Rating:  

Plan B Entertainment, Red Om Films, Syzygy Productions, and Columbia Pictures.

Written by: Ryan Murphy and Jennifer Salt, adapted from the book of the same name, written by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Based on an extremely popular memoir by Elizabeth Gamble (“Liz”), “Eat Pray Love” documents Gamble’s journey to find herself after making some profound life-changing decisions. Encapsulating one year in time, Gamble’s journey could serve as both inspiring or narcissistic, depending on your viewpoint.

Directed by Ryan Murphy (TV’s “Glee”, Running With Scissors) with sweetness and a caring eye, “Eat Pray Love” features a return to form for Julia Roberts, who delivers a strong performance as Liz. Bookending the film with two specifically moving and affecting scenes, both centered around Liz’s fear of commitment, Roberts again reminds us just how good an actress she truly is. When we meet Liz, the masking and the pretending simply cannot be hidden any longer. She does not want to be married to Stephen (Billy Crudup) and takes the steps to end their marriage. Receiving unconditional understanding from her publisher and best friend, Delia (Viola Davis), Liz bounces into a rather ill-advised relationship with struggling actor, David (James Franco). David, rather obviously, never had a chance.

Spinning her wheels with life, her career, and everything else she encounters, Liz informs Delia of her year-long plan. In reality, Liz received a hefty book advance to go on her journey and then convert the experiences into her memoirs. The hows and whys of Liz’s travels are oddly left out of the film, implying that she financed the trip herself.

When green light says go for Liz to set out on her journey, she heads to Italy and soon becomes fast friends with Sofi (Tuva Novotny) and settles in with a small little surrogate family of enigmatic personalities. They teach her Italian, introduce her to new cuisine and culture, and, in turn, Liz helps Sofi become comfortable with insecurities we all face.

Sticking to her 4-month schedule, Liz ventures out to India to stay and study at an ashram that she was introduced to by David. Juxtaposing the life she left in Italy with the new and more barren life in India seems to bring only minimal difficulties and Liz adjusts rather easily. Meeting a fellow American at the ashram, a man Liz calls Richard from Texas (Richard Jenkins), has rocky beginnings but soon Liz and Richard find a kinship in their quest for spirituality. More on Jenkins’ performance in a moment.

Finally, Liz travels to Bali and seeks out a medicine man, Keyut, who she met on a prior trip. After Keyut makes the connection as to who Liz is, he becomes a final catalyst in Liz aligning herself spiritually. However, meeting Felipe (Javier Bardem) brings about an unexpected disturbance to Liz’s plan for inner peace and unity.

And so there it is. The journey is complete. Liz eventually finds everything she is looking for, and some unexpected things as well. So, what do we get out of it? Well, for some, the joy in watching her bounce from place to place and make lifelong connections in 4-month intervals. For others, the journey of one woman on a quest to change things that many people most undoubtedly will not see as all that terrible.

And so there that is. There is much to like about the film, but in its totality, “Eat Pray Love” just…feels…off. The film is acted very well from a rich ensemble cast and Ryan Murphy and cinematographer, Robert Richardson, have made arguably the most visually appealing film thus far in 2010. You may expect the food in Italy to look sumptuous, the architecture and panoramic views of India and Bali to be gorgeous, but the film nails the little details and hidden charms in each of the locales so well that you can easily get swept up in the fantasy of the moment and place. Add in an impressive soundtrack of world beats and rhythms, and I acknowledge there being a lot to like on the surface.

But there is something missing here. And I grasp at the straws of knowing what it might be. Perhaps, I just do not see the decisions made by Liz to be all that necessary and to go one further, they reek of decisions afforded to someone of privilege. I am all for being swept up in a fantasy and like most people, I am guilty of, at certain times in my life, wanting to just disappear somewhere for an indefinite period of time. However, I cannot stop wondering if Elizabeth Gamble’s journey really needed to be so grand and epic. Maybe I just view life differently and that’s the barrier here. In not having read Gamble’s memoirs, but seeing her year afar depicted on the big screen, the decisions she makes seem sudden, misguided, and unwarranted. Then again, I can admire someone with the bravery and courage to do something like this. Add yet, when factoring in the reality of the book deal Liz received, my admiration dips considerably. Sorry, it just does.

Should she or shouldn’t she have or whether Liz’s actions were smart and enviable or dumb and pointless are certainly fair point/counterpoints viewers have had with the book and will have with the film. But, I am always going to remember one scene between Julia Roberts and Richard Jenkins in the India vignette. Richard Jenkins is the actor you have seen in every film and is one of the finest supporting character actors working today. He also was recently nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for an extraordinary lead performance in “The Visitor.” I rarely, if ever, have advised people to see a movie for a scene, but the moment I will always carry with me when thinking of “Eat Pray Love” is the power of emotion that Jenkins hits with Roberts at his side. It is an extraordinary moment in a film which should have been full of them.

“Eat Pray Love” may resonate with many and polarize others. As a film, it brings solid acting, breathtaking visuals, and one timestopper of a scene along with a lack of connectivity and a heavy umbrella of doubt and necessity. The film means well, and I think its heart is in the right place. But, when looking at the times we live in and the problems everyday people go through , this whole experience and journey Liz Gamble made seems just insular and self-indulgent. She would undoubtedly disagree, as would many of her loyal readers, but who amongst us can do something like this? And that is the biggest stumbling block of all for me.

Should I See It?

YES

The film’s book has sold over 6 million copies and that fan base have been anticipating this film. I imagine that many of those readers, even with the changes between the book and the movie, will be pleased and happy with the results.

Again, it’s hard to ask someone to watch a 133-minute film for one scene, but Richard Jenkins is incredible in the middle of the film.

If you are fan of good to great acting, no one delivers a bad performance here. Visually and technically, the film is a joy to watch and the music score is astute and well put together.

NO

If you have any doubts as to whether you are going to like this, those doubts you have will be validated.

As a film, the movie is rather empty. It looks wonderful and is well-acted, but lacks an emotional connection that makes the lengthy running time really worth a viewer’s time.

The movie plays almost like a series of vignettes and save a flashback here or there, there is never a cohesiveness from moment to moment or experience to experience. The film suffers because of it.

I can see people easily ripping this entire thing to shreds and that is never a good place to put your film.