Of late I have been borrowing a number of weekly movies from the local Blockbuster. Usually I do some research on RottenTomatoes and other websites which review movies so I can borrow quality movies. Two movies that were well recommended and I borrowed this week touched on the theme of nihilism.
Match Point is written and directed by Woody Allen. It is not a hidden fact that Allen is a staunch atheist who doesn't pull any punches when it comes to religion. However, Woody has the ability to illustrate great character struggles and depth in his movies as well as a good dose of cheeky humour. In Match Point we are presented with Chris Wilton (performed by a very cynical Jonathan Rhys Meyers) a guy who strikes it lucky with the right family and so he soars to London's high society.
As Woody Allen is prone to do he keeps throwing spanners in the works. Because Chris Wilton is having an affair with his brother-in-laws ex-fiancé Nola (a blonde Scarlett Johansson). So the chief struggle of this movie is Chris's desire for the woman he claims to love and the family and fortune that he has married into. Chris's adultery is hardly honourable, and it is not portrayed as ethical in this movie, yet somehow Allen keeps us riveted on the moral corruption of Chris Wilton.
Match Point is about a man with a mask. Despite extreme pressure Chris keeps both sides of his life at bay behind the mask. He wants what he can't have and he loves what he is asked to leave behind. This places him on the edge of a knife, or, as expressed in the movie, a tennis ball teetering on the cord strings of a net. And herein lays Allen's message. At the start of the movie Chris Wilton commentates, "The man who said 'I'd rather be lucky than good' saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's control".
Match Point is a portrayal of a world without God. A world where we are just here "by blind chance. No purpose. No design". We are presented with a bleak world where life, love and happiness play no significance because these things are at best subjective and trivial. At the end of the movie Chris reflects upon his sins and wishes he would be punished for his actions, because then "there would be some small sign of justice - some small measure of hope for the possibility of meaning".
This is a similar theme in the 2007 epic No Country For Old Men. This is an undeniably good film by the brilliant Coen brothers. Their character depth and emotional themes is as good as any director filming in Hollywood at this time. In No Country For Old Men we again have a protagonist who could also equally be the film's antagonist. Anton Chigurh (Academy-award winning Javier Bardem for this performance) is a hitman in 80s Texas and is trying to track a large amount of money which has fallen into Llewelyn Moss's (Josh Brolin) possession.
In one of the most chilling depictions in recent Hollywood productions Anton displays an unrelenting, unwavering desire to complete his goal. There have been many movies about assassins over the years but this is probably the best. Chigurh, at times, leaves someone's fate up to chance and will even interact with victims in conversation before he dispatches them. He does it ruthlessly and yet does not display any love for his job. Here is a scene from the movie:
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Anton Chigurh epitomises nihilistic thinking. It is chance that dictates our fate and not God, or so we are told. Of course this brings up the tender topic of Calvinism which I do not wish to discuss in this article. I merely want to show two examples of the despair and pessimism of existential nihilism. That is, life exists without purpose, we are insignificant and our actions do not have any bearing in the grand scheme of things. In philosophical terms this may not be entirely accurate, but it is enough to for us to understand nihilism in a simple form.
Nihilism is a perception which exists widely among western nations because it inexorably springs and stems from atheism. It is where atheism leads in a philosophical sense. This is unfortunate because, as Christians, we know there is purpose and meaning; hope and joy in this life. It is not just wishful thinking to believe our lives are given purpose through Jesus' sacrifice. I will, perhaps, leave the last words up to C. S. Lewis as he describes his conversion:
"But what, in conclusion, of Joy? for that, after all, is what the story has mainly been about....
I now know that the experience, considered as a state of my own mind, had never had the kind of importance I once gave it. It was valuable only as a pointer to something other and outer."
Chris's adultery is hardly honourable, and it is not portrayed as ethical in this movie, yet somehow Allen keeps us riveted on the moral corruption of Chris Wilton.
This is a similar theme in the 2007 epic No Country For Old Men. This is an undeniably good film by the brilliant Coen brothers. Their character depth and emotional themes is as good as any director filming in Hollywood at this time. In No Country For Old Men we again have a protagonist who could also equally be the film's antagonist. Anton Chigurh (Academy-award winning Javier Bardem for this performance) is a hitman in 80s Texas and is trying to track a large amount of money which has fallen into Llewelyn Moss's (Josh Brolin) possession.