Of course, as far as the film is concerned, "unconventional" does not refer to how bizarre the story itself is, but that the narrator of the story is an unconventional "I"-the film's first male character Gregory (Gregory) . Greg is a senior high school student who is good at communication-he can make himself a member of any student circle, but his nature is self-enclosed-he does not want to be a friend of anyone, even to his best friend Earle ( Earl), he is only known as a "colleague". The plot of the story is extremely simple and can be summed up in one sentence, that is, Greg was asked by his parents to help Rachel, a female classmate who was suffering from leukemia. Judging from these elements-youth, a terminally ill female classmate, help-it may be the story of Greg having love in the process of helping Rachel, and trying his best to help her. However, this story does not conform to the stereotyped thinking of the audience so much. "I" reminded the audience several times in the film that this is not a romantic love story, and the surprise is that the "I" who should be a helper is Became the role of a rescued.
How was Greg saved by Rachel and Earle? The person who knows Greg's contradictory character best is of course Earl. Earle explained to Rachel the family reasons for the formation of Greg's contradictory character, which provided a good starting point for Rachel to understand Greg and try to help him. In addition, Earle often uses a slogan to wake up Greg. This is a useful help for a person who is inferior, disgusting, and caring about others' vision. For example, when he was very angry that Earl privately revealed that he was making a movie about Rachel, he rushed to question Earl aggressively, and Earl’s answer was directed at his weakness of character: "Listen well, no one cares about you. ...There is a girl who loves you, so you come to me to complain...Do you think someone really cares about you?...You regard that girl as a burden..."Of course, Earl’s help to Greg was not The focus of the film, but he is the key to the unfolding of the storyline, so he is an indispensable and important role in the film.
For Rachel, we seem to understand this truth: the biggest help for terminally ill patients is not to let him simply accept help, but to make him feel that he is still a useful person psychologically. Greg became the source of Rachel's psychological help, although he was not really aware of it. Greg's character weakness is very strange, he is like a hidden hermit in the city, psychologically refuses to be friends with anyone. Rachel first became his friend on the grounds of accepting his help. The beautiful girl is like a scourge to Greg. He thinks that if he doesn't pay attention, he will be like a chipmunk in the jungle when he is stepped on by a moose. Rachel ordered him to accompany her for lunch in the school cafeteria, and deliberately chose to sit with beautiful girls. Although this embarrassed him, Rachel successfully broke the "stealth technique" he had worked so hard for 8 years. "From then on, he had to deal with girls and "enemy". It was because of this that he had his later original film and fight with classmates. Obviously, for Rachel, it was better to cause this situation. Let him deliberately avoid the world. He hated himself for no reason, so he refused to apply for college. Rachel threatened him to apply for college on the spot with the request of a terminal cancer patient. Even if there were twists and turns later, this provided a basis for Rachel to further help him.
Even the above can only show that Rachel is helping him turn from passive to active, but it is not his intention to take the initiative. Another important reason why Greg can't actively face some people and things is that he is afraid of taking responsibility. When Madison (Madison) suggested that he make a movie for Rachel, he only dared to be vague, afraid of the responsibility after expressly agreeing, let alone tell Rachel directly, although he said "Don’t tell is a surprise "The reason, in fact, is to be afraid that it will be difficult to confess if the film fails. Rachel hopes that he can take the initiative to do one thing for her, and that is to ask the film about her to be completed. Although this can be regarded as a kind of "force", it can at least make him dare to face responsibility, and it also reverses the way he and Earl have been making movies by imitating or "spoofing" classic films, which made him the first original creation. Sexually shot a movie about Rachel. Had it not been for Rachel's force, he would have been "spoofing" until this hobby was permanently abandoned.
The above seems to be enough to prove that Greg was saved by Rachel. Some people may say that this does not prove that Rachel has these utilitarian intentions. In fact, Rachel wrote to the university admissions office to intercede for Greg after he was frustrated in applying for college, and she expressed her willingness to help others: "I hope this is useful, because it shows that there is still a spirit in the sky after I die. "Furthermore, according to the history teacher's point of view expressed at the end of this film, human life can be continued in the memory of others, and if you can do so, you can only show what you are worth remembering-you are Love from others. So Rachel deliberately wants to be a helper and not the other way around. Greg finally realized that he had become the one saved by Rachel. When he finally came to Rachel's room in tears, I think he should have realized this. His tears were never just because of the loss of a friend, but because of this love. Of course, the film also seems to imply that Greg will never disappoint his deceased through images. When he walked out of the room with Rachel’s pillow and the book engraving their common memories, a staircase was presented in front of him. (Bridge?) Does this mean that Greg is heading towards his new life with the help of Rachel? (Text/Stone Planting Flowers September 22, 2015)
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