The Subtle Art of Not Giving a #@%!

Someone mentioned in the comments it would be nice to hear from the "professionals" about this. Which professionals? Could you be referring to a Tony Robbins or maybe a Noam Chomsky? There are no professionals. He is the professional. You are the professional. Nobody was more qualified than him to make this film dealing with the subject of life. It should make you think, whether you agree, or disagree. I think everyone who has experienced the death of a loved one, also experiences a new way of looking at life in general and this is what this message/story is all about. A focus on inevitable death. I can only imagine that someone who can feel themselves slipping away will have the most profound sense of clarity for their life purpose. Lastly, I thought the very last shot of the film was so ridiculously hilarious after all the seriousness of the topic just before it. That ending in itself was testing. He made me question whether I should have even used my time giving a monkeys about anything from the last 90 minutes or so watch time - very clever.

I have not read the book so I don't have much to compare it to, but the film felt more of a speaker making a motivational speech than a documentary. The entire documentary was the author talking about his personal experiences, which didn't resonate with me in any way. I just didn't "give a f*#!" about his own stories so it seemed a little pretentious to me that he was making us listen to all these very basic stories from his past. I did like the in between of talking about entitlement and taking responsibility, but it would have been nice to also hear from professionals to hear their take on it.

I have not read the book with the same name by Mark Manson, but I hear it is good. So, I did not know what to expect from this movie other than what I knew about the main synopsis of both the book and movie. I thought this movie was not bad but not that amazing. I like that we follow Mark Manson's life and how he connects it to other things connected to the main story, along with why he made the book. The way he talks about certain things and his view on life is interesting. There are some nice-looking shots like on a cliff or simple shots like when he is floating on a pool or shots of everyday life. This movie has a simple ending, and the movie is something to watch for 1 hour and 37 minutes when you have nothing else to do. I do not know what to say about this movie, other than it is a fine movie/documentary that you can watch. This movie might be better if I read the book, or the book could be better than the movie and I just do not know.

Manson tries to convey to us practical wisdom from his life and the modern era that is controversial and confusing. His narrative is one of first world drama where he discovers himself. It's okay, but not very well thought out or scientifically backed. I think one would do much better watching an Alain de Botton TED Talk. True some ideas are better placed in a motion picture narrative. Here the Director has used a mixture of 1980s BBC clips and B-grade acting scenes. It just hasn't cut the mustard for this critical reviewer. For a better experience I'd suggest 'Ravi Patel's Pursuit of Happiness' (2020)

Since this movie is a long, drawn-out attempt at some sort of enlightenment, allow me to perhaps save some readers an hour and a half of their time. I would sum up the entire message of the film by simply stating: 'The key to every situation is to change your perspective.' Or, in other words, 'It's not what happens to you, but rather how you react to what happens.' Not exactly a new revelation but the author seems determined to drive home this advice to the point of sheer boredom. It's worse than watching a mundane TV infomercial. I'm not saying that the film didn't have a few good points, but rather the manner in which they were "phoned-in" to the viewer.