or a walker every day of my life. Let me just say that I did not like this film. It’s a good thing that I did not like this movie and, I think, bodes well for its future success.
The reason I did not like this film was because it made me, as a disabled person, feel anxious and somewhat depressed. When we meet Philip in the film, he is feeling really down on himself and doesn’t feel that his life is worth living. I could relate to that feeling of utter depression and feeling trapped in one’s own body. In the film, he struggles to fully put himself out into the world for fear that his handicap will be too much and that will stop people from loving and appreciating him. This is something I struggle with right now. So this film made me feel things that I didn’t like feeling so I didn’t like it but because it made me feel, I can respect it.
Alright, let’s talk about the acting. Bryan Cranston did good job, not a great job at portraying that he had quadriplegia even though he does not have it in real life. The reason I say he did a good job but not a great job is because someone with quadriplegia would move differently than an able bodied person would. Cranston did, however, like I mentioned, did a phenomenal job at portraying the angst someone with quadriplegia might feel.
Kevin Hart was decent. He alluded to his time in prison a lot and I never fully saw him as a prison guy. He is just too likeable and didn’t have the rough outer edges that someone recently released from prison would have. Regardless, he was meant to be part of the heart of this film and he was. Nicole Kidman I thought was decent too. She acted her part well, I was confused with her accent for the first probably 25 minutes of the film. She played her part, though, and added to the story which is all I could have asked for.
I would rate this a 6.85/10
Comments