The Professor (2018)

Title: The Professor

Director: Wayne Roberts

Release Date: 2018

Starring: Johnny Depp, Rosemarie DeWitt, Danny Huston

"The Professor" is a 2018 dark comedy-drama movie directed by Wayne Roberts. Johnny Depp stars in the film as a college teacher called Richard, whose life is turned upside down after a terminal cancer diagnosis.

Plot Summary
At the onset of the film, college teacher Richard is identified with Stage 4 lung cancer. After receiving the devastating diagnosis, he chooses not to pursue treatment, successfully receiving a six-month death sentence. As he participates in what is assumed to be his final term of mentor, Richard's stoic and academic demeanor considerably alters.

Spontaneously throwing out the curriculum of his class, Richard encourages intellectual growth through non-conventional ways. He ends up being extremely honest to students and associates, and adopts a hedonistic way of life, including drinking, smoking cigarettes and negligent habits. He ranges himself from the regimens that defined his mundane life and begins breaking social standards without facing any effects due to his medical condition.

Characters and Relationships
Richard's better half, Veronica (Rosemarie DeWitt), is having an affair with the college's chancellor (Ron Livingston), a reality that Richard confronts her with after he learns more about his condition. Conversely, Richard forms an unlikely bond with among his most skilled and fully grown trainees, Claire (Odessa Young). Claire becomes his confidante, supporting him mentally during his individual crisis.

Richard and Claire's connection deepens as the movie progresses. They link by discussing comprehensive subjects, including life, death, and love. This relationship, while not romantic, acts as a vital pillar of Richard's disorderly life.

Ending
Results of Richard's cancer treatment reveal some enhancement, suggesting he might live longer than initially anticipated. This possible reprieve forms the movie's climactic twist. Nevertheless, living longer is not necessarily a favorable advancement for Richard who once approached his illness with negligent approval and was living every day as if it were his last.

Thematic Elements
"The Professor" uses dark humor and drama to navigate the intricate principles of life, death, and human relationships. The movie highlights the absurdity of societal conventions when completion is near and life is finite. The unorthodox teaching techniques, raw perspectives of Richard, and the screen of the fragility of human relationships make this film humorous and deeply moving.

Partly, "The Professor" has to do with rebellion against social norms. It's also about discovering function and redefining your own life by yourself terms, even in the face of inescapable death. The film uses Richard's depressing diagnosis to advocate for existentialism, flexibility of choice, and individualism.

Conclusion
In conclusion, "The Professor" with Johnny Depp provides a poignant and engaging analysis of a tortured guy facing the certainty of death. The movie demonstrates how our regard for social norms can collapse in the light of our death, leading to the pursuit of hedonistic desires, brutal sincerity, and breaking away from the ordinary routine. The movie might be dark and sometimes comedic, but it offers a frank approach in checking out a tight spot through its lead character. It promotes the audience to contemplate upon the existential question, "How would you live if you knew you were passing away?"

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