I had never heard of this movie before, and actually kind of stumbled upon it on Youtube. Even though many movies there are free of cost to watch, I like to check them out on IMDB, just to see how people rated it. There were other movies that I decided against because they were not highly rated. This one was very highly rated, and it featured Anthony Hopkins, who to my mind, ranks among the very elite actors out there today.
So, I decided to give it a shot. And boy, was I glad I did afterward!
Before I go on, though, I just want to warn any reader who has not yet viewed the film, and may intend to do so, that I am about to go a bit more in depth about it, and will reveal much of what happens. So, be warned!
***Spoiler Alert***
It is a beautiful movie and based on a true story, about CS Lewis, obviously a writer of strong repute, who was stuck in his cozy, but rather stuffy cocoon of academia at Oxford University. He lives with his brother and has minimal interaction with women., and he has all of the answers to all of the questions that he asked, and won any and all arguments that he engaged in.
But of course, you cannot make a movie out of that, and so things changed. An American woman, Joy Davidman, a poet who came to England to escape her troubled, failing marriage back home in the United States with a drunk, unfaithful, and sometimes abusive husband, as well as to try and to finish her book and get it published. She knows, and wants to meet CS Lewis, and he agrees.
Many among the British elite were a bit skeptical of Americans and their lack of discretion, and at first, she seems to embody this. Everyone from Oxford that meets Joy is a bit turned off by her. Everyone but CS Lewis, that is. They arrange to meet again, only this time, she wants to bring her son, and have his book, "The Chronicles of Narnia" (by CS Lewis) signed and personalized.
They enjoy themselves, and Lewis, before the evening is through, decides to invite her and her son for Christmas, much to the surprise of his brother, and pretty much everyone else at Oxford.
The Christmas time together goes well, but it is time for Joy to go back to America. It would appear that would end their brief and limited interaction.
Again, though, what kind of a movie would that be? CS Lewis has been strongly affected by her, and begins to notice things around him that she had noticed before. He is beginning to see a side to life that he had largely ignored before, and he finds himself thinking of her quite frequently.
Then, one day, he is lecturing in London, and he notices that she is present. When they talk, Joy tells him that she is now divorced and living in London. He is very surprised, and happy, to see her, and decides to pay her a visit. And slowly but surely, they grow closer. He asks her if there is anything that he can do for her, and there is. She wants to marry him, nut not for love, but rather just to avoid complications that any foreigner trying to live in another country might face. He agrees, and they officially marry.
Before long, though, problems arise. She begins to see him as someone who knows relations with others only through a power relation, where everyone is subordinate and weaker than him. He knows no other kind of relations with anyone, and she leaves in disgust back to her London home.
Lewis does not know what to do. He initially goes on with life, but then tries to call her. As she walks to answer the phone, she suddenly collapses.
We find out that she has advanced cancer, and it is here that we begin to see just how strongly Lewis feels for her. He takes her and her son into his home, and attends to her as much as possible. He tells her that he loves her, and wants to marry for real, for love, and so they get married.
For a brief while, they find happiness together. They explore the world around them, and each in their own way, they open up new ways of seeing things and doing things for one another. But the weight of knowledge that this is limited, that Joy is going to die soon, is always present.
Eventually, she gets worse, and death is closing in, slowly but surely. She warns Lewis to be able to let her go, not to get too attached, although he already is. The one thing that she absolutely wants to avoid is for her son to return to his father, the man that she divorced, and who has a bad drinking habit, and is prone to violence. So, she makes Lewis promise to take care of the child, and he agrees.
Ultimately, the inevitable happens. Joy dies, and Lewis is grieving like he has never done before. Up to the point that he opened himself up to her, his life was completely controlled, and safe. But he recognizes that this sheltered life was the choice of the boy within him, and that opening himself up to the possibility of pain and suffering was the choice of the man within him. And this helps him to finally break out of his awkward, academic shell, and to relate to other people in truer, more open relationships./ First Joy in romantic love, and then her son, sharing their grief together, and then finding a way for life to continue.
This is, again, an excellent movie that I highly recommend! As always, Anthony Hopkins is an incredible actor, and really makes CS Lewis come alive! Debra Winger also plays her role as Joy Davidman very well, and it is a very moving movie. It can appeal to those attracted to the world of academia, since there is enough in this movie to find it appealing and thought-provoking. It is also a romance, albeit a sad one, although it ultimately has it's redemptive quality. Plus, there are some beautiful images of rural and old England. I highly recommend this movie!
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