Theme:
The movie’s about relationships between a young boy and those around him. It’s about an idea that’s filled with love that will reach out to billions of people around the world.
Though at first, it seems as if the Pay It Forward idea doesn’t work, it actually does. Without Trevor knowing, with painstaking slowness,
those whom he helped, start to help others out.
Trevor’s Character:
Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) is a boy who comes from a broken family. His mother’s an alcoholic who has 2 odd jobs in a day and because of this, they don’t get to spend a lot of time together. His father, who’s also an alcoholic, isn’t a strong man. He doesn’t live with the family because he never was sober.
Therefore, Trevor doesn’t really know how a normal childhood would be like. He had to mature early for his age, emotionally and mentally. He had too many responsibilities at such an early age. I feel that he’s a boy who can’t trust anyone easily. This is because of his lack of security at home without a father and an almost non-existent mother. In spite of all this, he’s wise beyond his years.
Hence, when he’s given an assignment in Social Studies, instead of using the assignment to inspire him to think of ideas, he actually takes action upon it. This was not expected of a boy of eleven. His idea was about love and faith reaching out to many people. It bestows hope. It’s where he would help 3 people do something that they wouldn’t be able do themselves. In turn, each of these 3 people helps 3 others. And the cycle of love and faith goes on, spreading to as many as it can reach.
Personal Opinion:
I think that Pay It Forward is truly an excellent movie. It is very emotional. It talks about issues that are in reality, a very big problem in many households. The character I love best is Trevor McKinney. He was a strong boy despite of all his family problems. However, it was very painful to watch him die at the end of the movie while doing what...