50/50

WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
Click here to show this review. This is another difficult movie to review. The acting is excellent; the characters ring true. But, notwithstanding the hype, this is only incidentally a comedy. And I found the plot unsettling because, while Adam, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character is desperately seeking human empathy, he encounters only the west-coast attitude of "Don't get involved; self-gratification above all," something which I have always considered to be un-Canadian. Even Seth Rogan's character, Kyle, Adam's best friend, shows some of this, even though, with hindsight, it seems that he was simply trying to draw out Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character, Adam. The only character that seems to show any real empathy toward Adam is Anna Kendrick's character, Katherine, the psychotherapist, and this happens only when she realizes that Adam does not need her professional help, but rather simply a human contact. An interesting movie, but not entirely satisfying.