Film review - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Walter Mitty – writer James Thurber's dull everyman, who in his fantasies is a hero famed for his derring-do – is one of those rare characters who has had a psychological complex named after him. Ben Stiller's new version takes this basic idea as a starting point, but moves very far away from the original tale. The result is not wholly successful.

Walter (played by Stiller himself) works at Life magazine, locked in the negatives department but dreaming of a more exciting life with one of his co-workers (Kristen Wiig). When the new owners of Time Life decide to close the title, Walter receives a package from a mysterious photojournalist (Sean Penn) supposedly containing the perfect photo for the last issue's cover. Unfortunately, the photo is missing. In an effort to find it, Walter embarks on a journey that will change his life.

This is essentially a very sweet film about finding yourself and those you love, and you can tell that it is a very personal project for Stiller. It is also very beautiful to look at, with gorgeous shots taken in parts of the world that Hollywood very rarely explores. Stiller is in his best straight man mode, Wiig is adorable as always, and all the performances are solid. There are some problems, though.

Firstly, I would question the need for this to be called a Walter Mitty film at all. Mitty's fantasies occur mostly early on, and are not necessary for the plot at all. They are also some of the least enjoyable parts of the film. Since the original story was written, dream sequences have become such a cliché, and I suppose it doesn’t help that I personally had my fill around 2001 when TV was full of them. They ruined the otherwise perfect Sopranos, and I’m sorry, but if Ally McBeal was really seeing a dancing baby, she is suffering from serious psychosis and needs to be hospitalised.  It does not mean that she is "ditzy".

Although I didn’t like the fantasies, if they have to stay you almost need more of them to properly set up Walter’s world. While watching this, I had a feeling that a lot had been cut out to shorten the running time, and perhaps some fantasy bits had to go; more worryingly, there were a few times when characters referred to things that hadn’t happened earlier in the film, or the plot seemed fuzzy.

And what a plot it is! I must say, it is the most specific plot I have seen for a while, with Walter working for a specific magazine (another problem with the film – too much product placement) in a very specific job, looking for a very specific McGuffin in some very specific places. It is also extremely surreal and basically completely ridiculous, requiring a liberal amount of belief suspension from the audience. It must be remembered, though, that while on the surface this is a big studio comedy, it really is an indie at heart, and most reminded me in tone of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

All in all, Stiller's take on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is moving, and it is funny at times. There was just something stopping me completely going along with Walter's journey of discovery. Perhaps I'm just not enough of a dreamer to understand.