The Life Survey
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Jonze
Writer: Wyatt Allen
Cast: Jesse Plemons, Christopher Walken, Geoffrey Rush, Lou de Laage, Kim Min-hee, Alan Kim, Roman Griffin Davis
Plot: A man (Jesse Plemons) is sleeping while sitting down in a waiting room. Charlie Crawford gets called out by the woman behind the front desk, but no one seems to react. An old woman carefully wakes the sleeping man up, asking him if he is Charlie Crawford. He is.
Charlie gets called to an office, where an official (Christopher Walken) is already greeting him. Charlie honestly tells him that he is a bit rattled and doesn’t really know where he is. The official makes some fun of Charlie, telling him that he caught him sleeping in the waiting room, snoring so loud other people complained. He than tells Charlie that this is some sort of citizen survey about the current well-being of the average American that he agreed to take part in. The official tells Charlie that he has to talk a bit about his life with him today and asks him if he is happy with his life overall. Charlie tells him he is. Ever since he was young he was obsessed with photography, works in a photographic studio, started taking photos as a kid and now makes some money out of it on the side. The official asks him if he would have to pick one particular moment in life what would it be. Charlie is thinking for a short time and than quickly comes up with the time he won an award for a photo series of his.
The official is interested on how Charlie has found his interest in photography at such a young age and always kept it alive. Charlie begins to explain as we see a younger Charlie (Roman Griffin Davis) entering an old whimsical but kind of charming photographic studio. Charlie seems like a quiet introverted kid who doesn’t have much friends and escapes the real world through his camera. He always went to the same old photo studio where the owner Walter (Geoffrey Rush) already recognized him because he visited the store so often. He never really knew why, but Walter took a liking to young Charlie and even gifted him his first camera. They developed a friendship through their interest for photography, Walter even was the first to take a look at his photos and gave him feedback. Charlie says that he owes a lot to him, he also started working at Walter‘s old studio when he was old enough. He vividly remembers this carefree time just going to Walter’s store and sharing his interest with him.
The official tells Charlie that he used to have huge crush on a woman who was into photography but that was a very long time ago. He jokingly offered to pose nude for her, but wasn’t successful in that. He mentions that it is hard sometimes to find the right words, even more when it’s a person you don’t know very well. He goes on to ask Charlie if he is more the type of guy to initiate conversations with new people or more someone who waits on others to talk to him. Charlie says that he is rarely the one initiating, as he only really remembers one time where he did. The official is interested and would like to here more about it.
We see an already grown Charlie entering the supermarket, where he sees a young woman (Lou de Laage) working there. Charlie tells the official that every time he went into that store, he hoped she was there. He already knew her name is Marleen as he overheard a coworker calling her by her name and he also heart Marleen talking with a cute french accent. He went weeks without making a move on her. The official asks him why he didn’t just talk to her, Charlie tells him that he couldn’t imagine how to do it, what to say to her. He couldn’t imagine her giving him her number or anything like that, he was just missing the self confidence. But on this day he just went for it. He told her she looks cute, asks for her name and for her number. He doesn’t really remember what exactly he told her but he remembers being very nervous and almost stumbling over his own words. The official asks him if his braveness was rewarded and Charlie tells him it was, as he got her number and went on a date with her.
Marleen and Charlie and going for a walk in the park. The weather is great, the sun is shining and Marleen looks stunning in a beautiful summer dress. Charlie tells the official that he couldn’t fathom a beautiful woman like her going on a date with him, it seemed surreal to him. After a bit of awkwardness their conversation really flourishes when Charlie tells her about his job in a photo studio owned by his best friend and about how passionate he is about photography. Marleen loves it and tells him about her dream to be a successful actress. While talking about big dreams, Charlie tells her about being a photographer and how he wants to be succesful in that. Marleen is impressed by it, as she loves to have found someone who has similar big dreams.
They fall in love and soon move together, supporting each other to chase their dreams and sometimes just enjoying their time on the couch together after a long work day. Charlie is working on his portfolio while Marleen is engaged to get more auditions. One time when they are chilling on the couch she tells him about an audition she recently had that was really weird. The producer didn’t even seem to look at her and acted very disinterested, which makes her think that she won’t hear back from them. Charlie tries to keep her spirit up and tells her to keep a positive mindset.
Charlie and Marleen are enjoying a sunny day eating ice cream while having conversation. Charlie makes fun of Marleen because she also bought some fries to dip into the ice cream, the way she would always eat ice cream. Marleen asks Charlie if there is something he always wanted to do but never has. Charlie tells her that he had always wanted to live abroad for a while, maybe in Asia or some other far away region to get some new inspiration his photos. Marleen playfully teases Charlie that he already is too shy to talk to people in his own language sometimes. She suddenly gets a phone call. In a very quick call she gets seemingly excited and thanks the other person for the call. She hangs up and with a very big smile on her face tells Charlie that she got the role that she auditioned for. Charlie hugs her and is very happy for her.
Marleen’s more social and outgoing personality is having a positive impact on Charlie, who gets along great with Marleen’s friends and colleagues and Marleen did get along great with Walter, which was pretty important to Charlie. Charlie tells the official that it was a huge change for him, going from his very antisocial and shy self to this more social life. But he liked it and felt confident with Marleen on his side, like he could do everything with her support.
Charlie also makes much progress with the portfolio, he would always have to print out the photographs because Walter’s use of modern technology was pretty limited, as he didn’t even have a phone. Charlie loved discussing his photo series with Walter and really appreciated that after all those years Walter still took his time to go through it. He and Walter would send Charlie’s photos to online magazines and advertisement companies trying to get Charlie some jobs, but their effort is mostly profitless.
Charlie explains to the official that he was so happy that Marleen got the role, but he didn’t know at the time that this would result in their relationship ending soon. In Charlie’s apartment - Marleen with a serious demeanor has to tell Charlie something and wants him to sit down. She begins that she doesn’t know how to tell it to him, as the sound of their conversation slowly fades out, while a voice over from the older Charlie explains to the official that Marleen cheated on Charlie with the producer from the movie she is supposed to play in. Charlie explains to the official that it really hurt him, while we see Marleen and him argue. They broke up that night
The official empathizes with Charlie, telling him that it’s really tough to go through things like that. He himself has had a few bad breakups like that and understands Charlie’s pain. But he praises Charlie for going up to her and talking to her in the first place, saying that he made some beautiful memories that nobody can take from him. The official asks Charlie how he coped with it.
We see Charlie at an airport with his bags while in a voice over he tells the official that he had a hard time coping with Marleen’s betrayal. He thought that they had a future together but got proven wrong. He changed so much but without her, he felt like he would be back to his old self in no time. So to prevent that he wanted to do something brave, something to challenge himself and so he decided to let go of his job and travel to South Korea. He left a note for Walter, didn’t even say good bye to him in person, as he felt like he might have changed his decision. He was scared but decided that he really needed to do it, even if it’s just to get out.
He tells the official that in the beginning he had problems settling in, it was hard for him to be on his own in a foreign country, without knowing the language. He often thought about Marleen, he would see her face in his thoughts, he would think about her cute french accent, her beautiful summer dresses flowing in the wind, even the weird way in which she would eat her ice cream with fries. He thought that many Koreans could probably speak decent English, but was proven wrong. Normal everyday things turned into a big struggle for him, not knowing how to communicate. He thought about going back pretty often, but never did.
One day, while Charlie is taking pictures of the city, a Korean woman approaches him, asking him in broken English if he could take a picture of her with her son. Of course Charlie does and they are having a conversation. The woman introduces herself as Ji-min (Kim Min-hee) and her son who seems to be very shy is Min-ho (Alan Kim). Ji-min thanks Charlie for taking the picture and tells him that the company she is working for is currently looking for a photographer. She gives him a number and tells him to call that number.
Charlie got the job with the help from Ji-min. He loved that he could work on his career more in South Korea, he felt like he had an advantage over there by standing out as a foreigner. He also invited Ji-min out to drink a coffee with him to thank her for giving him the opportunity. They got along really well. Ji-min tells her a lot about the country and also her personal life, mostly her son Min-ho whom she raises alone. She tells him that Min-ho’s father left them shortly after Min-ho was born and now has a family with another woman. After coffee they went for a walk and Charlie recites that he really enjoyed getting to know her, as he thought she was a beautiful human being. He would also soon get to know her son better. She warned him that he might not be easy on him, but Min-ho accepted Charlie pretty fast. Ever since he met Ji-min and Min-ho, Charlie explains to the official, that his time in South Korea couldn’t have been better.
Charlie, Ji-min and Min-ho start to act almost like a family with Charlie acting as a father figure and male role model for Min-ho. Charlie loves it, he explains to the official that he felt needed but also supported by them. He deeply fell in love with Ji-min and the way she cared for him and her son. In public everything was a bit different as they were staying a bit more low key there, as Ji-min was quite uncomfortable with showing her affection in public.
Charlie explains to the official that many Koreans didn’t like them being together. We see Charlie and Ji-min having dinner together at a restaurant, they are in a good mood, smiling at each other, seemingly being in love with each other. The people around them look at them quite often and seem to talk about them with their hands in front of their mouths. Ji-min notices this and it makes her uncomfortable. Charlie tells her to just ignore it, but she can’t seem to do it.
One day when Charlie is in Ji-min apartment he sees her crying on the couch. With no idea what is happening, he asks Ji-min what’s going on. Ji-min is telling Charlie that her family heard rumors about her being with a foreigner, she just got a call from her mother. Charlie is trying to calm her down, but Ji-min cares too much about what her family thinks of her to listen to Charlie. She tells Charlie that it’s better if they don’t see each other anymore. Charlie tells her that she is being impulsive and emotional, but Ji-min wants him to leave. She tells him she is sorry.
Charlie explains to the official that he got his heart broken again and once again he had to leave. He returned to the states two weeks after Ji-min broke up with him, he called her a couple of times before leaving but she didn’t answer, he never saw her again. He often thought about what might have happened if he just asked her and Min-ho to come with him but he wasn’t brave enough to really do it. He was too scared to get rejected. If she would have said yes? The official can’t believe it and is getting a bit angry at Charlie, asking him if he is serious. He tells Charlie that this is everything Charlie has ever wanted and he just leaves like that? He calms himself down and asks him to continue his story.
Charlie returned to the old photo studio to look for Walter, he was shocked to see that it got a complete makeover and looked pretty basic and boring now. When asking for Walter, he got informed that Walter died and his son took over the store. He had problems with his heart for a pretty long time and died a couple months ago – Charlie had no idea, didn’t even make it to his funeral. With tears in his eyes he tells the official he hated himself for leaving for South Korea without talking one last time to Walter, thanking him for everything.
After that Charlie decided to focus on his career as a photographer more, handing out portfolios of a photo series he took at his time in South Korea, but once again he gets rejected by all of them. He did go back to work at the photo studio now led by Walter’s son, as the bills had to be paid too, It felt weird being back at the same place, even though he was only in South Korea for about a year, it felt like he already was done with this place. He often asked himself why he didn’t move somewhere else, as he could go everywhere where he wanted to. But maybe the answer was that he was looking for comfort, a place that was familiar to him. He was dodging the super market where he met Marleen, but after he did go in after weeks of dodging it, he soon realized she wasn’t working there anymore.
One night he was meeting up with a coworker from the photo studio, they were just hanging out together watching TV. Suddenly a trailer is shown, where just for a split second Marleen is seen acting in a movie. Charlie explains that a really weird feeling in his stomach started to show up. He left late at night, still deep in his thoughts about Marleen while driving, until he got surprised by a bright light from the side, the sound of a car horn in the background. He hesitates
Back in the office. Charlie realizes that he got into an accident that night and it’s the last thing he remembers before getting here. The official finally tells him that he died that night. This place only exist in his subconscious and he is here to see his life passing him by one last time. Charlie is still in disbelief, but had already noticed that something about this place was off. He is devastated, he thought he had more time. He wished he would have put more of his time in his relationships as those were the things he remembered the most.
Once again the official is asking Charlie about his best moment in life, this time Charlie is giving an honest answer. He is telling the official about this trip he did with Ji-min and Min-ho where they visited the Seoraksan National Park. It was a great day and in the end they where watching the sunset with a great view from the Seoraksan, a mountain right around Seoul. It was a nice view especially with the sun going down, but the special thing about it was when Min-ho embraced Charlie and came in for a hug. Ji-min also noticed Min-ho’s behavior and also came closer to Charlie, so Charlie put his arm around her. For an outsider it probably didn’t look like a very big or special moment, but for him it meant a lot. These two people embracing him, felt really good to him. It felt like coming home, like he was part of their family. The official replies that it’s truly a beautiful memory that he can be proud of.
Charlie is finally ready, he stands up and targets the door behind the official. He is reaching for the doorknob but hesitates, small fragments of his life come to his mind and are shown to the viewer. A young Charlie taking pictures of his surroundings and sharing them with Walter, Marleen’s smile and her saying „I love you“ to Charlie, Charlie and Min-ho having fun playing together, his first time leaving the states and going to South Korea, him and Ji-min kissing, Charlie standing in front of Ji-min’s apartment, but turning away from it.
Charlie enters the door and it leads him directly back to his best moment in life, his time with Ji-min and Min-ho at the Seoraksan National Park. Ji-min and Min-ho are embracing him with a warm hug. Together they enjoy the sun going down one last time.
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