Groundhog Day

Tuesday night, while surfing through the channels I hit across Sony Pix playing Groundhog Day. BTW, Sony Pix and Zee Studio are the places these days to catch real cinema. Anyway, I had been looking forward to watching Groundhog Day, having read its reviews and rave-outs from lotsa folks.

I was well aware of its time loop based plot, and infact I started on the movie with the first 20 or so minutes already gone. Anyway, I had no trouble latching onto the plot and the story. Its a nicely done feature using the time loop device. Bill Murray plays a jerk of a weatherman who is forced to cover a ‘crap’ ceremony called Groundhog Day on a cold winter day in a small town. Once the tragic day passes away and he wakes up the ‘next’ day, he realizes its Groundhog Day all over again. And so it goes on and on..

The plot seems innovative and it is. But the beauty of the movie is not just its plot, it really about this guy who is forced to overcome ‘himself’ caught in this loop. I could actually argue that even without this time loop concept the story still is forceful and thought-provoking. After all how many of us do run through days that dont seem much different from the ones that just passed.

What elevates this ’simple’ story is the screenplay and editing. Even with the story all about repetition, there is hardly any of it for the viewer. The editing ensure we dont see the reruns of the same mundane stuff all over again. Its (editing) is soo crisp that you only really see what Phil (Bill Murray’s character) tries to do differently this iteration to contrast how his own character is changing.

The screenplay is very well paced and constructed. From being frustrated to trying to use the situation (the most comical parts) to depressive to finally realizing what he ‘can’ really do within the situation, its leads the viewers mood with great skill.

Acting is terrific. Bill Murray is amazing as the Phil. He brings along his own eccentricity to the role, which is soo damn essential to the movie. Andie MacDowell plays the channel producer accompanying Phil, whom he tries to woo sooo damn hard and soo unsucessfully. She has more of a supporting role really, but does pretty well.

I guess I will want to view this one again, right from the starting shot this time. But if you are looking for a thought-provoking yet light movie, this is a good choice.

Adieu