Monday, August 27, 2007

Premonition

Think a cross between Butterfly Effect, Groundhog Day, and Pulp Fiction.

Premonition stars Sandra Bullock and a few others I don't know. The movie takes you through a week in the life of Linda Quinn Hanson (Bullock) and Jim Hanson (Julian McMahon), Tarantino style, in which he dies, but then hasn't died yet... or will he die at all? Can Linda stop it?

Well, as in Butterfly Effect, or long before, in the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex (by Sophocles), it seems that any attempt to change fate, in actuality, fulfills it. Which is unfortunate. As a teen, when I read Oedipus Rex, while the other kids were giggling over the incest, I was shocked by the unyielding force of Fate, and frightened by determinism, either scientific or theological (e.g. Calvinism.) Wikipedia has a great entry on free will. But now, after living a while and being seemingly beholden to deterministic Fate, I want to see Fate turned on its ear!! It's why I loved Quantum Leap, Scott Bakula righted the wrong, dammit! But more often, Fate has it's way, as in Oedipus Rex, as in Terminator, as in Butterfly Effect, as in The Final Countdown, and as in Premonition. Oh well :(

The premise of this movie is interesting, and so in exploring the theories about fate and free will, I stumbled upon a quote by 19th c. German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, "A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants." Another translation I like better (perhaps it is a paraphrase) is, "A human can very well do what he wants, but cannot will what he wants." Stew on that a little. How terrible! If that's the case, what hope is there for me?!

Is the movie worth watching? Sure, it's alright. Holes in the plot, but not a waste of your time.

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