Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Wonderful Sacrifice: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

(Note: This post will contain major spoilers about the movie Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. I imagine that none of the spoilers are totally surprising...but I don't want any cranky comments below about how I ruined the movie for you...I will be discussing the ending)I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the movie Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. It's one of those movie's that's content is somewhat unsettling. I'm sure for some it isn't at all...but the way the plot largely revolves around sex and alcohol with minors certainly disturbed some of my sensitivities.

That being said, there is a lot of things that various people have found in this film that enchants them, but for me it's the final moment, when they make a sacrifice, giving up something they love for something they love even more.

Nick & Norah leave the rooftop concert when they finally have the chance to there favorite band "Where's Fluffy?" Yet even though the band is something they both love, they are perfectly content to miss the dream concert.

The last lines of the film are some of the best last lines to any film. They're going down the elevator and Norah says "Are you sad that we missed it?" and Nick says "We didn't miss it. This is it."

I think one of the biggest things I've learned about love in my life is echoed in this final scene.

We live in a self-consumed society that praises individual goals, hopes, and dreams. And yet, in love, I think we often abandon our previous desires. This is not martyrdom, but it's wonderful sacrifice...almost a surprising exchange.

I know my own interest and dreams have adapted as I fall more in love with my wife and daughter every day. Any previous unactualized hope or dream is often not a fatal loss, but rather something willingly abandoned in favor of something so much better.

"Are you sad that we missed it?"
"We didn't miss it, this is it."

2 comments:

Joe Baker said...

This film has really grown on me. My initial grumpiness with the whole thing involved the horrible drunk friend subplot (bus station toilet scene and all) that felt like it was trying to play up the raunchy teen comedy effect. But, at the center of this thing is a GREAT, sweet love story. I'm kinda in love with Kat Dennings as well. And who doesn't love a We Are Scientists and The National songs thrown in for good effect?

Karen said...

Aww, you pretty much captured why I enjoyed that film so much (minus the gross humor). "This is it." God bless that screenwriter.