Secondhand Lions (2003)

As this post is meant for those who have already seen the movie and are ready to discuss it, I'm going to skip the brief synopsis and move straight to some discussion points. Ironically, I can't find the notes I took during the movie, so please forgive me for paraphrasing. :)

These are the main points that stuck out to me:

(1) The role of trust and belief. We are first introduced to this theme at the beginning as Walter is being told for the first time that his mom is going to leave him with his "long-lost uncles" (or rather her uncles) for an unspecified time during the summer. As his mom is talking, Walter shows his doubts and his mom responds with (paraphrased), "You need to learn to trust or you're going to grow up to be bitter." We soon learn why Walter doesn't trust people - his mom is a brazen liar.

Next we meet his two "uncles," Garth and Hub. They are completely unknown to him--in fact, they are unknown to everyone. Everyone, it seems, has their own story to explain where those two disappeared for so many years, and to explain the great fortune that they have supposedly amassed. Little by little, Walter is introduced to an almost fairytale story/explanation of those very things. No one else's story could compare - it is truly the most outlandish story of all. And yet, it is the one that Walter finds himself believing. Why? Why does this young boy who has grown accustomed to being lied to suddenly believe a story so absurd? I think it has something to do with the way he was treated by those two men, but that's a point for discussion.

The next discussion point on this theme comes from Hub's "partial speech" near the end. He tells Walter that a man needs to believe in some things - things like good conquers evil - whether or not they are actually true. A man needs to hold to things like that. What did you think of that speech? Do you think Hub is right? And what effect did it have on Walter? Do you think Walter would have been as sure in his belief of his uncles' story at the end had he not been given that "speech" soon before?

(2) The second theme I saw was the worth of an individual. This, I believe, is introduced in the very title - "Secondhand" generally denoting something of less value, perhaps dirty and less reliable. All three of the main characters (four, if you count the lion) could be labeled "secondhand." Walter didn't have a lot of worth with his mother, but the worst came from the "relatives" visiting the uncles who wanted him to be sent to the orphanage. Walter had been to a place like that before and was willing to do anything to not go back. But why did those relatives see him as worth less than their own silly children? Just because of his mother's stupid choices? (Or also because they didn't want competition...) Hub in essence shot this one down by saying something like, "It's not your fault your mom's [a loser]" (sorry, forgot the exact quote... where are those notes when I need them?).

Then there is the worth of the two uncles. They are generally seen as eccentric, but most people see them as of worth because of the supposed fortune they have. But what do they think of themselves? Garth, I think, is accepting of his changing life; but Hub is constantly faced with the truth that he isn't what he used to be. He doesn't want to become useless, so he keeps pressing his luck, hoping to die doing something daring instead of die of old age. He discounts an offer for help with heavy lifting, then ends up collapsing and going to the hospital. Of course, he soon "checks himself out" and they go out to eat. Hub then "proves himself" again by beating up a group of teenage boys (who, interestingly, do not value Hub until he shows them his prowess - after which he is then able to give them his "what every man needs to know" talk and perhaps influence them). Yet he, faced with his own mortality, feels he has become useless.

And finally, we have the lion. Bought to provide a fun hunting experience for the two uncles, this lion shows herself to be "secondhand" by not even walking out of her cage when it is first opened. She is old, she is tired. To Hub, she is not even good enough to be called a "real lion." She is in so many ways like the two uncles. Yet her worth is shown in the relationship that develops with Walter (and the fact that she scares away the silly and annoying relatives is another plus). And, finally, she shows herself to be a "real lion" by attacking the cowardly child-abuser, saving Walter and giving her life to do it.

As for the people, I believe Walter learns his worth from the way his uncles treat him. With it, he also gains confidence to stand up for himself, which is put to good use at the end. (Before he learns this intrinsic worth, though, the uncles give him something by saying he's helpful to them because he annoys the relatives.) Walter, in turn, "gives" his uncles worth by requiring them to care for him - they are to take care of themselves and not take outlandish risks until he's done with high school, preferably college (though at the end this was changed to, through college, at least). All of these characters had intrinsic worth, but it took their relying on each other to show them their "practical" worth.

(3) I love how manhood as introduced in the movie. This isn't as detailed a discussion point, but it's something I loved. In his uncles, Walter is presented with an ideal of manhood - honest, hard-working, willing to fight for what is right yet not afraid to love or trust or believe in goodness. Picking fights is not manhood (as the teenage boys learned). Beating up those smaller than you is not manhood (as Stan learned). Those uncles may have been odd, but they were still wonderful examples of what a "man should be" (though I could do without the blatant risk-taking of airplane flying without training in my own husband). :)

(4) I did not love the ending. Though I admit on one level it was nice for the doubting viewer to get a "those uncles were telling the truth after all" moment, I felt it kind of took away from the theme of trust. It seemed to me that the movie was trying to say it didn't matter whether or not it was the truth - if you wanted to believe in it, you could. In some ways, the ending diminished that "magic" for me. I would have been happier if it had just cut out the "grandson of the sheik" altogether and just left the end with Walter as a well-adjusted and happy adult and the upside down airplane.

I did love how the movie didn't show the accident, nor did it show the uncles dead at all. The last we saw of them, they were defying gravity and loving it. And then we just see the upside down plane in the barn... and how somewhat funny it was to imagine them deciding to try to fly through the barn upside down.

Overall, I loved this movie. I loved the characters. I felt the characters of Walter, Garth, and Hub were very well developed. The other characters (the relatives, Mae, Stan) were not as well developed, yet that seemed appropriate - they seemed to be more shallow people, which then translated into shallow character development. I am perfectly happy to not have more back-story on Mae's rough past or what Stan had done to have people after him for money.

So, what did you think?