I watched the Morgan Freeman 2012 film “The Magic of Belle Isle” the other day and a few things stuck out to me. Freeman is not nearly the crotchety old man that Clint Eastwood is, (see Gran Torino for a most exemplary display of crotchetyness) but that’s not a bad thing.

Freeman plays an aged, disabled writer with bouts of alcoholism as well as bouts with the past he can’t attain – a wife whom he has lost and, with that heartbreak, his inspiration to write.

When his nephew sets him up to house and dog-sit a cottage on the summer resort mecca of Belle Isle hoping that he’ll be able to find the inspiration he needs, he begrudgingly befriends a single mom and her three kids who are still coping with the recent loss of their husband/dad through a messy divorce.

The middle daughter buys writing lessons off the famous writer, and in return, he starts to view his world in a new light, eventually finding the writing touch again.

The screen play is written with a steady and careful hand. There’s nothing twisting or turning or earth-shattering here, but that’s the point. It’s a beautiful human drama full of touching scenes and an over-arching desire to show how kindness and respect can make the world a better place.  And I’m all for that.

The screen writer could have taken the script in different, more dark, and trying directions, but I see that wasn’t his purpose, and that’s OK! Many critics panned it for being bland and predictable – perhaps it was – just like the predictable backlash many critics have for anything with a heart.

I enjoyed the movie; one I could watch with the whole family.