In a pre COVID world there was a place that was truly a sanctuary for me, my place of worship that I attended once a week if not more. That place is movie theater. Because for those two hours I’d spend there nothing bad could happen to me. The outside world was on a pause and I could immerse myself in anything that was playing on a big screen.
There are many movies I have seen more than once cause they ‘spoke to me’ and ‘Pay It Forward’ is one of them. Before my last move I owned a DVD of it and saw it numerous times. This is a heartbreaking and heartwarming story all in one. It will sadden you and it will give you hope, it will make you cheer for an unlikely characters and identify with more than one and it made me cry at the end every single time even though I knew what was coming.
Even though it is not based on a true story, this concept has existed throughout the ages. This movie was based on a novel, though the teacher in the book is a black man and allegedly that role was originally offered to Danzel Washington, but after he turn it down it was changed to a white man played by Kevin Spacey. Gonna give you a wee bit more than an IMDb would but not too much to give it’s magic away. The movie also has a great soundtrack in my opinion ( if you watch it on Amazon Prime it tells you the song that it’s playing at every scene).
It starts off with a new social studies teacher who gives an assessment to the seventh grade class: come up with an idea on how to change the world for the better and then put it in action. One of the boys in the class, Trevor, comes up with a plan in a form of “paying forward “ favors. A great idea from a young boy that in his life affects the life of his single mother and his down on her luck grandfather and unbeknownst to him, also sets in motion an unexpected wave of human kindness . If you have read any previous post you are familiar with my fondness for kindness and that was the reason behind writing about this movie first.
Keep in mind,this movie was made over 20 years ago ( I was dumbstruck by that information just like you), when there was no social media ( I’m sure social studies must look a lot different these days) but in one of the opening scenes they did have metal detectors at the entrance! I’m not gonna disclose the relationships that form and the impact this assignment given on a first day of school has to people outside Trevor’s closest people. That would pretty much give away the whole movie, but I will tell you the lessons you can pick up from this movie aged well. Weather you’re a child still in school, parent trying to teach your children right from wrong, a teacher looking for an approach to get the students involved or just a misfit, recognizing yourself in one of the characters .
The pay-it-forward concept tells us that we can make a difference in the lives of others and it glorifies random acts of kindness. It tells us that when someone is kind to us, it’s a good idea to repay mankind several times over by doing good things for others.
It’s a wonderful movie I highly recommend to see if you haven’t already.
*** ‘What About Us’ by Pink and ‘Something Beautiful’ by Robbie Williams