DEFENDING YOUR LIFE

US, 1991, 112 minutes, Colour.
Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, Lee Grant.
Directed by Albert Brooks.

Defending Your Life is another of Albert Brooks’ slow, deadpan, witty and intelligent comedies. They range from earlier films like Real Life, Modern Romance and Lost in America to Mother and the Muse. Brooks is also a good actor, getting an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor in 2011 for Drive.

This is a story of the afterlife. Albert Brooks plays a businessman who is killed in a bus crash. The Heaven he goes to is called Judgment City, somewhat parallel to Earth, but an urban atmosphere of hotels, buses, wide streets and vehicles, but is a transition stage to Heaven (there is no Hell).

Brooks has some opportunities to do some serious dialogue with the comic touches, reflecting on the notion of identity, responsibility, life and death, assessing one’s life – and especially the issue of fears incapacitating people to live full lives.

Meryl Streep appears as Julia, who has also died, and Albert Brooks’ character falls in love with her.

Rip Torn is the lawyer for the defence. Lee Grant is the prosecutor. Rip Torn is obviously enjoying himself cracking jokes and doing a comic turn as Brooks’ lawyer.

The film is interesting in its secular imagining of an afterlife – more fantasy than reality.

1. A blend of the serious and the comic? Life, death, assessing one’s life, the afterlife?

2. Albert Brooks as writer and director, as performer? His humour, one-liners, deadpan jokes, thoughtful comedy?

3. Daniel and his ordinary life, the gift on his retirement, his work in advertising, the workplace scenes, the gift of the music, driving the car, the accident?

4. The afterlife: Judgment City – the idea of the city, the dead arriving, their clothes and special tunics, hotel accommodation, abundant food, the best food, the hotel rooms, the lawyers, the defence of one’s life? Failing the defence and going back, reincarnated? Or going on to success? Going forward? Forgetting the past lives? The scene of the Hall of Memories – and Daniel and Julia examining the past?

5. The comedy, secular take on the afterlife, moral issues, the issue of fear, incapacity, identity?

6. Heaven, no Hell? The nature of judgment and transition?

7. Daniel, his life, death, the explanations of what was happening to him, the hotel, going to his room, offering the tip, enjoying the food, the satire on the television shows – especially about fears? The lawyer’s visit, the transport to the centre? Waiting, his interview? Going for a walk, the comedian and the audience not responding to his jokes? The joke about dying on-stage? Meeting Julia?

8. The attraction between Daniel and Julia, coming together, talking, the bonds, sharing the memories, the Hall of Memories? Daniel failing? Julia succeeding? Julia and her family, the memories of her life?

9. Daniel and his session, the judges arriving, the prosecutor, the defence lawyer? Daniel sitting in the middle? The lawyer and his enjoying his work, the stories, the jokes? The prosecutor more serious? The stone-faced judges?

10. The evaluation of Daniel’s life, defending him? The focus on specific days? The illustrations of his life, fear, family, the trip to Hong Kong and his paying the extra money? The lawyer’s benign interpretation of everything? The prosecutor and her harsh judgments? His failing, seeing Julia, fearful of going with her? Their parting?

11. His failure, in the bus with the failures, seeing Julia? Wanting to get out, running towards her bus? Clambering to get in? The authorities watching? Allowing the bus door to open? The lawyer proclaiming Daniel’s success?

12. Daniel and Julia going forward – to the happy life, whatever Heaven is?

13. The blend of the light touch with the serious? Provoking some kind of reflection on the meaning of life – and the afterlife?