Last night Josh came over and we were talking about Ali (BTW the soundtrack they have for sale sucks!). And we were wondering about the period of Muhammed Ali's life they chose to document.
I mean, if you were just watching Ali as a straight story based on a fictional character, you would wonder about the trajectory. Why are they going to Africa now? What's with that Malcolm X? huh?
And it is only highly fictionalized accounts of real people's lives that engineer a satisfying climax to the story, followed by a reflective denouement. Otherwise, you'd just be watching this person go through life. Where's the payoff?
But I guess that is what ruins it for us. We are so used to engineered stories, we build up these expectations for our own lives based on principles like (the) "rise and fall' (of).
As for me, I am confused. When do I hire the orchestra to play heart-rending tunes to underscore the climax of my life?
