Sympathy for Delicious

Starring: Christopher Thornton, Mark Ruffalo, Juliette Lewis, Orlando Bloom, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, John Carroll Lynch
Directed by: Mark Ruffalo
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A homeless, crippled DJ (Christopher Thornton) faces a dilemma when he discovers he has the power to heal the sick. Does he follow the advice of his priest (Mark Ruffalo) and use the power to help the church, or does he use his power to better his own situation?

Review:

Tim: Mark Ruffalo's directorial debut is an interesting film. Right after I finished it, I thought, "That was a good movie." However, as I mulled the story over in my mind, doubt started to creep in. Was this actually as good as I first thought? It's certainly a flawed movie, and it did have the potential to be better than it was. However, after some contemplation, I still believe Sympathy for Delicious is a good first time effort. I enjoyed the movie.

This movie certainly doesn't follow the typical Hollywood script. It was written by the film's lead, Christopher Thornton, an actor who really is in a wheelchair. We have a troubled, angry, broken man who believes in nothing, and who receives an incredible power. The story is about his rise and fall, about his difficult decision about what to do with that power. It asks some fascinating questions, especially- "What would happen if you had the power to heal everyone, except for yourself?" I loved this aspect of the film. Thornton's character of Delicious wants nothing more in life than to be able to walk again. He is granted the ability to heal all afflictions- including paralysis, but his powers don't work on himself. That's a really interesting dynamic.

And yet, this isn't even the best part of the movie. The central focus of the movie is on the relationship between Delicious and Mark Ruffalo's Father Joe. Ruffalo is fantastic in this film (it's honestly one of the best performances I've seen him give). Ruffalo and Thornton work so well together, and you can tell they've been friends for years in real life because of how well they work together. Their on-screen relationship is fascinating. Ruffalo is a selfless, kind priest who only wants to help those around him. However, he also sees the opportunity Delicious' powers have for his own godly work. The changes to the relationship between these two men is pretty incredible. I loved watching them on screen together, and these scenes were the most enjoyable and memorable of the entire movie for me. It is these two men and their acting that makes this movie worthwhile.

We also have quite a lot of scenes with Delicious' band, including bandmembers Juliette Lewis and Orlando Bloom. Both are good, but neither is anything really special. I enjoyed their presence here, but the scenes with the band never felt as strong as some of the others. This was a secondary story in my mind, although it does receive quite a lot of screen time. I also liked seeing Laura Linney as the record producer, but I didn't she had a whole lot to do in the film.

The ending of the story is funny, because on one level you could say, "Wow, that's completely ridiculous and would never happen." But, it's powerful in some pretty subtle ways. It really made me think about what our responsibility is with the gifts we've been given. Certainly our own uniqueness doesn't offer an immediate, apparent use like healing the sick, but God has given us all strengths- how are we using them? It also made me think about redemption, salvation, and other important topics like that. The path to this point might have been bumpy and flawed, but the movie still gets us here.

I liked Sympathy for Delicious, and I hope Ruffalo continues to direct. He certainly has potential as a director, although it's obvious this movie comes from a director without much experience. While it's flawed and I think there was unrealized potential here, Ruffalo still gives us an interesting, thought-provoking film. For that, I'm grateful, and would definitely recommend Sympathy for Delicious (which, by the way, has a great title).

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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