Ein tolles Leben (2012)

Ein tolles Leben: Directed by Dante Ariola. With Colin Firth, Emily Blunt, Lucas Hedges, Anne Heche. A story of a man who fakes his own death and assumes a new identity in order to escape his life, who then moves in with a woman who is also trying to leave her past behind.

“This is a fun couple, even if what they do isnu0026#39;t always quite legal. In fact, the more illegal, the more fun their adventures are.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eEmily Blunt does an amazing job here. Mike goes through so many changes, starting out as goth and insane when we first meet her, then pretty but somewhat unbalanced, then quite likable. She does impressions of the people she pretends to be, and does them so well. Sometimes she can be normal, and sometimes she is going off the deep end. And then there are the really sad moments. And she looks good in her underwear.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eColin Firth is a different matter. I couldnu0026#39;t imagine Arthur being someone I would actually like, and yet eventually he comes across as the voice of reason and basically carries the movie, while his wacky u0026quot;girlfriendu0026quot; provides comic relief or shows a vulnerable side. When he is needed Arthur is very helpful, and eventually he doesnu0026#39;t seem like the loser Wallace was, but is quite convincing as if he is established in a career and confident of who he is.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnne Heche does okay and is somewhat likable. What I like best about her was her beautiful long hair. When I first learned who she was she had very short hair.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLukas Hedges is likable enough as the son, but he doesnu0026#39;t seem all that concerned about his father, and if anything, he seems inappropriately close to Wallaceu0026#39;s girlfriend. Not enough is done to develop his character and we donu0026#39;t even hear much from the boyu0026#39;s family.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWe see a lot of nice scenery on this road trip, and I donu0026#39;t know where it all is, but North Carolina was mentioned a lot in the credits, and thatu0026#39;s where I live. One sign on the interstate was obviously on I-95 because it showed towns I knew about, though Iu0026#39;ve never been on that stretch of highway. There was a great looking bridge at the beach which didnu0026#39;t get nearly enough screen time, and we didnu0026#39;t really get a good look at it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eEventually, important lessons are learned, and maybe we have a happy ending. I donu0026#39;t think itu0026#39;s quite what I was hoping for but it satisfies.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, I had a pretty good time.”