There comes a point in life when everything is put into perspective. You may be at the edge of the world as it caves in or just sat down in the cinema, but it’ll click. Nothing matters more than the here and now.
M. Night Shyamalan's latest film Old explores this idea rather elegantly, although the film does have some drawbacks: the story felt ridiculous, the characters were painfully stereotypical, and the dialogue had me laughing when I should have been crying. However, there were fleeting moments of magic that helped me personally make a change for the better.
As is natural for a film so closely linked with time, Old intensely inspects the idea of past, present, and future through the vessel of a family. The father, Guy, is an insurance agent who spends his time thinking of every possible outcome to a situation — in other words, he is stuck in the future. The mother of the family (Prisca) is an archaeologist and—you guessed it—she’s stuck in the past (yes, the film is that on the nose).
The couple is in the midst of a divorce, taking the children on one last happy family vacation before their imminent split. During an argument at the hotel, the characters reveal their reluctance to live in the present. Since Prisca has a tumor Guy believes they should wait until her recovery before dealing with the divorce, but Prisca can only focus on how they weren’t in a good place before the tumor was discovered.
Even in the face of a life-threatening disease, neither can throw time to the wind and concentrate on the present. Many of us would disregard any arguments—no matter how big or small—if a loved one’s life was at risk. What does the past or future mean if the present is at risk?
Ultimately, their unwillingness to live in the here and now is what is holds them back from saving their relationship and obtaining happiness. If only we could all live in the moment, enjoying every breath and every drop of rain as it falls, then happiness would be so much easier to acquire.
Presentnesss is timeless as you are suspended in a single moment. It is a serene space where every tick of the clock is irrelevant. With no regard for what has gone or what is yet to come, you are left anxiety-free. This state of mind isn't easy to achieve. It's something that I personally have found myself struggling with — even coming up in counseling sessions. Sometimes, I find myself so tunnel-visioned on achieving success that the present is out of focus.
There comes a scene later in the film when the characters' grim fate becomes clear that helped me embrace living in the moment. As the waves crash into the shore, Guy and Prisca sit still and stare off into the horizon as they're rapidly chased by the grim reaper. With the future looking bleak, Guy has a moment of clarity, then turns to his wife and says: “Were we fighting about something? Well, whatever it was . . . I'm not mad anymore. I can’t remember, why did we want to leave this beach? It’s so beautiful.”
At this moment, Guy finally accepts nowness. Sometimes it takes having your world ripped apart and your future pulled away from you to submit to the present. Prisca replies: “It doesn’t matter.” Watching this in the cinema, goosebumps ran up my arm. Despite all of the film’s flaws, it drilled home something that weeks of counseling couldn’t. I’d finally realized how important the present is.
Maybe this is why we love cinema so much. It can give us feelings and teach us lessons that even qualified professionals can’t. But even more than that, when we are fully engrossed in a movie, it forces us to live in the moment. We no longer worry about what our boss is going to moan about tomorrow; we no longer dwell on the mistakes made in a failed relationship. Instead, you are wholly present.
When you really think about it, most of the things that we enjoy require presentness: sports, music, cooking, video games, writing, all require us to be in the moment. Even you, right now, reading this article, you must be in the moment to comprehend my words. Maybe presentness is the key to happiness.