PS I Love You

The idea of getting help from beyond the grave might sound pretty creepy but PS I Love You succeeds in making a tacky premise heart warming and life affirming.

Richard LaGravenese who directed Hilary Swank earlier this year in the inspirational film Freedom Writers has teamed up with her once again. This time they tell the story of a young woman whose husband dies from a brain tumour in his mid-30s but leaves behind a cleverly planned series of ten messages, which will help guide his wife long after his death.

When PS I Love You first introduces Holly (Swank) and Gerry (Gerard Butler, who portrayed Leonidas in 300) they are a couple troubled by the pressures of life and the differences in their personalities. However, the passion used in their fighting soon turns to passion in their affection for one another.

After the happiness of the couple is established, the film jarringly jumps to Gerry’s wake. Rugged and charming Irishman Gerry has died after ten years of marriage to his beautiful, young American bride Holly. While the wake allows for moments of levity among Holly and her family and friends, as the months proceed Holly becomes a recluse in her apartment.

After weeks holed up alone watching old movies and singing to herself, avoiding work or the shower, Holly is still displaying a rather extreme expression of morning. When Holly’s mother and two best friends find her in this state they insist that the time for weeping and mourning needs to wind down and the living of a full, healthy life needs to recommence. As the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance”.

When a birthday cake and tape-recorded message from Gerry mysteriously arrives to Holly’s apartment, it marks the beginning of a series of letters instructing her to perform unusual requests.

Each tape-recording and letter from Gerry finishes “PS I Love You”, which gets everyone on screen teary and is sure to have the same effect on many in the audience.

While the premise may seem a little far-fetched it is an interesting way of looking at the theme of guidance.

Gerry’s messages help Holly leave behind her mourning and enter a year of wild adventures and a life journey that he has planned for her. Through Gerry’s prompting, Holly is forced to discover who she is without him.

Gerry’s letters force Holly to try daring things that she never would have had the courage to do otherwise. She sings karaoke, she travels to Ireland and has a romantic encounter (albeit an inappropriate one with Gerry’s best friend) and finally she learns to become open to new love and a career change upon her return home.

The concept of receiving guidance from someone not present in a physical, bodily sense has obvious parallels with the Christian experience. Now, I would never want to allegorise PS I Love You with biblical Christianity. After all, in PS I Love You Gerry has merely used his last months alive to cleverly plan for a series of messages to be delivered to his wife after his death. Christians who believe the Bible and trust and live by the word of God are being guided by a living God.

Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that “the word of God is living and active. In 2 Timothy 3:16 we are told that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” The words of the living God in the Bible are true, useful and correct always and forever.

This is not to say that the words of humans, living or dead, are not useful. Throughout the New Testament, Christians are told to speak words of encouragement because God regards them as valuable. And throughout history, both Christians and non-Christians have produced works containing wisdom that is useful for the benefit of humanity. However, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians “the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength”.

There is a weight to God’s word and wisdom that man can never hope to equal by his own means.

Christians often find it difficult to trust God’s words and live by them because God is not physically present in a tangible sense. We might doubt his word because it was written thousands of years ago and forget that the promises in the Bible are as true today as they were when they were written.

As Holly is faithful to the helpful messages of her dead husband she ends up freeing herself from her pain and doubt. Maybe if Christians displayed such faith in the word of God, we might experience far more freedom in this world and witness far more effectively for the God who saves us.

However, unlike Holly, who has to rely upon herself to follow her husband’s prompts, Christians are given a helper to stay faithful to God. Romans 8 says the Holy Spirit is able to help us in our weakness. “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”

PS I Love You is a romantic drama with a good dose of laughs that will pull at your heart strings. If you buy the premise, the film is an enjoyable ride. However, the love that appears to transcend death as depicted in this film is only a shadow of the love that God has shown us in sending his son Jesus Christ. The gospel is the world’s greatest “PS I Love You” message.

Latest articles in watching
- The Wager - 2 weeks, 3 days ago
- Packed to the Rafters - 3 weeks, 3 days ago
- Burn After Reading - 1 month ago