The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Mitty in the film archives or "negative assets department,"
as it's called in the film. Clearly it's an archive (see source).

I saw this film on opening weekend in the Netherlands, just after New Year's Eve.  I really liked what Ben Stiller did with the material and this is one of the few movies I know about where the main character is an archivist.  The original short story, by author James Thurber, is about a hen-pecked husband who fantasizes about doing amazing things professionally-- saving people's lives as a renowned surgeon, piloting planes or commanding submarines (well if you have to dream, may as well dream big and exciting)-- while in reality his wife tells him how to dress himself, how to drive, where he must wait for her, and speculates openly on his intellect, reliability, and maturity.   "Lovely marriage." Not.

The film on the other hand, is about a Walter Mitty who does daydream, and does imagine himself in superhero roles, but he also imagines things like, getting the last word in an argument with a jerk at work, and being really witty during the smack down, too. (I'm sure we all do imagine this.) He does imagine traveling, he works at Life Magazine, so how could he not, but for personal reasons, he's had to be the family breadwinner from the age of 17 when his father died, he's not "splurged" any of his money on himself.  One of the opening scenes shows him carefully managing his checkbook.  And let's face it, compared with other professions, archivists aren't raking in the cash.  What makes the job worthwhile is the material that you manage, and the vaults of Life Magazine would be a magnificent place to let 16 years roll by.  Except when it isn't. 

The movie has an interesting and realistic twist.  Mass media is changing, content is now going online, in the wake of the recession, it is very difficult to sustain regular print publications, especially publications that have the high quality that Life Magazine has had.  While on one level the film is about a guy who needs a or two push to get out in the world (the movie it shows a romantic interest), and that life needs to be lived; there is also some social commentary, like doing a good job and working very hard doesn't equate to job security, or the people who make big decisions that effect people's lives only care about the bottom line.  Or it questions the American belief that quality of life is better now that before.   There was some critic that said this movie doesn’t know what it want’s to be, but I like the complexity in this narrative.  Mitty is the reliable, practical man.  He knows how deal with and care for objects, like the negative film.  Like his mother's piano.  He is detail oriented and likes his work and it is implied in the film that he has some valuable skills in the darkroom, techniques which are done very differently on digital editing software these days.  But Mitty also wishes he could be like the celebrated freelance photographer who sees things first-hand, who doesn’t reflect too much, but lives in the moment. He wants to not have responsibilities. 

The cinematography is really beautiful.  Nobody can go to all these places, and not be changed inside.  The person I saw this movie with and I were debating about what was real.  His view was that none of it was real, the skateboard supposedly from Greenland, wasn’t the same as the one Mitty eventually gives a boy, and the warlords in Afghanistan would certainly not be interested in the cake made by Mitty’s mother.  Mitty never went anywhere, only things that happened with people he actually knows (like his family and coworkers) is real.  My take is that most of it did happen, just not as exciting as he sometimes portrayed it.  I think he did go to Greenland, you can tell on the plane he’s imagining he’s joined the jet set crown, but when he lands and walks around the airport and later the bar, he’s not very impressed.  The scenery impresses him, but not the locals... which is often a common experience for travelers, who do meet local con artists and thieves (this is never in the travel brochures, I know from experience) as well as normal people just sick of foreigners getting in their way.  He is shown freaking out over the money that he’s spending on these trips, and while I doubt there was a full body cavity search at LAX, the detail of him having a Cinnabon with his contact from Match.Com seemed very real to me.  Sometimes when you are in a far away place a conversation with a stranger, or a serendipitous moment is the thing you remember the most, though there is no record of it. 

I think it was a great film, and I liked that it mixed the genres up.  It was bitter sweet, but inconclusive.  He did lose his job, but he has a date lined up with someone he liked.  It could go anywhere from there.  Like real life.