THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY

Billed as this generation’s Forrest Gump, Ben Stiller stars in and directs The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

Walter Mitty (Stiller) is an unremarkable man who frequently finds himself day dreaming about a life much more exciting than the one he is living. When he gets a new boss (Adam Scott) and his job is threatened, Mitty is spurned into taking action in the real world – leading to adventures more extraordinary and invigorating than he could have ever dreamed of.

Walter Mitty is a likeable enough character, the film opens with him meekly attempting to send a ‘wink’ to his love-interest and colleague’s (Kristen Wiig) e-harmony account before realizing that his profile, void of any interesting or exciting stories about his life, is too empty to classify. We then follow him to his place of work, Life Magazine, where he is ridiculed and belittled by the hotshot, new boss before resigning to his desk to develop the photo that will make up the front cover of the final edition of the magazine only to find that it is missing.

Walter Mitty 'in the zone'

All in all, it is hard not to feel for the guy. Seemingly so resigned to his unremarkable life that he frequently zones out into vivid daydreams where he is the confident hero that saves the World instead of humdrum Walter Mitty.

These daydreams were a concern at first – initially they are entertaining and provide a real insight into Mitty’s character, but they became more and more frequent as the film went on and started to get tiresome and disrupt the flow of the film. However, once Mitty’s real-life adventure begins after about half an hour or so, the daydreams cease almost entirely making the film a lot smoother and allowing you to relax into the story.

Mitty’s search for the missing photograph takes him on a whirlwind adventure around the world – as far-fetched as they come he is soon climbing mountains, escaping erupting volcanoes and even survives a shark attack. However, all of this is done in the midst of visually beautiful scenery, creatively utilized in unique and clever ways to give that film a little something extra, and subtle but great comedic moments that make the 2-hour run time pass with ease.

Walter Mitty’s growing confidence as the film progresses makes for a really fulfilling watch as Ben Stiller effortlessly leads the film. His relationship with Cheryl (Wiig) develops in a sweet and endearing way but the love story is in no way the focal point of the film. It is more a journey of Mitty’s personal development and self-discovery as he goes from having nothing interesting to say about himself to having more stories than he could ever need to verify an online dating account!

He ends up having some incredible adventures!

The film is incredibly feel-good with humorous undertones and an undeniably heartwarming conclusion that will have you leave the cinema with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

However, at times it was quite predictable, the whereabouts of the missing photo was almost overwhelmingly obvious for example, and although it was an enjoyable and upbeat film it definitely isn’t even in the same league as the likes of Forrest Gump and Life of Pi or any other inspirational classic you may have heard it be compared to.

Despite not being as strong as the comparisons, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty  is undeniably enjoyable and heartwarming. If you are willing to suspend your disbelief ever so slightly then you will be in for a real treat this festive season!

★★★★☆

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (PG) is out nationwide from Boxing Day!

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Love,