Movie Mondays: P.S. I Love You, Crying Not Optional

I traveled for a funeral this week, so the touching P.S. I Love You written and directed by Richard LaGravenese has been on my mind. This movie made me cry as hard as The Man in the Moon, Bridges of Madison County (another LaGravenese work), and My Girl. These movies all deal with death--of a person or relationship--but P.S. I Love You really got to me because it showed the relationship between Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler's characters at their best and worst.
This tactic makes the move that much more touching. It shows a real relationship--with the stress of managing money, pleasing family, when to have kids--all those big and small issues that start making cracks in the foundation of your relationship. These cracks can drive you apart, or you can work together to fill them in and make your bond even stronger. This couple was the kind of couple that would be described as passionate--they fought hard, loved hard, and were both strong personalities--but in the end, they had a strong, loving foundation that focused on fun and happiness.
The bottom line is that love is more important than anything and that everyone should strive to have love in their life no matter what tragedies they have faced or how scared they are to be hurt again. Hillary Swank may have been a woman that never recovered from the love of her life dying from cancer; however, her husband didn't want her to pine away and grow old without finding love again so he devised a way to help her heal over time with weekly letters, gifts, and even a huge vacation for her and her two best friends to Ireland.
The love he had for her, the planning he put into the year after his death, and the strength of their bond make you want to squeeze everything you can out of ever day. P.S. I Love You makes you want to never settle for less than a love that consumes you, and a partner who pushes you to be the best version of yourself.
The sequence of events were laid out perfectly, with a lot of back and forth that slowly tells the story of their courtship and her year of mourning. The emotional rollercoaster perfectly captures the rollercoaster that was their relationship, just as all relationships are. And LaGravenese's movie encourages you that no matter what happens to you, you owe it to the people who love you and have loved you to embrace these ups and downs and live a full, meaningful life with as much happiness as possible packed into the time you have.
A must-watch, preferably alone with a box of Kleenexes, wine, and a cozy blanket the first time, and then again with your significant other so you can both finish the movie with the intent of appreciating each other more every day.