Tuck Everlasting movie review/ my thoughts on immortality

I know almost everyone in the world has thought about living forever. In the movie Tuck Everlasting, based on the book by Natalie Babbitt, a family’s life was changed forever by a simple drink of water. Tuck Everlasting tells the story of the Tuck’s, a family with the curse of immortality. It all started one day when their family was on a trip, they were thirsty and one of their sons spotted a spring coming from one of the forest trees. They all drank from this water, Jesse, Miles, Tuck, Mae, and even the horse. The family continues their journey and as a series of unfortunate events start to happen, they begin to suspect something is very wrong. Years go by and none of them age a day, they get injuries that should kill them but don’t. Then their cat dies, who didn’t drink from the spring. Realizing what’s happened, they must continuously move, or people will notice their never changing forms.  

The movie starts with Mae travelling to see her children as she does once every ten years. Later Jesse meets a girl, her name is Winnie, she’s rich, sheltered, and lonely. They fall in love, but the Tuck’s secret causes trouble, if people were to find out who knows what they’d do? A man has been tracking them for years and he’s figured it out, he’s willing to do anything and everything to unravel the truth. He plans to become rich and make people pay to be able to live forever. However, the Tuck’s are set on not allowing this to happen, they see immortality as a curse.  

Life was meant to be enjoyed, savored, and valued, and when the time comes it’s over, there shouldn’t be any work arounds. With life you get death, that’s just how it works. If you think about it now, sure living forever sounds irresistible. But Tuck speaks from experience, when Winnie wants to drink from the spring so she can be with Jesse forever, he explains to her the true meaning of living and dying. He uses the symbolism of a wheel, and how it never stops turning. After all this time, he doesn’t see his family as living, more so merely existing. Constantly having to move, never being able to get close to anyone, keeping a secret as big as theirs are all just some of the many problems they’re faced with.  

I must agree with Tuck’s words, as lovely as it sounds to never have to part with the world, I think there should be an end. Think of how terrible it would be to always be keeping a secret like that. There would be so many risks if people found out, you could be used for research or possibly shunned and accused of black magic. I don’t think that’s a good way to live at all. In fact, after so long it’s not even living anymore, you really are just existing. Life is a cycle, and all cycles must have a form of balance. The balance of the cycle of life just so happens to be death. Like Tuck said, don’t be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.