My Thoughts on Third Star

warning: this review is full of spoilers. If you don't want to know how the film ends, please don't read.

Third Star

A short summary

Third Star is a story about four friends, one of them terminally ill (James), one of them spending all of his time taking care of the ill friend and his family (Davy), one of them being practical and trying to keep his head up (Bill), and the last one drawn back from the ill friend because he is disgusted by the disease and what it does to his friend (Miles).

They go on a journey, one last trip to Barafundle Bay, because James wants to go to his favourite place once more before he dies. No one has an idea that he plans to die there. Almost everything that can go wrong goes wrong. They fight, they don’t stick to the rules on which they agreed, like taking mobile phones on the trip. They packed too much stuff, and during their journey, they lose most of the things they brought along. The cart which Bill built so that James didn’t have to walk ends up on the bottom of a cliff, including Miles’ mobile phone and most of their luggage. They have to carry James, which leads to more bickering, and through it all they try to figure out where they stand in life, trying at the same time to deal with James’ disease and to ignore it. It’s painfully obvious that this trip offers them all a chance to say the things they want to say before James dies, and these things aren’t declarations of love and apologies; they are throwing around with accusations and cynical remarks, for once speak their minds and in the process hurt their friends. And James is not spared. No matter what state he is in, he is arrogant about it most of the time, but gets cut down by his friends in equal measure.

But in a way that process is exactly what they need. They need to talk about the fears they have, the insecurities, the hate, the disgust, the cheating and going behind each other’s back. And it is obvious that these realisations might hurt James now, but he is very much aware that the other three will have to deal with these things for much longer than he has.

And this realisation is incredibly hard to witness. The moment when Miles, who was supposedly writing a book and never got around to finishing it is told by James that he has read the finished manuscript years ago and that he liked it and Miles admits that he was so very scared of James’ opinion that he never published it is simply heartbreaking.

But despite the sadness that clings to every moment, there are also instances when the film is simply hilarious. The entire movie theatre was laughing out loud for several minutes after the funny scenes, and the audience was pretty much of an average age of 60. But somehow it seemed that the oldest ones were the ones who laughed the loudest.

Well, what can be said about the end. The request by James to be allowed to die. The shock and refusal by his friends when he asks them. The disappointment when they say no. For me that was the most heartbreaking moment of the film, because it was so very real. Just days before, the Terry Pratchett Dignitas documentary had aired, and I spent a lot of time discussing that kind of death with my family and some friends over the past years, so it wasn’t so much a shock at the request, but I was so sad for James in that moment, because he so desperately needed to be in charge of his death. This entire scene has stayed with me since and I do spend a lot of time thinking about it.

And the way that it happens eventually, the fact that he almost isn’t allowed to die, but then he is out there in the water, alone with Miles, and the man who had the most trouble coming to terms with his friend’s disease, the man who tried to get as much distance between himself and James as to not have to deal with it, helps him die.

And it’s done so well.

My thoughts on the film

Things I loved about it in random order: the soundtrack, cinematography, light, close-ups, bad jokes, tears, trees, themes, relativity, fireworks, pain, laughter, different cameras, noise, silence.

I already knew a lot about the film and was aware that Jim was not very likely to return home, so the scene in the beginning, where everyone his happy and a bit worried about him going on that trip, was already heartbreaking in itself. The way he hugs his sister good bye; he’s saying good bye forever right there, and nobody knows it but him. But then we forget about it again, are confronted with friendly bickering, a group of old friends trying to find out where they stand now. I found it very moving, knowing how it is to be incredibly close to a group of friends and then everyone changes, but in your head you are still the same and it is very hard to accept that maybe they aren’t the ones they used to be, and neither are you. It’s the hardest thing about friendship, but going through that process makes the bond only stronger.
I loved how normal and realistic and at times absurd everything was. Random jokes which sometimes hit too close to home to be funny, and some of them were only funny, because they were unearthing the truth.

I especially loved the scene where Miles has his watch stolen. It’s ridiculous, but so very touching at the same time. The exchange of that experience for a feather, all but forgotten until the end. And the fight, which is ridiculous, but even more so when James decides to join. It’s so wrong, but so understandable that he wants to do this as long as he’s able to.

And then the fireworks. Such a beautiful moment. Just for the thought that went into it, and the look on James’ face. Heatbreaking. And it’s just another part of everything that goes wrong. It’s so perfect that it can’t last, it needs to go wrong, and so the tent burns down and it’s such a great metaphor for life, and for this journey, because they all have strangely high expectations or fears, and they are all disappointed in the end because expectations can never be met and fears are often misplaced.

And then there is Miles, whose ‘why does everyone throw my things into the ocean’ foreshadows the events that will come. By then we don’t know how very true it is, but the bitter aftertaste is already there.

Another great metaphor is the tree, the tree which Bill wants to plant. The tree which represents James’ life in a sense...something that will remain after he is gone. But when he tells his friends of the fact that he is going to be a father, the symbol is preplaced with something real, a real responsibility, not just a symbol. And so the tree also meets its end in the ocean.

I also adore the scene at the ferry house. I loved seeing a completely different interaction between Benedict Cumberbatch and Karl Johnson than we saw in Frankenstein. It’s painfully funny.

Then there is the moment when the group meet the beachcomber and Davy is left alone to talk to him and despite the obvious madness of the man, he takes his words to heart and understands that he can let go and doesn’t need to make his entire life about taking care of James and that he spent too much time identifying himself just through this role. It doesn’t make him less worried and it doesn’t make him stop watching James every single minute, but he understands that he can be his friend – and a good friend – by coming off that role of the care taker and just be with him and not be there for him. It’s a very touching moment.

And the pain is incredibly physical, as is the pain that Miles experiences in not being able to be close to Jim, being disgusted by the disease. It’s good to have that element as well, to have that perspective, which is probably the most human and ‘normal’ one of all. And the non-verbal communication between Miles and James is such an important element. The way they behave around each other and the way they say so much more with their eyes and expressions than they say in words through the entire journey is very touching. And it’s like that all the way to the end. Miles doesn’t say yes to James’ request to die, not words, but he does it, eventually. He doesn’t only let him go under, but holds him, until James’ last wish to feel the pain of the water in his lungs is fulfilled. That connection and at the same time the rivalry between them carries the movie quite a bit.

But not only are the characters fantastic in the film; the landscape is simply amazing. The way it is captured on film, including the light, the darkness, the clouds and the sunsets against the calm of just the four characters, who suddenly feel the need to finish business, and realising that it is actually much too late. But the realisation isn’t over the top or in your face. It’s obvious, and it’s natural, but it doesn’t seem clichéd. And it’s out there, in the open. It’s just them and the ocean and the way before them.

And, last but not least; the music is incredibly subtle in a sense that it blends in beautifully with the film. The blending of noises and music, of silence and filtered sounds, just as the blend of the pictures of the hand camera and the blurred vision that reflects the pain and hallucinations that Jim suffers from make the film incredibly intense.

Well, what else can I say. Of course there were moments which seemed a little weird, a few lines out of place, the pace a little strange. But overall, I just thoroughly enjoyed the film. And by enjoy I mean that I was, from the very beginning, emotionally invested in the film. It’s absolutely beautiful and so well done and the acting is amazing and I can’t wait to see it again when it is finally out on DVD...and maybe one day it’ll actually end up in a German theatre close to me, so I can make everyone go and see it.

Frances Murphy concluded the review of Third Star very beautifully: “But the lasting imagery of the film is that of footprints in the sand of Barafundle Bay. When four sets of footprints became three, however agonising it may have been for James’ friends, it was then that they carried him.” Third Star Film Review