The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

‘Stop thinking, start doing’: it is the familiar and frequent inspirational mantra that has launched countless self-improvement regimes, all predicated upon the premise of acting rather than internalising. ‘Dreams can be achieved if you take a chance’ is the other repetitive refrain, one that films – and, commonly, romantic comedies – are primed to reiterate. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty wraps both into its thick-and-fast narrative of wish fulfilment, the fantasised flights of fancy of its titular protagonist seeping into his waking existence. Its sentimental journey is obvious, but its sweetness is mostly earned; for all its platitudes and pleasantries, the charm of the feature threatens to seize the moment.

Stationed deep in the darkness of the photography department, Life magazine negative asset manager Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller, The Watch) is given every opportunity to demonstrate the malaise that infects his middle-aged life. His days are filled with daydreams, quite literally, of bigger and better, more heroic and imaginative moments. Outside of his head, his lacks the confidence to act upon his affection for colleague, Cheryl Melhoff (the ever-likeable Kristen Wiig, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues), and is absent the courage to stand up to his domineering new boss, Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott, TV’s Parks and Recreation, in obnoxious mode).

His mother (Shirley MacLaine, Bernie) and sister (Kathryn Hahn, We’re the Millers), the only constant and reassuring figures in his sheltered orbit, try to coax him into extroversion, but only his idol – photographer Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn, Gangster Squad) – possesses the motivation to shake Walter out of his slumber-like existence. As the magazine approaches its final issue courtesy of corporate downsizing, Sean’s specifically-chosen last photo – representing the ‘quintessence’ of the publication – is slated for the cover amidst much fanfare; when it goes missing, in Walter’s quest to find it his adventure – and his own life – finally begins.

Walter’s tale is no stranger to cinema, with James Thurber’s two-page 1939 short story first adapted as a Danny Kaye vehicle in 1947. The path the remake took to reach screens has spanned decades, directors and actors, Stiller finally stepping in to take both helming and starring duties. In each camp, the extremely loose modernisation initially appears a departure, the filmmaker of Reality Bites, The Cable Guy, Zoolander and Tropic Thunder, and comic presence from There’s Something About Mary, Meet the Fockers and Night at the Museum at odds with the feature’s earnest tone. Stiller has played it straight and serious before, but rarely has been asked to be so sincere or so broad in his audience appeal – offbeat tone, character idiosyncrasies and all.

His performance, slowly awakening from a zoned-out stupor, perhaps mirrors his own maturing into the content; the empathy he evokes, as the true toned-down everyman hoping on a dream, and as surrounded by more grounded supports, is at the core of the film’s warmth. And yet, the confines of comedy are never too far away, goofiness building upon quirkiness in the parade of unlikely fantasies turned just-as-surprising eventualities. Though the feature’s heavy-handed message of encouragement is always evident, so too is its embrace of eccentricity. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty may show Stiller at his most restrained, in terms of amusement and as both a star presence and a filmmaker, but his divergence into the utterly atypical and non-cynical tempers the heartfelt with glimpses of quiet hilarity.

With Steve Conrad’s (The Pursuit of Happyness) script as his basis, as a helmer Stiller is in aesthetic heaven, every frame pristine, meticulous, and calculated to elicit an emotive reaction. Director of photography Stuart Dryburgh’s (The Tempest) keen eye is on display, his beautiful and breathtaking imagery accompanied by a longing yet uplifting soundtrack (Hall & Oates and David Bowie among them), all contributing to the moving mood – as overt as it all always is. Lingering is the tempo, with the film’s many developments never rushed; lyrical is the purported end result, as the picturesque and the poignant build to a fitting crescendo. The much-vaunted can-do perspective infects the film’s protagonist, and flirts with the audience, too; there might be a little too much cloying and cliché for the feature to truly enchant, but The Secret Life of Walter Mitty effectively teases something – a life, a decision, a movie – more magical.

Rating: 3 ½ stars out of 5