What Does It Mean To Be A THUMBSUCKER?

Deeper Thoughts About Thumbsucker

For the review click here.

Brief Overview

Although I recommend actually watching the movie before delving into this post, here is a brief look at Thumbsucker. Thumbsucker is about a teenager that is struggling to find confidence and direction in his life. He is on the debate team and can't even get up in front of the class without wanting to suck his thumb. He ends up meeting new people and trying new things as he learns to deal with his problems and tries to find himself. Yes; it is a brief overview. If you are looking for more overview, then please read the review here.

Topic of Focus

There are a few topics that float around during the film, but the one that stands out frequently is finding yourself. This is the broad and overall focus of Thumbsucker and can be demonstrated throughout the film. Justin is constantly hiding from others showing that he is not confident around other people and this stems from his own lack of self-esteem. Throughout the movie Justin tries different tactics to find himself and feel normal. First he resorts to the simple thing that he knows best; sucking his thumb. Of course this tactic is not the most appealing for his father and even for him as he has to hide it from the other students.

Then Justin starts acting up in school and actually getting himself in trouble to try and combat his lack of self-esteem. As the movie progresses, the school convinces him and his parents that he needs drugs for ADD or ADHD to help him concentrate in school. Justin believes that the drugs will help him because he is desperate to be "normal." In the end it boils down to his quest to find himself and be happy with who he is so that he can truly be happy.

Although it would seem that Justin is the only one in the movie who is being used as an example, it is actually everyone in the movie that shows this struggle. Justin's mother, dentist, girl friend, father, teacher, and others that he knows are all trying to figure out what they are trying to be. At first glance we only focus on Justin's problems, but when you step back you realize that the movie is talking about all of us.

Overall Mood

The mood of the film is subtle, but happy. There is conflict which obviously dampens the mood, but overall the light jokes and strange interactions keep the film very light and enjoyable. There is also a sad tone to this movie however. Justin is alone and the director has made an effort to make the viewer get into this lonely world. This is shown even from the very beginning of the movie. The music is almost sad and lonely while you are flooded with only pictures of solitary moments of the day. Overall the mood is happy with sad overtones throughout to bring the viewer back to the loneliness constantly.

Visual Queues

The opening sequence is shot with a blue overtone that says sad and lonely from the start. Immediately after going through a sequence of shots that show empty streets and quiet places it shows Justin in the clouds by himself and then his parents walk up to him. His reaction says it all; he is alone in the world and the only people who are there for him are his parents which he doesn't even want to communicate with. This only deepens his loneliness.

Deeper Dialogue

Justin often refers to his parents by their first name even though they are his real parents. This not only shows his separation from his parents, but his complete struggle to accept who he is and the life that he has. Keanu Reeves gives the words that encourage Justin to branch out and try different things to overcome his problem. This only begins the process for Justin to overcome. Vince Vaughn is the voice of reason, but is not even sure in himself. This character truly wants the best for Justin, but doesn't know what Justin needs and will not even stand up for what he thinks is right when the school suggests the medicine. Justin's mom also has tendencies to appear as though she is unstable as she is the one that he seems to converse with the most of his two parents. It seems that as the movie progresses that Justin is really not the only one who is trying to find himself. Actually every other major character in the movie is trying to figure out what they are trying to do with their lives. This is what eventually contributes to Justin's solution. He realizes that he is just like everyone else. Everyone is searching to find who they are and it is how each person tries to do that that defines us as people.

What This All Means

Thumbsucker is on the surface only about a teenager trying to stop sucking his thumb, but a deeper look reveals much more. This movie is about not just a teenager's struggle to find himself, but the struggle of all people to find themselves. The interactions between teenagers, parents and schools, and society and its determination to stifle peoples free will are also shown by Justin's interactions with the people around him. The parents and teachers at school are in the same position as Justin is, but do not want to admit it. They think that they can fix the problem by simply giving Justin medicine. This shows that society as a whole just wants to block out everything to make everything seem easier, but it just continues to spiral more and more out of control until you address it like Justin was finally able to do in the end. Justin is the example of what can happen when someone feels trapped by society and forced to be someone that he is not. In Justin's case the only thing that he felt that he could do is cower down and suck his thumb. Justin being a thumb sucker represents individuals that feel so stressed by the continually more hectic environment around them that they completely shut down and try to block out the world. This movie is a lesson to those of us who feel that our lives are too stressful to handle. Our lives are not too stressful if we allow ourselves to relax and enjoy life and accept things the way that they are.

The Editor's Thoughts

Thumbsucker meant a lot more to me than just quality filmmaking. It was quite evident that the filmmakers wanted to bring home a message about life and society. There are so many things that this movie may be trying to say that it almost seems scattered, but raises enough issues with society that it allows us to question not only who we are as an individual, but how society should be as a whole.

Now it is time to hear what you have to say about Thumbsucker.