On my conquest to see all flicks staring Tom Hardy, Stewart: A Life Backwards was next on my agenda. Before I touch on Stuart: A Life Backwards, let me just explain what led me to this superb movie in the first place. Two words, "Tom Hardy"! Tom Hardy caught my attention in his awe-inspiring, spectacular performance as "Bane" in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises". After finding out who the man behind the mask was, I at the moment decided to make it my mission to seek out every film that Tom Hardy has performed in. After seeing several of his performances, I was just astounded by his ability to literally morph his body on a physical level in addition to vocally changing his voice and adapting it to play each specific role. On top of that, he is just a phenomenal actor. There are moments where his facial expressions alone can express a thousand words. His role as Stuart Clive Shorter didn't require a complete metamorphous of his body, however, something seemingly more difficult which is to portray the effects of a physical disability; muscular dystrophy. It's pretty safe to assume at this point that I'm a loyal Tom Hardy fan for life now! His interpretation of Stuart in Stuart: A Life Backwards exceeded my expectations on every level. He was absolutely brilliant! Where to begin? I deviated from my normal MO which I would typically read the book first then see the film, however, I was so eager to watch the movie that I bypassed the book and saw the film first. After being completely blown away by the film, I immediately ordered a hard copy of the book on amazon. Since I'm an advocate for "going green" I prefer ebooks in effort to preserve our trees and environment, however, I knew that I would want to pass this book around and share Stuarts story since it had left such an impression. To purchase a hard copy or kindle version follow the link below:
http://www.amazon.com/Stuart-Life-Backwards-Alexander-Masters/dp/0385340885/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378614261&sr=8-1&keywords=stuart+a+life+backwards
This is the Synopsis off the book: Stuart: A life Backwards:
In this extraordinary book, Alexander Masters has created a moving portrait of a troubled man, an unlikely friendship, and a desperate world few ever see. A gripping who-done-it journey back in time, it begins with Masters meeting a drunken Stuart lying on a side walk in Cambridge, England and leads through layers of hell... back through crimes, and misdemeanors, prison and homelessness, suicide attempts, violence, drugs, juvenile halls and special schools-to expose the smiling, gregarious thirteen-year-old boy who was Stuart before his long, sprawling, dangerous fall. Shocking, inspiring, and hilarious by turns, Stuart: A Life Backwards is a writer's quest to give a voice to a man who, beneath his forbidding exterior, has a message for us all: that every life-even the most chaotic and disreputable-is a story worthy of being told.
Here is the link to the trailer of Stuart: A life backwards
Watching this film was like a wild roller coaster ride that evoked so many different emotions. I laughed so much throughout the entire movie from Stuarts unabashed honesty. Stuart held nothing back, baring his soul if you will. The story just tugs at your heart hearing Stuart reflect back and talk about his horrific past and the many hardships he has endured which brought me to tears. No child should ever have to endure such terrible things Stuart experienced. Absolutely heartbreaking at times. Hidden underneath all the layers of this multifaceted being is a tender and kind heart. This story also brings awareness to many different subjects that a lot of individuals may not have knowledge about such as: homelessness, alcoholism, drug addictions and Muscular Dystrophy to name a few. After seeing the film I knew that I wanted to educate myself more about the effects of Muscular Dystrophy and find out what I could do to help fight against such a debilitating disease. I also think there are a lot of stereotypes out there about homeless people for example that they are lazy and don't want to work. That is definitely not the case at all especially in Stuart's life. Some people are just so wounded and broken that they can't pull themselves out of the darkness. I think that it is imperative to invariably show compassion and empathy towards
all people because you just never know what they have been through in their life. I think this is a fantastic compelling film and is definitely worth a watch. I'm interested to see how in-depth the book touches on Stuarts life. I look forward to reading the book and getting to know this magnificent troubled human being, Stuart Clive Shorter better.
I have only been able to find the movie in seven parts on youtube and it's also available on HBO to go. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find it in a US formatted DVD. If anyone knows where I could purchase a DVD that is compatible with US DVD players I would love to know!
For more information on Muscular Dystrophy and to find out ways you can help please see the link below.
http://mda.org
I would be interested in hearing your thoughts about this film and book!
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