Hey Ben Stiller, make some more movies like this, please. I have only heard incredible things about this film since its release and I surprisingly found it on Blu-ray for $1.99 at my local dollar store. However, I would have paid much more for this film because WOW. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is an absolutely astounding film that touches on just about every emotion possible. Stiller has proven himself as an incredible storyteller in every regard, as his directing based on Steve Conrad's adaptation of this short story was sublime. This movie is a perfect, escapist fantasy film with aspects of comedy, drama, and adventure mixed in at just the right amount. With a mostly comedic cast that proved themselves very worthy of other types of roles and an absolutely elegant script, this movie is undoubtedly worth watching.
Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) is a quiet and reserved employee for Life Magazine and is in charge of their negative photo assets. While he often daydreams to escape the loneliness and anxiety of his daily activities, he learns that his job may be threatened if he doesn't submit one final still photograph for the magazine's final issue. When he finds out that the still has gone missing, he forces himself to overcome his internal struggles and unleash the more confident and adventurous part of himself in order to track down the picture and break out of his shell. The writing of this film, adapted by Steve Conrad from the short story written by James Thurber, is absolutely incredible. This is one of the most feel-good movies I have ever seen and while there are obvious characters that the audience is meant to not like, every single one is structured in a way that is so compelling, especially to aid the A-plot of our protagonist. Walter is such a well-written character that is the absolute epitome of an underdog and I could not help but to root him on throughout the entire movie. The fantasy scenes exploring Walter's vivid imagination definitely helped this fact, as it showed just how wild and creative he actually was, despite his personal seclusion. In a lot of these scenes, I could see a lot of influence from epic narrative directors like Peter Jackson and more stylistic directors like Edgar Wright and this honestly paved the way for Stiller's creative mind to go wild.
Stuart Dryburgh's cinematography throughout this movie is one of the most impressive aspects as well. He nailed the style of the vast countryside shots while maintaining such a personal story and this was incredible to see. Even in many of the smaller scenes, such as when Walter was in his mom's New York apartment or in the negative assets office, the detail that Dryburgh put into each shot and the actors' framing was stunning. Every single cast member of this film provided excellent performances and brought so much life to their characters. Besides the ever-talented Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Kathryn Hahn, Adam Scott, and a small role from Sean Penn were all done so well. While Wiig, Hahn, and Scott are often known for their comedic roles and typecasting, they all fit so well inside this narrative. They have all proven themselves so well as being much more well-rounded actresses and actors than I had honestly initially thought. The score in this film, orchestrated by Theodore Shapiro, was also a big part of making this movie as vastly engaging as possible. The sweeping orchestra for the score in the film's biggest moments helped so much for the story's emotion and the pop songs chosen were such a good representation of this era's uplifting attitude. This movie is truly one of the most effervescent and heartwarming films ever made and the powerful story that went along with it, thanks to Stiller's directing, makes it a flawless piece of filmmaking.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is an amazing escapist film with beautiful cinematography and a wonderful story that could please any audience member. Ben Stiller is surprisingly incredible in his titular role of the lowly negative assets manager who goes on a globe-trotting adventure to save his job. Every single aspect of this film was masterfully done and there is honestly nothing else about it that I would personally change.
My Rating: ★★★★★
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