50/50 is based on a true story which focuses on 27 year old Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his battle with an extremely rare form of cancer, which the odds of survival is 50%. Adam seemingly has no one to rely on, his best friend (Seth Rogen) uses his cancer to get him laid, his girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard) is distant, his mother (Anjelica Huston) is emotionally unstable, his father (Serge Houde) has Alzheimer’s and his therapist (Anna Kendrick) is 3 years younger than him and still doing her doctorate.
THE ACTORS
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is utterly superb in his role, he completely immerses himself into the role and you genuinely feel for his character. He seamlessly drifts through various emotions, giving it an extremely natural flow and the body language is also very natural, just brilliant.
Seth Rogen is basically playing himself, which is the party loving guy with a heart. He literally is playing himself as the story is based on his friend and how Rogen was there for him. Nothing out of the ordinary, but a solid performance.
Anna Kendrick is adorable, both in her role and out. She plays the seemingly confident therapist, but who has a past like most people, however, throughout the movie her character gains less confidence and starts to show more vulnerability, which is suitable considering her feelings and involvement in everything.
The rest of the cast are all great. Bryce Dallas Howard gives a great performance as someone who made a mistake yet still wanted to be supportive. Anjelica Huston was fantastic as the unstable mother who has to cope with her husband’s Alzheimer’s and now also her son’s cancer.
THE DIRECTOR
Jonathan Levine does a truly fantastic job of directing this film. Some of the shots are extremely well shot and produced, for example when burning the painting Levine gives 2 different angles on the screen at the same time, which i found, while not original, it worked surprisingly well for the film. The whole improvised scene with the shaving of the head was shot extremely well too, getting the focus and the angles just right.
LAUGHTER FACTOR
50/50 is most definitely a drama with some comedy elements. Most of the humour and jokes in the film work really well and are perfectly timed and set up, however there are a couple of jokes that appear at the wrong time which rocks the consistency of the film slightly, but nothing major.
CONCLUSION
50/50 is a brilliant film with great acting, great directing, an amazing screenplay and takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. With a few minor problems, which don’t effect the powerful story that is being told. It is highly recommended, one of the best films of the year.
MY SCORE
9/10