The Paper Chase

Well, with one semester of law school under my belt and with the "Available Until..." date approaching ever quickly on my OnDemand for this particular title, I figured it was about time that I sat down and watched The Paper Chase. To be perfectly honest, I tried to watch the movie a couple of months ago but I lacked the focus to watch it and I was totally turned off by the hair. The only guy I have ever thought could pull off even a semi-long hair look was Brad Pitt circa Legends of the Fall. But, I digress. Now that I have time to relax and am away from the high school life that is law school, I decided to watch a movie...about law school.

1973's The Paper Chase chronicles the life of first-year Harvard Law student James Hart (played by Timothy Bottoms--who until this movie, I knew as Emile Hirsch's dad in The Girl Next Door) as he tries to navigate the challenges of law school life (if you can even call it a life). I must admit, I am glad I did not see this movie until AFTER completing my first semester of law school. I would have been totally stressed out by notions that everyone was out to get me and that I would inevitably fail (granted, I still could fail...won't know until February). I have no idea what Harvard Law is like now, but it is still the best of the best so I am sure it's pretty cut-throat; luckily for me, that has not been my experience at IU--the people are pretty great and I have managed to have a life outside of law school. But once again, I digress.

On his first day of class, James Hart sets himself apart--the infamous Contracts professor, Mr. Kingsfield (an intensified version of Mr. Feenie), calls Hart out to recite the facts of the infamous Hawkins vs. McGee and he is caught unprepared. From that day on, Hart makes it his mission to impress Kingsfield and prove that he belongs at Harvard. But it's clear, everyone at Harvard wants to prove they belong--after all, Harvard Law is the best and the brightest. Hart joins a study group that turns out to be illustrative of the cut-throat nature of Harvard Law as a whole: Hart is pretty laid back, Thomas Anderson is a serious student on top of his game, Kevin Brooks is overwhelmed by the whole thing and his inability to deal with the pressures of law school ultimately drives him insane, Franklin Ford III is part of a Harvard Law legacy and turns out to be Hart's best law school comrade, and of course, there is the jerk--Willis-- whose selfishness gets him in the end (and, being human, I was glad). Like every law student, even those of us that are calm, cool, and collected, Hart has his moments of stress and intensity--luckily however, he's not the jerk; Hart's the good guy, the good friend, the motivated and underestimated student. Had Hart been the jerk, I may have gotten past his hair, but I would not have gotten past his 'tude!

And of course, there is a love story that further complicates Hart's life. The girl Hart falls for? None other than the daughter of Professor Kingsfield--except, Hart does not find that out right away. It is only after weeks of being dogged by Kingsfield and complaining about his horrid professor that he discovers the girl he has been seeing is Kingsfield's daughter (Susan Fields). Beyond the obvious complication of dating his dreaded professor's daughter, Susan having been married to a former law student, has little patience for Hart. Susan wants a relationship and life not all about organization; Hart seems unable to leave his law school life at law school and OBSESSES about organization (Obsessive about organization? I have never met such a person...).

With a year under his belt, Hart finally seems to get his footing. Although I have been lucky enough to have peers who did not make me want to throw myself down the stairs or made me feel like I was in it alone, I found the little challenges in Hart's life to be relatable. And despite law school being a unique experience to those who go to law school (regardless of WHAT law school one goes to), I think the nature of the challenges that Hart faces in regards to his relationships, his trying to maintain a semblance of his former self, and his striving to be successful are all experiences we share as human beings. Once I got past the hair, I thought the movie was enjoyable--there was nothing flashy about it, it was just a good story. My only issue with this movie? The ending. I think having gone through two weeks of exams and who knows how many weeks before that prepping for the end all be all, I think my fellow 1Ls would agree: WTF?!?

Well, back to hibernation I go! If you can follow my review, I congratulate you...my brain has become mush!

Tuning out! (For real this time!)
Erin

Click here to watch the trailer!