The Guitar (2008) User Reviews

An entertaining film with a disturbing message!!

[gotmyorangecrush · 6/10 · 26 January 2009]

**Spoiler Warning**

This is basically a film about Melody, a woman who finds out she has an inoperable tumor in her throat. Her whole life basically collapses as she finds out she has only a couple months to live, her boyfriend dumps her and she gets fired from her job and this all happens in a single day. My biggest problem with this film lies in the fact that it basically winds up being a film more about consumerism than a film about a woman confronting the final months of her unsatisfied life.

Once she finds out she is dying Melody leaves her crappy apartment and rents a really large and beautiful penthouse. The rest of the film basically takes place in this penthouse as she basically locks herself in and spends the next 2 months charging up her credit cards by buying things for herself and her penthouse. She starts out by buying the most expensive bed that she can find and from there moves on to expensive furniture, clothes, lamps, vases, food and pretty much everything in between. Her final purchase ends up being a guitar and a huge amp setup with which to play it on.

Its just incredibly sad and extremely bothersome that this woman's spends her final 2 months basically being a consumer. The really sad part about this is I actually think there are a lot of people out there that would do the exact same thing. Society has become so consumeristic in nature that I really think that what this woman did would be some people's dying wish. Out of all of the things someone could devote their final months of life to, shopping has to be the absolute saddest choice possible. She could have traveled the world, learned to scuba dive, taken a safari, seen the Sistine chapel, sailed the Caribbean, hiked a glacier in Alaska, taken a cruise to the antarctic, or done whatever other things she wanted to do but never got the chance. To choose to lock yourself up in a Penthouse and shop till you drop is just an incredibly sad way to spend your final months and again it really speaks to the role that consumerism plays in society these days. Some people care more about buying items than truly experiencing life.

Its not a bad film, in fact I rather enjoyed it. I was just really bothered by the message that this film puts out there. Then again as I said before there are probably a lot of people out there that would do just this sort of thing if something like this happened to them so maybe it makes this film even that much more realistic. She did learn how to play the guitar, which was something she was interested in as a child, so she did fulfill at least one of her dreams. Its still wasn't enough to make it any less sad.

I am not sure if this film was purposely making some kind of statement regarding consumerism or not. I would like to hear from the writer and director regarding their thoughts on this matter. Either way its definitely the prevailing message in this film. I despise the level of consumerism we see these days so maybe I am a bit biased however I really cant think of too many people who would not find this woman's decision on how to liver her final months incredibly sad and pathetic. Our lives are short enough even when we aren't diagnosed with a terminal disease early in life and there are just too many things to do, too many places to see and too many experiences to have to waste our final months shopping.

Could've Been Better, but Compelling

[sandy-340 · 6/10 · 29 January 2010]

I confess, I didn't see the very beginning, so I shouldn't be reviewing this movie. However, I did see most of the movie and found it to be very interesting, reflecting a beauty of its own. Saffron was an excellent choice for this character, though the script could have been a bit more imaginative for her. It does make you think, however, of the many different scenarios that could arise from such a dilemma/blessing in disguise. My big disappointment came at the end when she got with the band and the song she seemed to really enjoy playing sucked so bad! The song accompanying the titles at the end would have been a better choice for her big moment on stage. I also think they could have developed the characters more - they seemed really shallow. But the film did make me want to throw all my clothes out the window!

An interesting take on the subject

[Doug384 · 6/10 · 22 June 2010]

For fans of Saffron Burrows, it will be an enjoyable 90-minutes of your time. She does the best with what little material she has to work with and turns in a gutsy, raw performance. The first half-hour is especially strong as the camera focuses almost exclusively on Burrows as her character copes with the diagnosis of a terminal illness, losing her job and being dumped by her boyfriend… all on the same day.

This is a very small budget production and it shows. The 21-day shoot makes for a slightly rushed and rough finished product. The directing by Amy Redford is on par, or slightly better, for an indie film. The sound and lighting were all acceptable as the majority of the film takes place in a huge penthouse loft with ample sunlight during the day and candle light being effectively used in the evening. There isn't much in the way of a supporting cast as this is primarily a showcase for Burrows displaying how one person might cope given this horrible scenario.

Some people will openly criticize how the Melody Wilder character initially deals with her dire situation, but I had no problem with it. I rather enjoyed it, actually. If you like Burrows or the premise as stated in the plot summary, I recommend seeing this film.

However, I personally prefer "Henry Poole Is Here," also released in 2008, by the talented director Mark Pellington (Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies). It has a larger budget which is used wisely by casting some well known as well as virtually unknown actors, and possesses quality direction and superior production aspects. The camera work is especially good.

"Made in 21 Days" says it all

[fish-tr · 25 February 2009]

and i have to believe it was written in even less time.

the plot synopsis here at IMDb is good. i wish they'd shot that.

what we got instead was a 95 minute film wishing it could be seen as one of those inspirational and affirming movies about a woman who attempts to overcome everything ... with a guitar. that wish was apparently denied.

instead we end up with a 21-day film where they must've printed every first take; directed by someone disconnected from the subject ... and the characters ... and even simple threads of continuity ... and written by someone with no apparent expertise or sensitivity to the matter at hand. even the script's bones, even its structure is wonky. and the editor, i have to ask the editor what they were listening to when editing this film? the film's heartbeat ... its sense of rhythm is ... missing. for a film titled after a musical instrument with a character named Melody this pretty standard rhythm of editing idea seems a significant oversight.

i have to let the actors off the hook because they seem to offer shallow, thoughtless, stilted although perhaps rushed performances. i kept wishing it would get better as it went along. it just /had/ to, i thought, but it never did.

now i can only hope i saved you 95 minutes.

Inspiring with a touch of irk

[HardCandyJane · 6/10 · 23 October 2009]

The storyline is engaging and thought provoking. There were moments where I felt inspired by the main character's plight.

However, throughout the movie, I could not help but feel irked by a number of the unoriginal and overused techniques the director employed to force the audience to feel something. For example: the slow, melodramatic montage scenes in which the main character twirls in the sunlight with a shawl wrapped around her; the scenes in which the main character, reflecting on her childhood,is shown as a 7 year old girl sitting sadly by herself on the stairs as she watches and hears her parents argue.

There was also a lack of honesty about the character. One example in which this lack of honesty manifested itself was in the 'heroin-chic' appearance that the main character took on as she rapidly accepted that she was going to die. This says more about the director and the director's 90's influence than it does about the actual character.

Either way, this movie is definitely worth a look just for the life lessons alone.

Subtle and tender

[intelearts · 9/10 · 14 January 2009]

The Guitar starring the stunning Saffron Burrows in a low-fi take on changing gears. A parable of the drudgery of modern life, the cancer we discover she has in the first minutes, is almost an allegory for modern life: slow death at the office. She then becomes both a recluse and a free spirit - out of touch but via the power of the credit card very much in touch with who her superego would want her to be.

What we love in this was the pacing - rather than slow a better word would be tender - the Guitar uses film to draw us into the perspective of a dying woman through sound, sight, and feeling and for a directorial debut this is powerful stuff.

it has a simplicity in the film-making. This far outweighs any nudity - and it does have an eroticism to it which is well handled - but really does not make the viewer feel like a voyeur. I felt an initial disappointment at how the ending is set up but it is, on reflection, well-handled from that point on. There is a quality to the ending which colors how you see the whole film let's the plot devices slide by.

If I were to choose two words for this they would be subtle and tender - and from my point of view I can't think of no better praise for this particular type of drama than that.

An auspicious beginning for Robert Redford's daughter Amy in her directorial debut.

Better Than Average Melodrama - The Guitar

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 24 March 2019]

The Guitar is a story about a woman who has marginalized herself for several years in a dead-end job, a relationship with a dead-end boyfriend, and a diagnosis of terminal cancer within a few months. You might say it was a bad hair day. The film is brutally honest in several scenes (but not the poster, which implies the lead woman is shapely like the guitar, but is actually a very skinny girl. Saffron does a great job with her role, and while not the most socially conscious person on the planet (she throws her garbage out the window), is at least open to completely changing her life and living it as if every day could be her last (and with her diagnosis, it could be). I liked the pizza girl, and the black delivery guy has also done some very good work as a hit man in a previous film. The film smacks of authentic behavior under extreme circumstances. Check it out.

Awful

[lucyramon · 1/10 · 6 November 2008]

Adolescent, uninspired movie about a girl who is dying and decides to buy things, kiss girls, and become unbearably shrill.

There's no sense of reality here. Seriously, this movie makes the television programme "Friends" look gritty.

We've seen this all before SO MANY TIMES. Not a note of originality in the tinny, cliché-ridden screenplay.

Pretentious? This movie is so self-important it's almost sickening. It's a lame, boring artistic failure.

Some of the supporting roles are well cast.

I wish Ms. Redford more luck next time.

Lovely film

[donbrown-1 · 9/10 · 12 October 2008]

Just saw this film at the Marin Film Festival. I am still absorbing it. A fine piece of film-making.

Saffron Burrows carries the film on her splendid shoulders. She is in almost every scene. I have always respected her work. With The Guitar she stretches her wings and flies.

Much of the film is without dialog. A lot of my favorite films are. Amy Redford did a fine job of directing. Very good first effort. I hope this film finds it's way out of the festival circuit and gets a release into theaters soon.

And I hope the IFC notices Saffron's performance.

It's like a joke told by someone with absolutely no sense of humor

[MBunge · 4/10 · 30 June 2010]

This film is like a children's fable that forgot it's supposed to have a moral.

The movie begins with Melody Wilder (Saffron Burrows) having the worst day of her life. Her doctor tells her she has cancer and will be dead in two months, then she loses her job and finally, her boyfriend breaks up with her. So Melody abandons her crappy basement apartment, takes all her money out of the bank and decides to live like there's no tomorrow. For Melody, that weirdly involves living like a hermit in an expensive penthouse loft and buying a lot of stuff over the phone. Two delivery people fall in love with Melody. One's a man and one's a woman but neither of them have any reason to quickly fall into bed with Melody. Capping it all off, Melody buys and learns to play a guitar like the one she was fascinated with as a child, which we see in repeated flashbacks to her unhappy childhood living with her bickering hippie parents over a music store. As for the rest of the plot, I don't want to give it away…but have you ever heard the story about the guy who was told he had 6 months to live, so he spent all his money and ran up huge bills on his credit cards because he's never have to pay them back? If you remember the twist to that story, you know what happens in The Guitar.

Writer Amos Poe seems to have come up with a script that is completely oblivious to its own meaning. The story of Melody is about freeing yourself from the chains that are holding you down, an ignorant desire for fulfillment, the perils of self-indulgence and the tempting appeal of the strange and unknown. This screenplay doesn't even acknowledge of that. It doesn't demonstrate or explore why Melody is a timid, tiny person before her diagnosis. It can't recognize how pathetic it is for someone to spend their last days on Earth catalog shopping. It fails to understand why someone might be truly attracted to someone in Melody's circumstance and how and why that attraction would wither away. It's even unable to fathom the lesson that either Melody or the audience is supposed to get from this film. The Guitar is like the work of a color-blind painter who makes the sky yellow and the sea black and the ground pink without knowing that he's doing it.

Director Amy Redford gives us a textbook example of the congenital flaw in the modern filmmaker. Individual images in The Guitar look nice, yet none of them flow together or add up to anything. Redford might be able to make good commercials or, given the large number of montages in this movie, great music videos. She doesn't give any indication she has the slightest idea how to tell a story visually, however.

Saffron Burrows spends a great deal of the film in her birthday suit, though we quite strategically never get a good look at her breasts. Whether she's clothed or not, Burrows manages to summon up a grand total of two expressions for her entire performance. She either looks anguished or befuddled. She never even blends the two. It's like someone switches her from one setting to the other. None of the other actors have a chance to show they can do anything more than exactly what the director tells them to do. We do get to see one of Paz de la Huerta's boobs and are thankfully spared the sight of any man ass.

It wouldn't be completely accurate to say The Guitar is a bad movie. It is aggravating and perplexing because you keep expecting the film to have a point and it never does, despite everything about the story indicating that it should. Unless you enjoy being exasperated, don't pick up The Guitar.

Deeply emotional for any who face obstacles that threaten our lives and persevere to find those reachable silver linings.

[auralis03 · 8/10 · 4 December 2010]

No synopsis here, I want to share why I enjoyed this movie. It caught my eye at the DVD store and at my first viewing I actually didn't make it through the movie, mostly from trying to multitask and not letting myself be drawn into it, no loud crash scenes to divert me back or spectacular music score that caused me to pause. I regret not being focused, for at my next attempt to view the film I found myself very pleased at the purchase. Saffron's performance, and the emotions the story, the subtle way it was portrayed and the great directions that Amy Redford lead in such a way that I knew it was meant for me too see. It wasn't the disease to me, it was the isolation of the character, her need to hide, yet her soul seeking beauty and self comfort until she was strong enough to face life with a new found freedom of spirit. I lost my husband, a masterful musician, in a sudden accident. My soul was dying and I felt isolation from those who felt uncomfortable to face my grief, I didn't want to venture from my sanctuary of home, and in a form of self healing, embraced what comforted me before my loss, the love of music we both shared. Saffron's performance reminds me again that it's OK to feel pain, to venture into unknown, even daring experiences to kick start our emotions in the direct of a recovery tbat we can manage on our own terms, pamper ourselves, let others who are dear and accepting help when they can. I was sad after my apt was robbed while away on business to return and find my DVD collection was gone. This movie was one of my first replacements bought. I loved the casting choices and think it's worth watching again.

"Deep Thinking" for MTV generation of Consumerism & Philanthropy of emptiness

[Volken · 2/10 · 11 August 2009]

God help us with "Indie films" like these. It is almost embarrassing and disgraceful to even consider such designation for this underachievement.

The only rational and redeeming explanation for 100% compromise of this movie... if Amy Redford was completely enslaved to financial side of this movie. Because this $ide was writing and directing movie with all the usual and predictable demographic/sexual triviality hooks. So familiar with our society today. Such simple and honest premise is corrupted from the moment Saffron leaves the hospital.

It is pointless to comment all trivialities and the length this movie voyages without a hint of single intelligent solution : She is a vegetarian but she decides since she has nothing to loose, she can "stop the torture" and enjoy the flesh again.

Your common pizza delivery girl with hundreds of weekly visits has time to develop such profound relationship with Melody. In fact, the second visit would even grant her a touch of lesbian romance.

Your average delivery guy with hundreds of weekly visits develops a grand sensibility after couple of visits and dedicates his body even more for that extra pleasure to our lonely melody. But wait, since we have a very clear targeted demographic with such prosaic hooks; lets, lets even offer threesome pleasure to be even safer with the audience.

What do we learn from her state? The real question is : What Does Melody Learns From Here? Nothing! Almost as emphatic as our society, same void would strike her own values : Eat, Sleep, copulate and amply consume at that. Consume as much as you can! Let material possessions supplement all of your problems. At least one thing is clear, Amy Redford movie making is immature and even that is a compliment. I haven't seen any of her previous or later attempts, but if this is best she can do, then she is in the wrong field of profession.

The only pleasant thing to watch is Melody's loft. The most creative thing you will find about this movie is the nice PS picture from the official poster.

What a Surprise

[gamay9 · 9/10 · 22 January 2010]

I rented this film because I wanted to see some nudity with class. I got that and more, from plot to acting to sound to cinematography.

Where would I rank this film? Certainly in the top 100, probably the top 50 I have ever seen and I've seen thousands of films. I have even written my own screenplay but it's far different from 'The Guitar.' I didn't want to see this film end. I actually predicted that Melody would join up with a rock band. At first, I wanted her to get really rich and famous, but eventually, I felt the film ended quite well.

My tastes in films is very bizarre and so was this film. My #1 film of all time is 'Montenegro,' an American/Swedish co-production. That may give the reader a perspective of my stance on movies.

I will look up Saffron Burrows filmography and possibly rent some of her works. She looks a lot like a woman I knew 25 years ago; very tall, nice behind and small-breasted with long, unruly hair.

I could go on but I'm finished gushing. Now, I will recommend the film to my son and his wife and others who I know will enjoy this production.

Hey Hey My My

[sitenoise · 5/10 · 30 January 2009]

In the first five minutes of this film three big things happen. 1) Saffron Burrows is diagnosed with terminal cancer, given a month, two at most. 2) She's downsized out of her job and then, presumably to illustrate the impact of #2, she makes a collect phone call. Turns out the call is to her boyfriend. How weird is that? He meets with her and spews forth the most inane psychobabble nonsense about needing to find his inner child you've ever heard and says 3) he is breaking up with her.

Saffron proceeds to rent a penthouse loft and furnishes it extravagantly using an endless supply of credit cards. She never goes out so she walks around naked and has sex with the UPS guy and pizza delivery girl. Saffron's acting is decent and hey, I like the story now. Then she buys a guitar. It has something to do with the flashbacks we see of her childhood, of course. At this point things become subjective. I'm a guitar snob and am not impressed seeing people fake a relationship with a guitar. Movies have been able to convincingly fake people playing the piano for years (right?) but I've never seen a good fake guitar playing performance. Granted, she is supposed to be a beginner so I shouldn't have expected much but I did anyway. I could let her slide on the fingering and strumming, given her beginner status and all, but I really needed to see an exciting relationship of her body to the guitar. I'm not expecting her to have sex with it, just show me that her body and her soul (that is the point, isn't it?) understand it, know how to move it and move with it and let it move her. Nada.

Final verdict: thumbs down. Even if you don't share my guitar snobbery I don't think the film has much to offer beyond a decent performance from Burrows. It's pretty standard (trite and fantastic) "what would you do if you were told you had only a couple months to live" stuff. If playing the guitar is something that you'd do, given that you've got only a couple months to live, the learning curve ought to be really quick. I mean, if you are going to make a movie out of it.

Why haven't more directors borrowed Burrows for their movies! She is a find!

[meeza · 8/10 · 5 September 2009]

Even though it is not the feel & sound good movie of the year, "The Guitar" rocks! Saffron Burrows mesmerizing performance is all the string it needs for this movie to be helmed a success. Burrows stars as Melody Wilder, a grieving New York woman who is told she has terminal throat cancer by her pessimistic doctor. Unfortunately, Melody's life tunes continue to be somber when she is downsized by her employer, and downsized by her boyfriend. Melody is about to take the suicidal route until she sees an ad for a short-term rental for a NY loft apartment. She then decides to hibernate during her last days of existence in the loft while charging all her credit cards to the max on food, furniture, and eventually The Guitar. Melody since childhood has been yearning to own & learn to play the guitar, but had never amplified (whatever that means) herself to do so until now. In the loft, Melody self teaches herself to play the guitar and all its melodies. Situations turn a bit more sexually wilder for Ms. Wilder when she beds a black furniture mover employee and a pizza delivery girl during her loft stay. I will not reveal more of "The Guitar" because it will spoil some dead or not-so-dead issues which the film's plot line reveals. "The Guitar" had a sundance twist to it as it was helmed by novice Director Amy Redford, daughter of Robert. Ms. Redford's impressive debut is worth a Sundance Festival salute. Amos Poe's semi-implicit screenplay worked brilliantly; it's "quality" not "quantity" wording approach was "poewerful". But it was Burrows' stunning acting was what I thought jammed the most about "The Guitar". Her facial expressions and nonverbal cues spoke volumes on stellar acting. Her commendable characterizations will not succumb to acting death any time soon. Remind me, why wasn't she nominated for acting awards last year? "The Guitar" is slow moving and its not an easy plot sell, but do not pass on playing this Guitar notably for Burrows' resounding acting! **** Good

Materialistic to the point it makes you wish everyone in it just died.

[ZardexM · 1/10 · 21 April 2009]

This movie did make me feel for the woman because of her illness and for the cancer it made me feel like she has hope... of dieing.

Her illness is that she is 100% materialistic and shallow and has no idea of how to live a happy life and even the fact that she is dieing, which she finds out as the movie begins, cannot seem to give her any willpower to think on how to really find some real substance to what life she has left.

Not only does she seem to live in a void of meaning but the entire movie and the way the effects are used seem to emphasize emotions to trivialities. One is left with the impression that the people behind the production believe that the substance of life is in buying new curtains.

Even though events take different turns towards the end, she still doesn't learn anything new and the movie remains with the same shallow thought that it started out with: spend more, take risks and you'll be happier.

To be fare, if buying stuff is the best thing in life you can imagine then this movie probably isn't all bad for you.

Can change your life

[lovekumars · 8/10 · 6 September 2010]

Obviously we all have seen hundreds of movies when someone is counting his last days. This one is not what anyone can expect.

Watch it from heart, believe in writer and director and try to listen the message in movie. It can change your life. Its sad, funny, refreshing, keep you hooked till last minute and takes your entire night thinking on it.

Special movies are not for everyone. If you are little depressed, lonely, missing something in life other than money, the message in movie will teach you life. Take my suggestion, watch the movie and see if you are like all others or different.

Billy's Antiques is the Shop

[leroy7 · 8/10 · 25 December 2010]

Great film all the locations were real downtown LES spots especially the Antique Shop "Billy's Antiques" and they used the real shop and owner Billy.Also the Everyothers are a great band.The music is very enjoyable not hokey. Paz de La Huerta's part is completely on the other end of the spectrum from Boardwalk Empire,Limits of Control and Enter the Void.Critics have said she can play only one type of role ..well they have not seen The Guitar.The film feels ice cold just like it is in January in New York City.I find the plot totally believable because people do weird things when they know that they are going to die.I know Amy Redford will follow the great tradition of film making.I hope she makes another one soon.

Great Film

[purnendu-dey · 8/10 · 20 January 2009]

I just watched this movie and was greatly moved by the story line as well as by the acting. Personally I am in great love with music and especially with guitar and not surprisingly the theme of the movie attracted my attention a lot. I had some kind of expectations while watching this movie and I am please to tell you that I was not disappointed at all.

The movie builds around the central character who suddenly finds that she is suffering from a terminal disease and has very little time on her side. So, she decides to do whatever she really wants in her life. Though there were some errors in the script but overall the whole movie was very much enjoyable and it's worth a watch for.

Charming

[otherpaul · 8/10 · 8 November 2008]

Bittersweet and low-key until the fairy-tale ending, The Guitar is, while not exactly a masterpiece, very enjoyable. And the ending, though it does call for a certain "suspension of disbelief", seemed to me both uplifting and fairly funny; especially the way in which Melody acquired her new guitar amp. I was also quite amused in trying to recognize the New York landmarks. The only one I'm pretty sure of was the next to last scene -- I think it was Tompkins Square Park. I thought the parental guidance comment of "frontal female nudity" was over the top; the nudity was very brief and discreet. Of course, the "lesbian" sexuality would, until very recently, have earned the movie a strict NC17. All in all, a charming and enjoyable film -- I look forward to seeing more from Amy Redford.

it's great,but not to everyone...

[english-express · 10/10 · 15 January 2010]

just finished watching it on cable TV.dding't have a clue what would it be,but loved!just loved!It's always surprising to see how women,generally speaking,react towards the hardships of life.in one single day,Melody get's fired and dismissed by her boy friend-not to mention that in the same day she was diagnosed with cancer and a month to live.The director chose the winter landscape to sum up the tragedy,the lack of any possible sense life can be,the despair... the actress (Burrows) offers us a superb acting,especially when she's suffocated by the weight of her existence,and her pain.Outstanding.When she decides to abandon her terrible living quarters and goes to a loft,she is ready to enlarge her limits,her boundaries .she needs then beautiful artifacts ,and she buys them.Roscoe and Cookie become part of her cure.the guitar was her long dream,buried in the past and finally she gets it.it could be a pet or a child,but for her was the guitar.probably is a female's film and not to be seen with glasses of moralism.loved the direction,the photography,the plot,the acting.

A surprisingly good movie.

[lewiskendell · 8/10 · 1 February 2016]

I thought that The Guitar was a pretty swell movie. I usually hate movies about people who suddenly find out that they're dying, and then finally start to live their lives when their lives are about to be taken from them. But The Guitar handles this kind of a story in an organic, modernistic manner that doesn't rely on sappiness or melodrama to connect the audience to the protagonist.

Saffron Burrows does a marvelous job. Her facial expressions almost tell the story well enough to preclude any dialogue on her part. There are other fine acting jobs here, but they all drift on the periphery of Saffron's excellent performance.

It's nice to find a movie from time to time that I like despite my reservations. I'm not the kind of guy who would typically be interested in this genre of movie, but The Guitar was more than enough to get me to overlook that particular bias.

Not perfect but enjoyable

[notfunny · 8/10 · 18 April 2009]

The "Guitar" by Amy Redford is in no means a perfect work of art, though such things are subjective via the history of the viewer. I found the film entertaining, and work by Saffron Burrows above average. Her portrayal of everyday worker who receives about the worst news a physician can give, with a deadline on top of it. (There are also other issues involved on that fateful day, which are better off left to unfold themselves.)

(Possible spoilers)************** It is not about someone who decides to go out and spend her way to her end, it is a about a person who has been told all her life she can not have the life she wishes, and decides to spend those last days with her best friend, herself. Fate does not offer her a chance to stay with that, as a number of people come into her life, and some surprising new friendships evolve.

It is also about getting that one thing you were always denied, and even with so little time left, a resolve to learn how to use that item, though no one but you will know of your accomplishment. For this is what I believe the movie is about, the main character's quest for something that had been denied by family and practicality of character. For it is about Burrow's character allowing herself a chance to dream, to reach beyond herself.

I was never sure just exactly how the film would end, but knew that once she had gotten that dream guitar of her's, her and the guitar would end it together.

If you want a movie about character, and characters you can feel and care about, I would say try this one.

An eye opener. If you are ready

[mgs-15317 · 10/10 · 17 May 2020]

If not, it would probably make you angry. So I would go with my feeling with this one if I was you. The ending is a lesson. The whole movie is a lesson. But you must be ready for it

what would you say about one that's - surely and day by day - dying...?

[sinjinisengupta · 8/10 · 9 December 2015]

That she is dying and has something from a month to a two to go, was spelt out to her in a professional, perhaps slightly compassionate and yet disengaged tone. The verdict had been handed out, clearly and unambiguously. She was further explained how she'd first lose her voice, then her sight, and then, decay, not quite slowly. And yet, as funny as it may sound, this is not but the only verdict she was handed out on the same day. As if she wasn't yet quite done with! And so, the next two follow: that, she has been "downsized" at her job, and unloved by her lover.

Three verdicts - each unknowing and indifferent to the other two; each, brutal times more due to the other, and yet oblivious; each, each alone, having the power, proved over history, to easily crumble and perish a soul to dust but not before mercilessly tossing it aside into a nothingness safely and surely unknown to one who hasn't walked that road or died those deaths that she was about to, starting that day.

So well, you tell me! What do you do when you're handed out such a destiny, and you know that they happen, for sure, and all you might do is to accept them and know, tell yourself, in capitals, bold and underlined, that – Very well, girl. This is it!

Know what? Idea!

You… accept.

And thus starts a love affair between Melody - a once beautiful now pale, hoarse in the voice and weak at the knees, dying and yet not sure what it means, girl of perhaps twenty something - and that mystery called Life. An affair, as short as it might be, an affair, nonetheless. An affair that was - howsoever brief - final…

Well, to begin, first. She let's go, as we had already said. You think, it really isn't perhaps as difficult as it sounds, right? However it seems simple, it does. It seems all too simple as she lets go everything. Not one by one, but at once. Everything. Everything! She gives up everything - from her house to her belongings, to the last piece of cloth that she wore. Just, save for her about half a dozen credit cards.

And then, she acquires a new everything instead.

Shifting into a plush moon-white palatial loft sprawling wide and long on a short-term rent, she glosses through the pages of magazines to pick up the fanciest products in everything - the special menus from restaurants for every meal to the most expensive beds and sofa-sets and chairs, from the majestic clothing lines to the most chosen lamp shades and curtains. She lives off her credit cards that she believes that she wouldn't never have to pay off.She gets everything she can get, she spends on everything she can spend on. She eats her best, she wears her best, she sleeps her best. The furniture-delivery Afro-American guy to the pizza-delivery teenager looking tomboy, she loves and sleeps and wakes to glory. Short-lived as it may be, she doesn't count her days or knows the date on the calendar or the time on her watch anymore.

And, The Guitar!!

On the very first nights that she had made herself this new way of life, she had been having a recurrent dream, a flashback into her own childhood that had been buried down in her recent life - one, of a guitar. A red electric guitar, a sight across the showcase of the shop Melody would often pass by as a child, that one thing that she fancied and even asked for from her parents but tey didn't have enough to give way to such expensive fancies.

She now bought The Guitar too! Oh, and she takes a short beginner's course in playing the electric guitar, too.

She has the money, albeit on her cards, but no time to live any later, and so she lives now. She lives her life behind the doors, never stepping out into the rest of the world. She eats, sleeps, smiles, makes love. And she plays the guitar. She lives - for she has nothing to lose, afterall!

Read the whole review here - http://sinjinisengupta.blogspot.in/2015/12/the-guitar-fling-that- turns-into.html#more