Despite all the great visuals of the places, people and food around the world, this movie didn’t do much for me. Despite Javier Bardem, even. Post-divorce globe-trotting to find oneself might be all the rage these days, but one needs to be a man or a woman of means in order to do that. Julia Roberts is exquisite as always with all the right accessories no matter what the hairdo, a French chignon or windblown look, and no matter how opulent or sparse her surroundings.
The sights and sounds of Rome, Italy, the ashram somewhere in smalltown India, and finally the picture-card perfect surroundings in Bali all make for some lovely picturesque views, but for me all that eating, praying and finally even the loving didn’t offer a total sense of satisfaction.
I don’t grudge the woman her freedom, but for someone who confesses to having either being with a man or leaving him her whole life, it seems like by the end of the movie, not much has changed in that regard. Which is the point of it all anyway, perhaps? (It’s a good thing, I waited to watch this on DVD.)
