There are objects lying on the lawn, ranging from an old record player to a dusty television. On that lawn lays a man in his sofa, watching people pass by and for some reason, he seems desperate. Then, a boy and a girl come by to look at a television among all objects. They ask for price. The man gives them price. The girl lowers price. The man accepts it. The couple continues to look for objects and the man accepts whatever prices they demand for. Then, the man asks them why not dance and the girl dances with the man. Looking into his face, the girl asks him why he is so desperate.
This is the summary of “Why don’t you dance?”, or practically all of it. This is merely a two-page short story and I was surprised when I heard of a movie adaptation of this story. Come to think of it, the movie logically could not have been two-minute long for it would certainly not go on stage. Therefore, it must have been a hour long movie. Yet, reading only the two-page story, I was unable to imagine how that was possible.
Nick Halsey is fired from his lifetime job due to an affair he had with a woman, which he does not even remember. Despaired, he returns home only to find out that his wife had left him, with his house locked and his belongings thrown outside. Unable to enter his once home, he decides to spend the night in his sofa on the lawn. At first, he refuses to accept the brutal reality but thanks to his neighbors such as Kenny and Samantha, he begins to learn how to let go of things he once desperately held on to. Passing through the ordeal, he eventually drinks the elixir to start a new life from a fresh start.
Dan Rush, the director and the writer of “Everything must go”, successfully turns the two-page novel into a two-hour movie. Personally, I would not have even imagined thinking of all the events or feelings the main character goes through just by reading that two-page story. Yet, Dan does come out with a result, pulling out threads of Nick’s life story from only two pages. Additionally, the events portrayed on the screen are seemingly close to reality that we are able to sympathize with Nick and go through his ordeal together until he reaches the elixir.
In conclusion, I must acclaim both Dan Rush and Raymond Carver for their excellent work in both film and novel, for Dan brings Nick into life from a two-page story and Raymond portrays a lifelong story in a mere two-page novel.
