Elizabethtown 2005

 "I can handle this let go."


“ …Or, look for a girl in a red hat who's waiting for you with an alternate plan…”

"The Pacific Northwestern salmon beats itself bloody on its quest to travel hundreds of miles upstream, against the current with a single purpose. Sex of course, but also life."

Failure is not the end. Perhaps It focuses us, reminding us that we are not alone. Every moment matters, no matter how small. These are the moments that often save our lives, reminding us who we are and why we matter.
I think it is safe to say that Elizabethtown is a film with many layers, and maybe, just maybe it is those layers that are the most important. Far too often. We look beyond our homes and families for fulfillment and purpose. As we do so, our minds begin to misremember our past. Instead of joys we think of sorrow and instead of contentment we think of argument. We often forget those who built us up and told us who we could be, even when we didn't believe it ourselves.
Life is frequently a series of scrambled memories. These memories continually seek a safe and contented harbor, especially when we fail. Elizabethtown Kentucky is that safe harbor for Drew Baylor. It is the place where life and family meet, to remind him that his life matters, even if it's not the life he thought he wanted.
In this assessment Elizabethtown calls us to look back at our life in order that we may move forward. It may seem contrary at first, but this film allows us to remember that we are meant to be whole, to be loved and understood. In essence Elizabethtown is a call to understand. To be clear, this understanding is not some vague platitude, but a realization that we all have dignity as human beings. This reality is true even in the light of all our faults and shortcomings. Elizabethtown stumbles at points in its journey these realities of our need for love and the realization of our dignity. Though, isn't that the journey of life itself?
Elizabethtown is a film, full of charm, wit and clarity. It tries to draw us towards the best of what our lives have to offer us, if not perfectly, then perhaps organically. Cameron Crowe and his team strive to remind us that maybe, just maybe, the most meaningful moments in our lives are simpler than we think. And that is certainly okay.

I found Elizabethtown to be extremely enjoyable, charming, and meaningful. I hope in some way you do too.

Rated PG-13 for language and some sexual references





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