Reflections on “If”

I watched “If” last night with my wife Florence. I did not get it. I sometimes think I’m getting too old for these types of movies, but then again, I’m acutely aware of plot and character development in any story due to my love of writing. The plot did not click with me while watching. I had trouble following the story. The characters were thin and poorly developed. I realize it’s hard to develop animated characters, but the same holds true for most of the real characters. As the movie ended, I said aloud, “What did I just watch?”

“If” (2024) is an American fantasy comedy film directed, written, and produced by John Krasinski. It features a star-studded cast including Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, Fiona Shaw, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Emily Blunt.

My brain kicked in as I tried to relax before going to bed. I spent a good hour or so thinking about what I had just watched before drifting off to sleep. I spent another hour thinking about it while sitting on my couch with my sick dog at 2:00 am. I do some of my best thinking at 2:00 am, but I’d rather do some of my best sleeping.

I retired last November, and one lesson I’ve learned so far is that your world shrinks if you let it. I went from engaging with hundreds of people a week around the globe to a dozen or less almost overnight. I went from traveling all over to spending weeks within a mile or two of my house. The change can weigh heavy on your mind if you let it. “If” talks about this by emphasizing the importance of friendship and connection. It’s a connection with imaginary beings, but the concept transfers. Maintaining those connections is healthy and, as I’ve learned since retiring, one of the keys to happiness. The value of maintaining and rekindling connections cannot be understated.

“If” also touches on the themes of change and letting go. We see this as the main character, Bea, played by the capable young actor Cailey Fleming, deals with the loss of her mother. This theme resonated with me in several ways. I lost my mother last year, and honestly, letting go part of that loss is still a problem for me. I still struggle as I deal with her estate and the memories, happy or not, resurface. Retirement is a huge change as well. I am lucky in that my personality was not tied to my role; instead, the easy-going part of me has resurfaced, and I feel like I’m back to my true self instead of the hard-driving manager role I played at work. But letting go is harder. I find myself still thinking through problems that I left unresolved. It is easier to disconnect as time passes. I can see it coming to an end.

I don’t have a rating system for movies. The best rating I have is whether I will watch “If” again or not. The answer is no, I will not seek it out the way I do movies like “Groundhog Day” or “Moneyball.” It falls into the category of an over-the-shoulder movie, one that I will watch in passing if my wife happens to have it on, but from my desk while I do other things.

The illustration for this post is a AI-created depiction of my imaginary friends; Detectives who helped me solve mysteries as a child. I was an Agatha Christie nerd from a very young age.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the movie or my review. Please post a comment below. Thanks.