In the full-length feature film Defending Your Life, writer-actor-director Albert Brooks plays advertising executive Daniel Miller, who is killed at the onset of the film when his just- driven- off-the-lot BMW collides with a city bus. Daniel "awakens" in Judgment City, a beautifully picturesque mini-metropolis where the residents are housed in upscale hotels while they enjoy perfect weather and all you can eat for free accommodations daily, without gaining a pound. What is also evident upon Daniel's meeting Julia is that the grandiosity of accommodations varies depending upon the character one displayed while alive.
We soon discover the purpose of Judgment City: this is a sort of pleasant purgatory where the residents are evaluated in terms of the content of their lives, in part to determine the ultimate destination or fate of each resident. It is explained to us (and Daniel) by his equivalent of a defense attorney, Bob Diamond (Rip Torn), that one is judged and then either allowed to proceed to that "better place" if deemed worthy, or sent back to Earth in some other form of life to try again and again, until one "gets it right."
During his stay in Judgment City, our leading man meets Julia (Meryl Streep) and is instantly drawn to her. A wonderfully beautiful woman with all the attributes that any reasonable man would find desirable, she is likewise drawn to Daniel. Our leading lady is there for the same purpose as Daniel, and yet, her experience at Judgment City seems to be one of wonder and anticipatory joy, while Daniel appears much more serious (as he is portrayed in life, depicted by the clips of his life being played out before him and the others involved in the "trial that isn't a trial") and uncertain. What the main character of the film discovers is that he is more in love with Julia than he has ever been with anyone in life. Daniel's concern that he and Julia will not end up in the same place is intensified as the "prosecutor" continues to portray Daniel as someone who never really lived; who was always uncertain and fearful, and therefore not suitable to proceed on to that "better place." Daniel is visibly dismayed by this prospect, as it becomes increasingly clear that Julia will "move on" without him. As Daniel watches Julia's trial, the "court" fawns and generally approves of the images of Julia in life. One scene in particular points to Julia's strength of character when she reenters the burning family house to save their beloved cat, only after escorting her children to safety first. In contrast, Daniel is viewed as a wimp (initially during a playground altercation while he is in elementary school, later as a hesitant investor who misses a huge opportunity due to his apprehension), and dishonest in the scene in which Daniel takes the blame for another student losing school supplies. Ultimately, he is punished by the school, and under cross-examination by his father, crumbles in telling the truth of what had actually happened. In later scenes, Daniel is consistently painted as fearful. Although he and his wife rehearse the next day's salary negotiation in which Daniel is to be firmly assertive, in the actual interview the hiring manager makes an initial offer that Daniel quickly and submissively accepts (far below what he had wanted). The successive clips that the court reviews are in a similar vein; in every situation that he has a chance to shine, our hero is too fearful of consequences to take any positive action. In every instance, our heroine is portrayed in a much more flattering light. The negativity and pervasiveness of fear, guilt, and self-doubt very much on display in contemporary American culture serve as an albatross around our necks, affecting the outcomes of virtually any circumstance of scenario that we face in life. The authors of the text, Life Lessons, point out that "Fear is a shadow that blocks everything: our love, our true feelings, our happiness, our very being" (Kubler-Ross and Kessler, 2000).
The theme of the movie, in perfect synchronicity with the assigned reading material of this class, seems to be relatively clear in my humble opinion. We are all so busy trying to leave our mark on this (at times overwhelming) rat race that we often don't take the time to truly live. If one were to analyze the message of this film or either of the textbooks that are required reading for this class on a deeper, more profound level, the suggestion appears to be that if we all lived life as if each day could be our last, that fulfillment would be a given, or at least more easily attainable. It is awfully easy to become so wrapped up in our daily pursuits, trials and tribulations that we find ourselves aging with the regret of never having done those things that we had most wanted to do.
Daniel never learns to live while living. It is only after death and his experience at Judgment City that he realizes that his life was one so analytical and calculated, so fearful of consequences, that he never attained any real measure of happiness. He apparently had all the material successes that any rational person could really want or need, and yet he was obviously not fulfilled to any degree of significance. Julia on the other hand, as is evident in her sunshine and lollypops demeanor throughout the film, was not nearly as serious or as calculated as our leading man during her time on Earth. She is, in fact, someone who knew instinctively that one has to play and relax from time to time, so as not to take life too seriously. Her persona comes across as much more genuine than that of Daniel. Somewhere around the middle of the movie, it becomes clear that Daniel is lamenting the realization that he seemingly never faced his various fears. We know from reading the text, Life Lessons by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler, that fear and/or guilt can paralyze us in more ways than one if we allow it to happen. According to the authors, "When we face the worst that can happen in any situation, we grow. When circumstances are at their worst, we can find our best. When we find the true meaning of these lessons, we also find happy, meaningful lives" (Kubler-Ross, and Kessler, 2000).
Another striking difference between Daniel and Julia is that he is seemingly haunted by the regret that going through life in "white-knuckle" fashion may foster when looking objectively back at the life he lived. Julia, although conceding that she misses her children, doesn't seem to carry that baggage with her. In the end, she seems to have lived a much more fulfilling life (apparently the folks at Judgment City agreed), in general, than our fearfully contemplative hero.
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