Just watched Source Code this evening. I must say the trailer made it look just plain awful, and Mr Gyllenhaal's recent run of unfortunate films didn't help either. I really don't want him to be the next Nicolas Cage.
Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. Any movie that gets me really thinking after all is said and done usually does well in my books. If you've seen the movie, it begs the question...
What if you knew you were going to die... tomorrow? or in the next few hours? minutes?
Can't say I've been in that position of imminent and unavoidable demise, but I don't imagine it's pleasant. I would guess that you don't immediately think: "Well, I've done a lot of good things in my life, and I'm happy with that." The most striking and immediate thought (I would think) would be "What unfinished business do I have?"
That phrase could be interpreted in a whole smattering of ways - for wanting to right some wrongs, get some closure on some lingering issues, making up for something you'd feel guilty about, and/or just putting fear aside and having the courage to do something you think is right.
Interestingly, one of the physicians I've worked with has said in his experience with family members of a palliative patient, it is usually the most estranged one that fights the hardest to ask for all measures to keep them alive. This could be a product of guilt over the years, or a combination of things I may have mentioned above. I'm not sure. Again, I don't know the feeling.
This movie got me thinking - not in the sadist or suicidal(!) way - if I woke up to the news tomorrow that an asteroid was coming straight to Earth and would annihilate us all in a matter of hours, would I feel like I had unfinished business? (besides the fact I would be dying, of course)
Are there people I need to talk to? Are there bygones I need to make into bygones? Have there been things I've been avoiding? Have I been an asshole to someone recently?
Really, these are all rhetorical questions... but this one isn't: why should it be the prospect of imminent doom or demise that would force us to have the courage or integrity to do these things? Or to really appreciate life for what it really is? Short.
And we'll never know how short.
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