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Elizabeth Masterson, M.D. (Reese Witherspoon) spends all her time at the St. Matthews
Hospital. On a rainy night, after more than 24 hours sleepless, she meets a terrible accident while driving home. Almost three months later, landscape artist David
Abbott (Mark Ruffalo) is able to rent an apartment with a beautiful roof deck view of San Francisco Bay.
Barely settled in, David is jolted by a young woman barging in, claiming the place to be hers and wants him to get out. Thinking she is making a mistake, he tries to explain the situation. As he does so, he is startled to observe her ability to appear and disappear through solid wall and closed doors. Another thing: he alone could see her, others can't. As they talk, she concludes that although she is physically "not here"; but, she is neither dead. David decides to help her find out who she is -- Elizabeth has a complete memory lapse – and what happened to her before her present situation.
This is a different kind of ghost and love story. Elizabeth is a spirit entity suspended
between heaven and earth who makes the acquaintance of a regular human being. They end up falling in love and facing the question of what is going to happen to them and
their love.
The story takes unexpected turns to keep it going; like how a romance between a spirit and a human would proceed. Witherspoon and Ruffalo are effective as Elizabeth and David in their sober as well as funny moments. Disregard the credibility of the contrived story.
Just Like Heaven is funny in parts and entertaining.
Worth taking note of in the movie are some situations that do take place in human life. One,
love is not just a matter of physical attraction or relations.
Love could be the reason to live. Two, dedication to one's work, like a doctor's concern for the sick, should not take away one's time for self and relations. Three, life is to be sustained and preserved using all reasonable means as illustrated by the case in the film, (excluding the comic situation sequences)..
Just Like Heaven is based on a novel by Marc Levy, entitled "If Only It Were True."
(Date Reviewed: 09 December 2005)
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