Elvis and Anabelle

Last night, I saw the movie "Elvis and Anabelle" from 2007 for the first time, and I really fell in love with it.

Synopsis:

source: http://s11.bdbphotos.com/ima
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Elvis is an unlicensed mortician in his family's funeral home, a once splendid American Gothic in rural Texas. His sense of family obligation and love for his eccentric, infirm father keep him from following his dreams.

Anabelle is a small-town beauty queen being groomed for the big time by her pushy, show-biz mother. All her decisions are made for her - she just has to make sure she fits the part.

Their two lives are worlds apart, but those worlds collide when Anabelle, in a moment of triumph, collapses and dies on a beauty pageant catwalk - and ends up on Elvis's embalming table. As he is about to go to work on a dark and stormy night, Elvis magically revives Anabelle with an impulsive, innocent kiss. (It actually is a bit different, less "magically", more about medicin, but yet very sweet...)

News of the miraculous recovery sparks a media frenzy, but despite her mother's efforts to capitalize on all the attention, Anabelle finds that she's changed. Worn down by her mother and the media hype, and haunted by visions of her uncanny awakening, Anabelle is drawn back to the funeral home.

There, with the reluctant help of Elvis and the enthusiastic support of his father Charlie, Anabelle finds refuge and also begins to find herself. She and Elvis gradually start to connect, but her past is closing in - along with her mother, the police, and the relentless news hounds.

That sends Elvis and Anabelle on a mad dash to the Texas coast, where they discover a sense of freedom that neither of them had ever known, and where they soon discover their true feelings for one another.

But the world is close behind, and soon the young lovers are torn apart by tragic events that leave each of them alone to question their lives, their choices, and their love. In the end both Elvis and Anabelle must face their own demons before they are able to realize that for every tragedy there's a miracle waiting to happen.

source: (http://www.elvisandanabelle.com/eaflash/elvisanabellemovie.html)

It is just a magical movie, that slowly follows Elvis and Anabelle's love story and how they find to themselves.

The story is moving, and the phenomenally written characters and good actors, that are taking part, make it as beautiful as it is. Gossip Girl's Blake Lively is, well, ok, though I love her role. But the best are actually the men, I like Max Minghella (Elvis), and the one I LOVE is Joe Mantegna. He is most known for Criminal Minds, which has most of the times very flat stories, but in "E&A", he acts without putting himself in the foreground, very calm, not piteously. And his character, Elvis's father Charlie, who has slowly been losing his lucidity, is so sweet and, as mentioned, perfectly written.

What is great, too, is the soundtrack. My two favourite songs (and the most popular ones) are "Via Con Me" from Paolo Conte and "First Day Of My Life" by Bright Eyes, which is played in a really beautiful scene.

(Not knowing the movie, you should probably not watch these videos, if you don't want to be spoilered. But still, if you know the context, the scenes are a lot more intense)

So, if you haven't seen the movie so far, you really have to or you are missing so much.
And if you already know it, go and see it on more time. Or two more times. That is what I am going to do...