Being There

Media:	DVD
Directed by:	Hal Ashby
Starring:	Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine
Release date:	05 February, 2002
List price:	~~$19.98~~
Our price:	$15.74 that is 21% off!

Being There

Average rating: Stars

"Bye Louise."

Having recently seen The Life and Death of Peter Sellers starring Geoffrey Rush, I was compelled to see Being There. In the ending of his biopic, they did an reenactment of a scene from Being There in which the maid Louise said goodbye to Chauncy Gardener(Sellers) for the last time. It was a very touching scene. He's a kind, non-judgemental, compassionate, and loving man. He's lived in the Old Man's house, and worked as the gardener. For the first time he has to embark a life outside the house. He has no real experience of the outside world, and had only seen life on TV.

Chauncy's life is changed completely when he met Eve(Shirley MacLaine) and her wealthy politician husband. His unusually down-to-earthness and fondness for gardening instantly impressed the couple, and they took him to live with them. Eventually, he's introduced to other powerful figures in the political world and managed to inspired the president, as well he attracted the mass media to interview him and go on TV. Chauncy Gardener instantly became a sensation and influence to the citizens who saw his interviews. Meanwhile, Eve was falling in love with Chauncy when her ailing husband was bed-ridden, and encouraged her to go on a date with Chauncy.....

Peter Sellers gave the performance of his career that garnered him an Oscar nomination, and this is a very different role compared to his snapstick comedies. It's an isntant comparison to Forrest Gump, but this film doesn't rely on so much unrealistic fantasy storyline or special effects to make it a captivating expeience. Shirley MacLaine was wonderful together with Sellers in the love scenes.

Being There - Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine

Life is a state of mind

I would rather think of this movie not as dark comedy, though I am sure that would be the correct genre, but as enlightening comedy. "Life is a state of mind." So what kind of mind have you? We as the audience are invited in to see "Chance" as he is and then observe how everyone interprets him from their own perspective. On a practical level, knowing estimates of the mentally ill in my state range around 25%, it suggests how we may wrongly interpret those around us by universalizing our sense of everything and presupposing it is the sense of others too - without ever really finding out what they understand and how they intend what they say. It is clear to me from observing mentally ill people in conversation with those that do not understand the mental illness of the person they are speaking to just how accurately the movie depicts the results. In this sense, the movie is a training film for those who would work with the mentally ill and that should cover everyone! On another level the movie points out that as we see the world so it is. Life is a state of mind. But you can change your state of mind. When you change your state of mind you change your world. As invited guests into the mind of "Chance" we are offered the opportunity to elevate our mind to another level of perception. This level enables us to perceive the perspective of others and remove us from the box that was our own previous limit. This is a great teaching device for those who are attempting to show this to someone who is not aware of the technique - having never done it before. The movie shows them they can do it and should.
Further, the movie is commentary and suggestion. I fail to see that the interpretation is forced. Interpret the last scene as you will - it still drives home the thesis just blatantly depicted on the Rand Memorial "Life is a state of mind" also repeated for emphasis by the presidential remarks. The movie leaves it up to the viewer to interpret the depth of this thesis.
This is a great movie and very useful.

Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine - Being There

A Sellers Masterpiece

"Being There" (1979) remains one of the all-time great films, with a brilliant portrayal by Peter Sellers that should have won an Academy Award. Director Hal Ashby has done justice to Jerzy Kosinski's perceptive satire on the media age, dominated by Sellers' unique performance as the simple-minded gardener Chance. Shirley MacLaine and Melvyn Douglas lend excellent support to Sellers' finest screen role. In retrospect, "Forrest Gump" is a pale imitation of this timeless classic.