Lucky By Alice Sebold

When Amazon gives us reviewers the choice in rating a product on a scale of one, meaning hate it, to five meaning you love it that is a little misleading. Some films I rate one star are just plain bad but I don’t particularly hate them and the ones I give a five star rating to may be of impeccable quality but I don’t necessary love them. “Lucky” is that rare case where I truly love the film in question. Actor John Carroll Lynch’s directorial debut just brims with spirituality and love of humanity even if the main character may be an avowed atheist. How often do you find a vehicle that is so note perfect for its leading performer? It’s almost as though Harry Dean Stanton is relating his own life story instead of playing a character. Stanton doesn’t have to so much act but have the camera focus on his weather and age ravaged face to demonstrate the regret and disappointments of a long life lived. “Lucky” isn’t so much a story but a series of moments in an old man’s declining days on Earth. Consider the scene where Lucky shares a joint with a waitress at the local diner in his house confiding to her that he’s scared. Later in the film at a fiesta Lucky sings a love song to a Mexican grandmother that is heartrending. The film also allows its supporting players a chance to shine. An unforgettable scene involves a World War II Marine veteran played by Tom Skeritt talking to Lucky about his horrific experiences in the Philippines that will sear itself into your consciousness. David Lynch plays a lonely bachelor relating to Lucky why he will have to let the beloved pet tortoise named President Roosevelt who ran away go his own way. James Darren has a touching moment as a bar patron proclaiming his love for his tavern owner girlfriend. A potentially unsympathetic lawyer played by Ron Livingston is shone in a positive light when he talks about how endeared he is to his wife and children. At one point in the film a song by Johnny Cash plays on the soundtrack which I assume is from the American Recordings that is so appropriate. Lucky, you may think there’s a void when you draw your last breath but for your sake I hope you find a life after this one. You deserve it.

Wir haben uns in Lucky verliebt, zuerst mein Vater, dann ich. Der Charakterdarsteller Harry Dean Stanton in seiner sehr würdigen letzten Rolle. Lucky ist 90 und topfit, pflegt seine Morgenroutinen, seine langen Spaziergänge durch die Wüstenstadt am Ende der Welt, an deren Rand er wohnt, und seine Kreuzworträtselphilosophien (,Is realism a thing?’, ,Alone is not lonely.’). Eines Tages kippt er in seinem von Kakteen umrahmten Holzhaus einfach um, geht vermutlich zum ersten Mal zum Arzt und erkennt, dass sein Körper langsam nachgibt und auch er sterblich ist. Ab dem Moment wird der Film – Stimmung und Alltagshandlungen – neu arrangiert. Reflexion, langsamer Rückzug, kraftvolles Zurückkommen durch plötzliches Singen und die treue Begleitung und Zeitlosigkeit einer hundertjährigen Schildkröte namens President Roosevelt. Nothing is permanent und doch alles. Eine Liebeserklärung an das Leben in seiner Vergangenheit, Gegenwart, Zukunft und Zeitlosigkeit.

This film is a glimpse into the life of a retired veteran who is a bit of a loner and struggling with the truths of mortality. This movie hit pretty close to home for me as it is nearly an accurate representation of my father. I swear, they must have use my father as the muse for this story as it is nearly accurate account of his daily life. My father even looks like the main actor in this film, same dusty hat and all!

I learned about this film after my dad said someone saw him in a restaurant in Quartzsite AZ and asked for his autograph. They were 100% convinced he was the star of this film and it must have been a documentary of his life. Of course, my grumpy father had no clue what they were talking about.

I loved this film. I also loved the film Nebraska. If you’re a cinephile who appreciates movies that take their time to perfect a portrait of a character, of a place and time, this film is for you. And what a beautiful tribute to the talent of Harry Dean Stanton.
Filmed in black and white in some non-descript small locale in Arizona, a place too small to even be called a town, this film follows the day to day life of a man who, though he seems distant to all, is loved and understood in a quiet way by his small community. He’s skinny and old and looks about to die, and the whole community, without a word said, seems to look out for him, to care for him at a distance. A truly beautiful film about love and caring. Stanton’s final film.
On a side note, he was Linda Ronstadt’s neighbor when she was young,and her family often heard him singing beautifully in Spanish in his back yard (info from bonus info from her film The Sound of My Voice). Who knew?
This film is a treasure.

I love this movie and have it in my personal collection for film research, reflective writing and to remind myself that no one gets out of this alive except a turtle.

A beautiful wry thoughtful meditation on ageing loneliness friends community life and death as you would expect from Harry Dean Stanton… thank you