“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” reminds us of our potential

“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.”

Taken straight from James Thurber’s 1939 book, the 2013 movie of the same name features an average-joe man, Walter Mitty, who struggles with fulfillment. Deterred by a dating app that demands his “adventurous” stories—of which Mitty can’t think of any—and a missing photo within his job as negative asset manager at Life Magazine, Mitty sends himself on an adventure to Greenland and the Himalayas. In search of a photojournalist who spoke of the “quintessence of life,” Mitty ultimately discovers that the capability to experience something greater already lies in himself.

I first saw “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” in theaters when it came out. Though it was 10 years ago, I still remember a couple of its visually stunning shots: Mitty (Ben Stiller) running in front of framed “Life” magazine covers. Mitty in a rickety airplane, jumping into the ocean. Mitty longboarding downhill to “Far Away” by Junip. But more than anything, I remember the feeling it gave me—the feeling that, though I was a kid in a red-velvet stained seat who had never traveled more than a few states away, I might as well have been 42 and seen everything. One thing “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” does extremely well is its juxtaposition between the harsh, fluorescent-lit life of capitalism and the expansive, liberating life of the freelancer.

Mitty begins the movie dissatisfied with his work and chastised by his superiors, of which his only escape are daydreams: cutaways that often involve hypothetical situations and superpowers. Mitty dreams that he is more, or maybe that everyone around him is a little less; in his daydreams, his work bully is easily insultable and his crush is easily enamored. The latter part of the movie is introduced by a scene that references “The Matrix”—which undoubtedly went over my head when I was 11 but was greatly appreciated this time around.

Known for its choice between two pills, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” plays on “The Matrix” by presenting Mitty with either a red car or a blue car. In the Matrix universe, choosing blue means choosing ignorance; it means to choose the life you’re already living, to never see reality any other way than you already have. But the red pill is an invitation to see the world through new eyes, even if it’s frightening or unsettling. And Mitty chooses to go with red.

The film is beautifully cinematic, using Iceland as its set location—now I’ve got longboarding on Road 93 to Seyðisfjörður on my bucket list. I also enjoyed the performances of Mitty and his love interest Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig). I don’t care what people say about Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig; they’re both national treasures to me. The movie’s just not art cinema, which is probably why it suffers from reviews in publications like Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert and Collider. Yet, despite its gravely negative critic reviews, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” aces its general audience reviews with a high 4.8/5 rating. If a movie makes even one person feel something—and this one has assuredly impacted way more than that—it’s worth removing the lens of the overly critical. Though at times the film feels a bit disjointed, it’s full of heart, and it’s an uplifting choice for anyone who has forgotten the stake they hold in their own life.

I rate “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” a 7/10; and if the choice is ever available to me, I hope to God I’d, too, go with red.