by Yazmin Ghonaim

PAY IT FORWARD Mimi Leder (2000) Pay It Forward, directed by Mimi Leder (Deep Impact), transforms the movie screen into a broad chalkboard marked with valuable lessons. Based on Catherine Ryan Hyde's book by the same name, Pay It Forward offers a noble premise which speaks of the need to improve the world, and which redefines the responsibilities of teachers, parents and children. Pay It Forward effectively uses an economy of language, images and plot to expose --straightforwardly and truthfully-- complicated issues such as education, school violence, poverty, guns, alcohol and domestic abuse. On his first day of school, Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment: The Sixth Sense) gets an unexpected first assignment: "Think of an idea to change the world --and put it into action." Seeking to inspire his students to think globally and unselfishly and to reconsider their role in the world, Eugene Simonet (Kevin Spacey: American Beauty, Hurlyburly) soon notices Trevor's unique potential. Yet when Trevor applies himself to the assignment and begins by inviting a homeless man into his home, his hardworking, single mother Arlene (Helen Hunt) is infuriated and questions Eugene's methods. Still, Eugene is impressed by Trevor's "Pay It Forward" class project, which dictates that if one person benefits from someone's act of good will, he or she must "pay it forward" to three more people, who in turn must pay another good deed to three other people. Although often disillusioned by the difficulty of putting such a faith-based plan into motion, Trevor's impaired relationship with his mother and a deep resentment toward his absent father provide the fuel for his dedication and desire to improve lives. When his efforts to help turn toward his own teacher, Trevor learns that to improve the world, people must learn to welcome change. Set in Las Vegas, Nevada, Pay It Forward delivers its plot through an effective perspective, which focuses on the austerity of the city rather than on its more identifyable flashy streets and festive casinos. This choice stresses the realism behind those grave issues the film tries to explore. Although Pay It Forward mostly conveys with unadorned realism the suffering caused by hate or negligence, the film becomes overly melodramatic when it delves into its secondary characters' confessions of their personal tragedies. Rather than supporting the idea of the need for other people's helping hand, these scenes --often accompanied by bittersweet piano music-- seem to exploit the concept of suffering. Nevertheless, Pay It Forward supports its own premise (concerning the plausibility of improving the world) by weaving into its main storyline several flash-forward scenes that demonstrate a widespread effectiveness and national popularity of the "pay-it-forward movement", only months after it was launched by its young author. All in all, Pay It Forward applies drama and humor and successfully teaches valuable lessons that speak of the need for a national consciousness.		DVD Music Books Search by keywords:
Outstanding Features: Story, Acting, Location Shooting, Costume Design Pay It Forward Movie Review © 2000 Cinephiles - All rights reserved Photo © 2000 Warner Bros.