Me & Marley Movie Review

Cinematic Intelligence Agency

A very late post… 

After the seemingly unending hour of heart thumping and nerve-wracking incident which by the way happened last night (no need to elaborate on the gory details), I decided veering away from the drama and tension IT life is bombarding me with. I watched Koizara and Marley & Me. Don’t get me wrong on this, both films were tearjerkers but the latter was less as poignant as the former one. And after watching Marley & Me with swollen eyes, I decided to blog my thoughts on the movie (a very nice way to break the ice and jumpstart my blog). Oh well, here are my thoughts…

If you’ve seen HACHIKO which made me cried buckets of tears then Marley & Me will give you that same feeling but with a touch of familial connection.

The story revolves around the married life of John and Jenny (both writers by profession) and their endless plans for them and their soon to be family. With the hectic life both couple have they both decided on getting a dog instead of raising children of their own. They find raising dogs as a way of preparing them for their future children; Then came Marley, (a Labrador) their Clarence puppy which they bought from a farm. I may not be good in summarizing the plot but in this post you’ll definitely be able to depict the essence of the story and the emotional intensity the movie has impacted me.

Then the plot goes to Jenny having her first miscarriage. It was devastating, but still the couple managed to pick up the broken pieces and start anew with everything. Fortunately they had their first baby boy named Patrick, and then came Conor, and Colleen. 

The story centers on the importance and trustworthiness of dogs towards their masters. What made the movie unforgettable was the connection of Marley and John as well as with Jenny. Though Marley was incorrigible, shameless, and was tagged as “The Worst Dog” in John’s popular column he was loved by his family. In distressful times Marley was silently there in the background, paying much attention to the environment he’s with. Many would say Marley is a useless dog himself but all the while he was there for his family. In the near end part Marley suffered from a severe stomach disease or some sort of illness which led to John deciding on stopping Marley’s agony that means euthanizing the dog. With the plot thickening and the emotions intensifying, I have to accept that the story would somehow leave a mark on me, like what Hackiko did. I’ll be forever a dog lover. Thanks to Marley, Balto, and Hachiko; the dogs that showed true courage, love, and faith. 

“A dog has no use for fancy cars, or big homes, or designer clothes. A waterlog stick will do just fine. A dog didn’t care if you’re rich or poor, clever, dull, smart or dumb. Give ‘em your heart and it will give you his.

How many people can say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?”

-John (Owen Wilson)