Sideways is set among the vineyards, grapes, wine barrels and beautiful landscape of rural California. It’s a film about wine but the wine may well be a metaphor for life itself. It’s quite common that most of us resort to alcohol when dreadful problems devour us. We seek refuge in its mind-numbing ingredient so we can forget even for a while the tragedy and deep pain we feel. We see it as our savior, a best friend that’s always there in times of need. In life, we are always looking for escape.
Sideways centers on the lives of best buddies Miles and Jack, who head on a weeklong drive to a "wine country" in California where they begin to question their purpose, the choices they make and the nature and strength of their relationships. Miles, excellently played by Paul Giamatti, a junior high school English teacher, is still drenched in the agony brought by his divorce and desperately hoping for his book to be published. Jack, on the other hand, played by Thomas Haden Church, is a former actor about to get married who thinks of their trip as his "last moments" of bachelorhood. He plans to get laid with another woman before giving himself to only one. That old thing.
As it was, Jack found his woman and had a relationship with her with the truth about his coming marriage kept secret. Miles was left with his brilliant mind and still clinging to memories of his ex-wife and the idea of being back together. Unfortunately, even that idea was dumped when Miles learned that his ex-wife remarried. Jack, sensing the air of cynicism and depression from his friend, urges Miles to make a move on Maya, a divorced woman who seems to be equally attracted to him. Jack introduces Miles as a published writer; another lie that they have to live by.
But eventually, everything gets screwed up and their lies pop out of the can. As a result, Jack is brutally beaten by the girl he had an affair with and Maya turns Miles down just when they are starting to hit it good. And once again, Miles succumbs to melancholy.Adding up to his seemingly endless shenanigans is a call that the publishers rejected his book!
I learn to love Sideways for its exquisite acting from Giamatti and Church. But beyond that, I like it for its simple and quiet delivery but very moving portrayal of hope and courage as powerful intrinsic human characteristics. Near the end of the film, the two men acknowledge their shortcomings and realize the things that are really important to them. Jack marries his fiancée and Miles goes back to where his heart truly is: Maya. The movie didn’t show the reunion between Maya and Miles but audiences will know that it is sweet, melodramatic, and filled with hope.
It’s cheesy to say that there’s always hope and that there’s always a bright side to everything. But it’s true. And sometimes, what appears to be the silliest things are the most profound. We just have to look deeply at their meanings.
Horrible things happen to people, even the good ones. But let us put in our minds that failure is always beside us. We cannot put every single thing under our fingertips. Living is unpredictable, difficult and sometimes chaotic. And these are why life is a very beautiful experience. We cannot lurk in loneliness and hate the world each time failure bites us. Life is a terrible thing to waste. We need to have the strength and courage to move on and accept whatever it is that life throws at us. We need to remember that there’s always hope and that nothing is impossible.