Movie "Lucky" (2017) shows an unhurried universe

The movie "Lucky" seems a welcome reprieve from the intensity of contemporary life. Here's a charming group of people living in the most modest way, certainly unhurried. Society as a whole lunges forward as if people cannot get enough caffeine. In the old days we called it "keeping up with the Joneses."
We set increasingly high standards for determining what the good life is. We see new homes that appear futuristic compared to the typical old houses in the old residential core of your typical city. We can gain knowledge online within seconds about how we might improve our lives in some way. But in "Lucky," starring Harry Dean Stanton, the pace is assuredly slow and the standards for determining happiness most modest.
Here's this ramshackle little town in the desert Southwest. The buildings are, shall we say, utilitarian. People there would be puzzled if anyone suggested a need to upgrade. So while the world hurtles along, frantically seeking happiness through endless new wrinkles, gadgets or whatever, here's this little town where people hardly seem aware that time is passing.
People there have their routine which typically included stopping at the "diner." It's an asset all small towns ought to have: a main street diner where you walk in from the sidewalk prepared to see familiar faces and to chat a little. The conversation topics can be trivial, no matter, they are worth our attention at the time. We seemingly accomplish nothing, yet there is an essential air to such meandering. Are we simply assuring each other that life is going on as we expect it to?
The Stanton character certainly has his routine. Advancing age is certainly taking a toll on this character. So the movie makes us ponder our mortality. We see how precarious it can be for a very old person to stay at home alone. People in their 90s present few clear cut answers for those in the medical or caregiving community. Yes, hospice nurses can prescribe lots of answers for keeping a person stable and comfortable. But here's the deal: the end will come.
The Stanton character sees his doctor after experiencing a mysterious fall. Indeed, falls can be the bane of the existence for elderly people. We have nursing homes that do yeoman's work. We have "assisted care" which is an evolving concept. I read a few years back that assisted care is more of a philosophy than an established body of practice. The vain boomers eschew the concept of nursing homes, saying instead "oh, I'll just use assisted care." Sadly it's not that simple. By the time a boomer realizes the time has come to seek assistance, that person probably has issues that will call for a greater level of care.
I totally admire the doctor character in "Lucky" for his realistic approach. It's consistent with "comfort care" where the objective is to ensure that the patient can live as comfortably as possible, even if it means putting aside the most logical medical protocol. Yes, the time comes when we can no longer cure every problem. In many cases we could employ extraordinary medical measures to keep someone alive a little longer. But in hospice care, compromise is an operating principle. The patient seeks to keep his/her dignity and to even keep some autonomy, like being allowed to stay at home as "Lucky" does. The doctor tells him "I could tell you to quit smoking but I think it would do more harm than good."
The movie reminds me of the "Prairie Home Companion" movie. It made us think about death or the sheer inevitability of death. And what comes after. In spite of the speculation we hear from "Lucky," not real upbeat shall I say, we really cannot know. It's impossible.
After Lucky's fall, the movie takes a profound turn, departing from a light portrayal of this old guy and getting into the profound realm, touching on loneliness. And certainly mortality. Lucky declares there is no soul. What then does his consciousness owe itself to, because surely the old man has character and personality?
We can see ourselves in Lucky, the way we could easily end up if we dodge enough health hurdles to make it to our 90s. We hope that God is ushering Lucky along, getting him ready for what really awaits him, what I'm certain is much better than what the old man himself foresees. Maybe he has become discouraged by his failing body. His doctor says no one has ever lived forever - the body breaks down. This is the reality that hospice nurses live with every day.
Hospice nurses need a special blessing from our Lord. They know that all patients could benefit from intensive intervention. But they know that realistically, people want some sense of familiarity and continuity with their surroundings as their decline continues or accelerates. No one has lived forever. In many cases we just need someone's hand to hold. We need someone to be reassuring, helping us hang on to precious life for as long as our maker ordains. Maybe Native Americans have it right when they simply talk about "the creator."
Harry Dean Stanton himself is in "a better place" now, as his frail body in the movie was a precursor to his own end of life (on Sept. 15, 2017). His "Lucky" character was surely curmudgeonly and resigned about a bleak afterlife (if any afterlife at all). But God bless the character anyway.
I will never use the term "old coot" about anyone like that. I have had members of my own family age to where they have Lucky's frailty and failings. We ought to feel nothing but unconditional love. I am a boomer and when my generation was young, we could be so smart-alecky about elderly people as we joked about how they'd need applesauce so much etc. We joked about Branson MO being a magnet for old people. We should have been struck by lightning. We're older and wiser now.
We can see ourselves in Lucky's shoes someday. And we'll appreciate empathy like from Lucky's doctor.
"Lucky" is a 2017 film directed by John Carroll Lynch. The screenplay is by Logan Sparks and Drago Sumonja. The movie has a 98 percent rating on "Rotten Tomatoes." God or "the creator" will forgive Lucky for being an atheist. I thank Anne Barber, Morris MN public library director, for suggesting this movie for me to watch.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com