Life Itself movie review & film summary (2018)

Will (Oscar Isaac) is a disheveled man who’s clearly going through a tough time. He abandons working on a terrible script in a New York City coffee shop to refill on caffeine, booze, and Xanax. He then disturbs the peace and is promptly thrown out of the cafe. Will reluctantly saunters off to his therapist (Annette Bening) for a mandated session, where through terse exchanges between doctor and patient, he finally opens up about what’s troubling him: his wife, Abbey (Olivia Wilde), her absence, his institutionalization and that he’s a father of a child he hasn’t yet seen. Just as it feels like we’re heading to some semblance of catharsis, Will’s story ends abruptly. The movie skips ahead a few chapters to his daughter’s morose childhood and rebellious early adulthood. Dylan (Kya Kruse when young, Olivia Cooke when older) grows nostalgic for the parents she never knew.

With almost no warning, “Life Itself” uproots itself again, this time moving from a tragedy-ridden New York City to a much calmer, slower-paced Spain. Here, the narrative finds Mr. Saccione (Antonio Banderas), a wealthy landowner, in talks to promote his dedicated, soft-spoken laborer, Javier (Sergio Peris-Mencheta). The men enter into an uneasy agreement where Javier will help manage Mr. Saccione’s olive orchards, but he asks that his boss try not to be friends with him. The promotion allows Javier to marry his girlfriend Isabel (Laia Costa), enjoy a spacious home and start a family. Over time, Mr. Saccione grows a bit too friendly with Isabel, and their young son, Rodrigo (Adrian Marrero, later played by Àlex Monner), and Javier attempts to defend his boundaries. However, after Rodrigo is traumatized by witnessing a horrible accident, he needs special treatment that only a rich benefactor like Mr. Saccione could afford. A family drama ensues, as does the couple’s separation and later, Isabel’s cancer diagnosis and Rodrigo’s departure to college in—wait for it—New York City.

True to Fogelman’s multilayered, melodramatic NBC series, “This is Us,” “Life Itself” revels in its story’s highs and lows. An accident will be followed by a suicide, or a prank followed by news of a character’s death. The movie only narrowly misses the most predictable of cliches by jolting the audience with a steady diet of unfortunate events. Adding to that disorientating feeling is the film’s cycle through various characters. It’s an approach better suited for a drawn-out TV show, but in the short runtime of a movie, the effect is lacking. No sooner do we start to feel empathetic for one character’s struggles than we’re moving on to find someone else to attach to.