So this turned out to be the movie I chose as my last movie of 2014 & first movie of 2015. What drew me in was the title and the general idea of choosing between life and death. Halfway through, not knowing how it'll end, I was reminded yet again how much I hate unhappy endings, even though happy ones do leave less of a mark. Low expectations really helped. I knew beforehand it couldn't hold a candle to "TFIOS", and later decided for myself that it was indeed not great, but also not terrible either. Many "shining points" made me want to read the book for more of them. And it made me cry, rather easily. I got close to tears when "Gramps" spoke to Mia in the car after the audition, and shed a few when he spoke to her again by the hospital bed, when he told her what her father sacrificed for her. Oh yeah, I was already pretty touched by that scene in which her father gave her the cello -- beautifully wrapped -- as a present. I cried again when Adam begged her to stay in the end. When they left me hanging for a while at the very end, I was dying to know her choice and begging her to stay as well. I already knew this very well, but them Yankees really, really know how to love and how to live. Look at her grandfather in the car: when he felt something and knew it to be true, he expressed it. Loud and clear. Leaving no regrets. Then to top it off, throw in some physical closeness -- in this case, a long and hard hug. That's how you say how much you love someone, instead of the way I'm used to -- no words, to touch, only implied and guessed. Also, look how they have fun: the concerts, the bonfire, "live in the moment"... God I'm so jealous. I have wasted more than 24 years of my life. How many more years do I get? How many more could I afford to waste?
"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."
"Seriously, I respect any musician who just leaves it all on the stage like that. She was awesome."
"Because I like to watch you play. You go to another place. And you're beautiful."
"No, baby, I didn't give anything up. I played that adventure out, and then it was time for a new adventure with you guys. And sometimes you make choices in life, and sometimes choices make you. Does that make any sense?"
"Even when they were just wasting time, they weren't wasting time. It was as if no time they spent together could ever be wasted."
"You're going to go to Juilliard and play the hell out of your cello. Or you're not. You're gonna stay with Adam and have lots of amazing adventures. Or you're not. Or maybe tomorrow, the Earth's gonna smash into a meteor. Or it's not. Life is this big fat gigantic stinking mess. But that's the beauty of it too. Whatever you do, I support you. Either way, you win. And also either way there's something that you lose. What can I say, baby? True love's a bitch."
超杀女抉择生死
