"Pay It Forward"…an extremely impressive and moving film. I rented the DVD purely based on a hunch. Boy, am I glad I’ve a great sixth sense when it comes to choosing movies! I thoroughly enjoyed and absolutely loved this movie!
The movie spreads the simple message of "One Good Turn Deserves Another" in a very heartwarming manner and from a slightly different angle. It is not about returning favors or paying back; it is about paying forward...it is about someone helping you do something you can't do by yourself, you helping three more people, each of them helping three more, and so on, thus leading to a chain reaction of goodwill and kindness.
It is a story of a little boy's vision about doing something to change the world. It starts as a 7th grade social studies assignment and grows into a national movement. All it takes is passing the torch of benevolence.
The film is very well-made, with a perfect cast to complement the story. Haley Joel Osment is extremely adorable and sincere as the 12 yr old visionary, Trevor McKinney. Helen Hunt has done a commendable job as his compulsively alcoholic mother, trying to make it work with her son, while juggling 2 jobs, a deadbeat and drifting husband, and a budding romance. Kevin Spacey excels as the motivating teacher with a sad and haunting past. The other supporting cast is also very good. The biggest virtue of the movie is that all the characters are multifaceted and explore a wide range of emotions.
Watching this inspiring movie made me pause and think, as if Trevor were asking me instead of his teacher, "What did you ever do to change the world?" I hope that at least some of us will get inspired enough to pay it forward and be a part of this simplistic way to bring about a change in the world. The most important lesson to be learnt is that changing the world does not require power, money, or material possessions. All it needs is each one doing whatever they can, whenever they can, with whatever they have.
One of the dialogues from the film summarizes its essence perfectly.
"Some people are too scared or something to think things can be different. The world's not exactly...shit. I guess it's hard for some people who are so used to things the way they are - even if they are bad - to change and they kinda give up and when they do, everybody loses."
