“Pay It Forward” is the story of a child’s innocent idealism and faith in humankind – which, for once, does not go unrewarded.
Adapted from a book by Catherine Ryan Hyde, the film opens with Chris Chandler (Jay Mohr), an LA journalist, at the scene of an incident. Whilst he is reporting, his car is hit by another and badly damaged. As he is cursing the other driver, a passing businessman offers him the keys to his own car, a Jaguar. Chris is completely bemused by this offer and at first refuses to accept it, as he thinks that the man has an ulterior motive, but it transpires that it is a genuine offer with no strings attached. On talking further to the man in question, Chris uncovers an astonishing story.
The action then takes us back four months and to the city of Las Vegas. Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment, the remarkable child actor from The Sixth Sense and AI) is just starting secondary school. Trevor lives with his mother, Arlene (Helen Hunt), who is battling alcoholism and working two jobs in a seedy bar and a casino in just to survive, after Trevor’s father Ricky (Jon Bon Jovi), also an alcoholic, left her on her own after their violent, abusive relationship broke down.
Often left to fend for himself, Trevor is glad of a new challenge in the shape of his new school and, more importantly, his
new Social Studies teacher, Eugene Simonet (Kevin Spacey), a highly intelligent, enigmatic man, the mystery of whom is further enhanced by the scars on his face. On the first day of term, Mr. Simonet sets the class an unusual assignment, one which is to last all year. He wants them all to do something that is going to change the world.
Trevor’s classmates all have their own ideas: recycling fliers in supermarkets, websites for Chinese children…but Trevor’s idea is in some ways much simpler, but also much more far reaching.
Trevor has come up with an idea that everyone should “pay it forward”: he does a good turn for three people, something which is very big for them and which they could not do on their own. The only condition that goes with this act of kindness is that, instead of paying back the good turn to Trevor, they should pay it forward – and in turn they should do three good turns for other people.
And so Trevor’s plan slowly gets onto its feet. Despite his disillusionment when it seems that two out of the three good turns he has performed have not come to fruition, his plan is working – and with it, people’s lives are changing beyond all recognition.
Four months on, and Chris Chandler is busy trying to trace the origins of the remarkable movement which has resulted in his acquiring a brand new Jaguar. If nothing else, it is certainly a newsworthy story. His search takes him via an imprisoned man and a homeless woman to Trevor – and he is amazed to find that it is this young boy, from a difficult background, has done something that has changed so many people’s lives.
The story behind Pay It Forward is an amazing one in itself, but as well as the main plot we have a romance to keep us interested, Arlene’s battle with drink (and its effects on Trevor), the bullying of Trevor’s classmate Adam, the return of Trevor’s absent father and the story behind Mr. Simonet’s facial scars to keep us entertained. It is difficult to reveal more about the story without giving too much away. I actually felt that knowing that Trevor’s father was going to come back was a slight disappointment, but as Jon Bon Jovi is one of the top billing actors in the précis on the back of the DVD, which tells us that he plays Trevor’s father, but he does not appear at all during the first hour or so of the film, we are not in any doubt that he is going to return at some point!
This is not a film with a lot of action, but it will make you smile, may make you cry, and will almost certainly make you think. It certainly made me stop and consider how much people take for granted and how a gesture that may seem very small to the proponent can make a huge difference to the recipient. Of course, the film did require the suspension of any degree of cynicism: it is difficult to believe that some of the people (based on the types of characters that they were) who received gestures of goodwill would have actually cared enough to pay them forward – but perhaps this was a deliberate decision to feature the type of people who would not normally be thought of as selfless or generous, so as to illustrate the impact that Trevor’s idea really did have. Unfortunately it suffers from a slightly schmaltzy ending, which may spoil it for some people, but although I found the ending hard to believe, for me it did not detract from the main point of the film.
As usual, Haley Joel Osment was absolutely fantastic. It never ceases to amaze me that such a young actor can deliver such a brilliant performance, and it is almost worth watching the film for this alone. Seeing him perform makes me feel almost embarrassed for the young British actors in the Harry Potter films who have treated us to such stilted performances, and I cannot help feeling that J. K. Rowling made the wrong decision when Osment’s name was in the frame to play Potter and she decreed that an English actor would have to play the role. Anyway, I digress. Kevin Spacey is also good as the enigmatic Eugene (enigmatic seems to be what Spacey does best!) and although Helen Hunt would not normally have crossed my mind as a choice for the type of role she plays, she delivers a very good performance nevertheless and it’s good to see her doing something slightly different.
This film won’t set your world alight, but it is certainly worth watching and will pass an enjoyable couple of hours (although the running time of 123 minutes seems a little generous for a film where there is not a huge amount of action). I bought my copy as part of a recent “4 for £20” promotion in Virgin Megastore. On Amazon, the DVD is priced £5.97, and it should be available for rental. It is a 12 certificate, probably because of language, mild violence and mild sexual content, but there is nothing in there that makes it particularly unsuitable for children.
Recommended.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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Although the review told me the story, and as such I need not of bothered buying it I am glad I did. It was the complete honesty of the review that sold it to me it was completely unbiased and acqurate to a t.
SophieWehr 24.06.2004 17:20
I liked this film and I love Kevin Spacey, but alas, not Haley Joel Osment, he just freaks me out a little (his eyes I think), remnants from 6th Sense I'm sure! It will probably fade with time as he does more films and loses the sort-of-weird eyes thing...! Soph
annettc99 23.06.2004 11:05
Well-written review. I will look out for this next time we're arguing about what to watch in the video shop!
Director Mimi Leder's third movie,Pay it Forward, finds her moving into softer, more ... more
intimate territory after making her name with a pair of high-budget action spectaculars,The PeacemakerandDeep Impact. This is a would-be heart-warming fable about the ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Tormented by an abusive and absent father (Jon Bon Jovi), young Trevor McKinney (Haley ... more
Joel Osment - The Sixth Sense) takes his teacher's (Kevin Spacey) challenge to make the world a better place as part of a school assignment, seriously. He comes up w...
Director Mimi Leder's third movie,Pay it Forward, finds her moving into softer, more ... more
intimate territory after making her name with a pair of high-budget action spectaculars,The PeacemakerandDeep Impact. This is a would-be heart-warming fable about the ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Is it possible for one idea to change the world? Just imagine. You do a favor that really ... more
helps someone and tell him or her not to pay it back but to pay it forward to three other people who in turn each pay it forward to three more - and on and on ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Somewhat original story, original concept, great performances, touching, makes you think Disadvantages: A bit over sentimental for some (you'll need to be armed with tissues!)
IzzyS 30.12.2007 (30.12.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Pay It Forward (DVD)
Advantages: Somewhat original story, original concept, great performances, touching, makes you think Disadvantages: A bit over sentimental for some (you'll need to be armed with tissues!)
IzzyS 30.12.2007 (30.12.2007)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Pay It Forward (DVD)
![Pay It Forward [DVD] [2001]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78523606.jpg "Pay It Forward [DVD] [2001]")
Jun 14th, 2004
exceptional by (7%):
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