Jake Gyllenhaal has always been a favored actor of mine. Not only as he is easy on the eyes (swoon) but also as his style of acting has always been passionate and deep on depicting many a difficult situation when featured cinematically and on this such occasion he came in like a wrecking ball…ahem.

From the onset couple look like they have problems, like any couple and something does not fill us with hope for the longevity of the relationship from the offset, but to have the ending of it burst onto the scene, literally,made me jump a bit .

This film hits hard upon the bedrock of understanding of losing a loved one and how the heck you are meant to get on with your life viewed through the eyes of a widower, a lost and guilty one at that. Davis Mitchell (Gyllenhaal), successful investment banker and his late wife are involved in a car accident where he loses her tragically and the road to his mental and emotional undoing ensues almost instantly. After hearing the news that his wife had died the vending machine that withheld his snack causes him to send a letter of complaint to the vending company, which leads to a series of them revealing many personal admissions and secrets. In doing so his letters spark the interest of the customer service manager , Karen ( Naomi Watts) deep in her own financial and emotional hole, and the two form an odd but deep connection. Along with her son Chris, (Judah Lewis) again, with his own life affirming choices and lessons to overcome together they begin to tear down his old life to rebuild a new one.

Underlying lessons of the story run true throughout; including “dont lie” “dont have BIG skeletons in your closet”, and “be true to who you are”, all of which have should have hazard signs above, but we get the general gist and the story itself is only what I could imagine it would be like in the situation in reality. Okay, maybe dramatic, but it does show the true working of just to what extent an individual and their coping mechanism of dealing with hard decisions and loss can be stretched to in times of true hardship.

I would recommend this to anyone who wants an emotional ride, a life lesson, and  even some laughs, just remember you may need a tissue and strong resolve for some parts, but all in all, you’ll be fine, and you’ll enjoy it like I did.