It is not every week that one is preparing for a sermon and happens upon a movie that provides a fitting illustration of the passage, but screen and text collided rather nicely last Friday evening. I was diving back into the book of Ecclesiastes after a long hiatus for Advent and our usual January themes (word, prayer, church, culture), and just happened to be dealing with Qoheleth's realistic, but rather depressing observations about life in a dog-eat-dog world as described in 3:16-4:16. The author's dis-advantageous view of life is from "under the sun," described by Ryken as life "at ground level" or "life lived without God at the center."
Enter chapter four verse seven, "Again, I saw a vanity under the sun: one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, 'For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?' This also is vanity and an unhappy business." Also enter Jack Nicholson, as Edward Cole, a self-made multi-millionaire in the medical industry as portrayed in the movie, The Bucket List. The film begins with Cole discovering he has cancer that will give him less than a year to live. It also begins with him sharing a room in his own hospital with another patient (he has to live by the same economical standards that have made him rich for publicity sake), Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman), a life-long car mechanic who is given the same diagnosis. The movie revolves around the relationship these unlikely two establish in their last year on earth.
Nicholson's character, having experienced the failure of four marriages, the estrangement of his only daughter, and the forced concern of his employees and physicians, has everything money can buy and yet nothing. Instead of a room full of numerous cards and flowers from family and friends, the one object of affection is a gourmet coffee machine he has brought for himself that sits lifeless over his bed. Freeman's character, surrounded by a faithful wife, three loving children, and numerous grandchildren, wonders what he has missed in life due to the economic demands, and therefore limited choices these relationships have compelled him to make. Chambers begins to compile a list of things he would like to experience before he "kicks the bucket." Eventually the list is discovered by Cole, the one person in the world having the ability to bring the list to fruition, and from there the two begin a whirlwind trip around the world to fill in the squares on the list.
During the course of this circumnavigation (France, Italy, Egypt, Hong Kong, Tibet, etc) in Cole's private jet, the values of both men collide numerous times. Cole is coming to grips with everything he doesn't possess even while he lives for the moment, and Chambers is learning to value what he does possess after the moments lose their glitter. Through it all Cole scoffs at the idea of an afterlife (Ecclesiastes 3:21 "Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?"), while Chambers has faith, though in the end, it is just faith in faith--in something bigger than himself.
The movie itself is probably average. It is fun to watch Nicholson (whom you either love or hate) and Freeman, two of the very best, ply their trade on the screen together. Neither character is developed very well, the gravity of their condition is hard to take seriously, and some plot lines are just unbelievable. And yet, their relationship is entertaining to watch develop, the movie has some hilarious moments, and at the end of the day you get the message, though it doesn't get near the core of things. Interestingly enough, I liked it against the backdrop of Ecclesiastes because I think it is hebel illustrating hebel. Still, I recommend it with reservations...the language is salty (what does one expect from Nicholson?). There are a couple crude remarks and some sexual innuendo, though nothing overtly offensive. You can find a helpful review along these lines here, and numerous reviews here.
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