Eat, Pray, Love- A Christian Review

“Eat Pray Love” restored my hope in modern-day cinema. After the last movie I blogged about, I about gave up on movies. Really. I was on the edge. Making the conclusion most movies were rubbish, I’d resigned myself to animation flicks and oldies on Turner Classic Movies. I wouldn’t write a Christian review about Eat, Pray Love if I didn’t think it was worth a watch.

Disclaimer: I viewed the television version. I’m sure the movie version wouldn’t be much different, but there may be some “F” bombs (and I don’t mean the word “faith”) in it and I don’t know either way because I saw a censored version.

This one snuck up on me.

Artfully and creatively done, “Eat Pray Love” is a colorful mosaic of stories and experiences taken from the real life explorations of author Liz Gilbert.

One scene sums up the entire movie, but still leaves you wanting more:

“Why did you come here,” he asked.

“I just want some peace”, she replied plainly.

Ok, the theology was a load of ka-ka because you will never find peace from a little toothless man asking deep questions.

Her search for peace was still a cool ride with lots of twists and turns. All she wanted was peace. Peace with a failed marriage, peace with choices she had made, and peace in her soul. Poor kid.

Be that as it may, the storyline is an intentional exercise in intelligence, symbolism, and creative patience. It gave nothing away. It just gently unfolded. You had to sort of “come to this film” and bring a piece of yourself with you. I like films like that. Don’t you?

Symbols like the bicycle and Liz’s stretches and reaches for her change to come. The movie for me was sort of like reading the book in the way it cascaded you through the various changes and emersions.

Eat, Pray Love did not tell me what to think. Instead, it gingerly guided me through a skillful maze of Liz’s progressive realities. The chronological scene shifts between past to present were graceful and smartly done. I like that.

As part of my Christian review, I have to bring my faith to the “party”.

It also did a superb job of illustrating mortal man’s clumsy (and meaningless) attempt to find significance in life without Jesus Christ.

I must admit, through the entire film I wished I could reach my index finger through the screen, tap her on the shoulder and say “Pssst…Liz, let’s do lunch. I know what you’re looking for.” It’s the real Jesus I would introduce her to and she would be so happy and fulfilled – nothing missing and nothing broken.

Weirdly in my Christian review, I must say…

One thing, I did not care much for the rapid subtitles in the Italian sequences. However, they were brief and fleeting enough that did not really trouble me very much.

As it relates to the scenes of Liz’s first experiences in India, one was left with an enduring question: is Bali really that scary? Eeeek! Those introductory scenes did little to inspire tourists to visit. Maybe that was an accurate depiction, but, man, it was a lot.

Back to the positive…

As a whole, the characters were well-balanced and each was a big “ball” of refreshing light in their roles. Life created a great script!

Every character took on dimension and seemed to logically fit into the story.

The actors were bangin’ too (that’s a good thing).

The engagingly quirky characters are visually appealing (cute). Their layers reminded me life’s dramas are often more entertaining than those contrived in fiction.

Further adding to the mystery and appeal of the characters is so many of the faces were fresh and new to me (probably international actors). Then again, I don’t see a lot of movies because of the proliferation of rubbish, remember.

Each and everyone delivered a captivating performance in Eat, Pray, Love.

It was a good movie and perfect for people like me who want a movie to be multi-faceted and multi-sensory.

Now, I must say I never go to Kentucky Fried Chicken for burgers and I certainly DON’T rely on movies for spiritual guidance. Hello?

It is a motion picture and that is it. This film is NOT a Christian film so I don’t expect it to feed my spirit or answer any spiritual questions. I don’t expect it to supply divine guidance by any stretch. That’s not what this movie is and nor should it be. It’s entertainment. That’s it.

With that said, my final “take” on the movie “Eat, Pray Love..

For one, praise God, we don’t have to travel thousands of miles around the world to find the peace and joy Jesus makes easily available to us all every day.

All we need is the knowledge of His Word and the wisdom to apply it to our lives. That’’s it!

My Christian review of Eat, Pray, Love. It’s a good movie and Jesus Christ is the only source of peace, validation, and purpose you need. Boom! No passport required!

I’d recommend it. Yeah. I would.

Check out the book…I enjoyed it too. May read it again soon.