A Walk in My Shoes

It was fun seeing so many bits of Portland in this movie. (Umpqua ice cream is really good stuff; be sure to get some if you're ever in Oregon!) I think all of it really was filmed there.

That won't matter to most of you. Was it any good?? I sure liked it. There were some clichés, but they were handled rather off-handedly, almost like the filmmakers were winking at the audience and saying OK, we all know we have to do this bit here to set up that other part later on, so let's just relax and not take it too seriously. That worked. The important parts of the movie were the inspections of how we treat one another, and why, and what we might be missing by not really listening to each other. The clichés were just there to hold those moments together in a storyline.

It's clearly a small-budget film, and the only name I knew was Nancy Travis, but the movie doesn't seem bothered by any of its potential hindrances, and none of them bothered me either. Intelligent, respectful writing, acting, directing, etc. can atone for a lot of shortcomings in the budget, special effects, casting, etc. departments, and that's what happened here.

Face your flaws, play to your strengths, and don't let your weaknesses steal your grace or your confidence. Along with the message of listening to others, those were the lessons of the movie's story, and they are lessons which the movie-makers exemplified in crafting this movie itself.