Hancock the Movie (with Spoilers)

Somehow, a few of my coworkers and I got in a discussion on the subject of 'soul mates' and whether or not we believed in them. Surprisingly the majority of my coworkers did not believe in them. One person thought it was sad that you could go your entire life and never meet your soul mate. I can understand that but I tried to explain that not having your soul mate doesn't mean you won't have someone that you love or that you'll be unhappy. The people that didn't believe then asked what was the difference then? I found that difficult to explain but the others that believed gave a similar explanation to mine. Finally, one believer phrased it very well. He simply said that, 'You're cut from the same cloth.'

A few days later I posed the question once more to a coworker on my part-time job whom had been keeping me abreast of her relationship troubles. She wanted to know how you know it's your soul mate. I told her you know from the experience. One guy said he realized it AFTER the relationship was over. For me, I said you simply knew through the connection you have with this person, it seems to be on a deeper level than other relationships. Yes, I was still having a difficult time conveying what I believed a soul mate to be.

Ironically enough this part time coworker and I began talking about newly released films we were interested in seeing. The newest Will Smith film was brought up, but I mentioned how I hadn't even seen his film, 'Hancock' yet! She began talking about the movie's plot but was finding it difficult to proceed without revealing too much on the connection between Hancock (Will Smith) and Mary Embrey (Charlize Theron). I finally agreed that she could tell me and it wouldn't spoil the movie for me. As she explained the connection between the two, I immediately thought to myself, 'That's a Soul mate!'

So the plot for this 2008 American comedy-drama is the story of a drunken downtrodden vigilante superhero whose reckless, haphazard rescues cause the city of Los Angeles millions in damages and contempt from its citizens. In one of his rescues he saves Ray Embrey (Bateman), who then makes it his aim to change John Hancock's public reputation.

During the process, Hancock has met Ray's family and ill feelings are detected from Ray's wife Mary.

On a dinner out, Hancock reveals that he has suffered amnesia and awoke in a Florida hospital 80 years previously with his super powers. He wonders what kind of bad person he must have been that no one came to the hospital to claim him. He discovers that Ray's wife, Mary also has superhuman powers and that he is not the only one of his kind. Mary warns him to stay away from her family, but Hancock threatens to expose her to Ray unless she gives him some answers.

Mary tells Hancock that they have lived for 3,000 years with their powers, and that they are the last of their kind and that their kind are paired, and having been built in twos, Hancock is technically her husband. They are drawn to each other over time and great distances, as the pair of immortals get closer to each other physically, they begin to lose their powers. Thus allowing them to live a human life, to love, marry, grow old, and die.

Wikipedia describes a soul mate as 'a term sometimes used to designate someone with whom one has a feeling of deep and natural affinity, love, intimacy, sexuality, spirituality, and/or compatibility. A related concept is that of the twin flame or twin soul - which is thought to be the ultimate soul mate, the one and only other half of one's soul, for which all souls are driven to find and join. However, not everyone who uses these terms intends them to carry such mystical connotations.

Other people believe that the term soul mate means souls with whom we travel between different lives with, meaning that friends, family, lovers and even enemies in this life are equally connected to you in past and future lives, as their souls travel with yours.'

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hancock_(film))

After Hancock learns of his true background from Mary, he gets shot in a robbery and is hospitalized.

Mary visits Hancock in the hospital, and explains that Hancock was attacked in an alley 80 years ago on their way to the movies, his skull was fractured, causing amnesia. Mary left to allow Hancock to recover from his injuries and the two go their separate ways allowing their super powers to grow.

After her explanation, the hospital is raided by a bank robber seeking revenge on Hancock. Mary is fatally shot in the attack and Hancock mortally wounded. Somehow with Mary dying, Hancock uses his last bit of strength to distance himself from the hospital allowing Mary to heal with her powers.

Remembering Mary's words that his purpose is to save people until the world no longer needs a superhero Hancock is content to live on the other side of the country until the time comes when the two will be able to be together again.

In 'real' life, part of my definition of a soul mate would be needing this one special person to feel totally complete (much more than simply blissfully happy with a significant other), the concept seems to work differently in the movie 'Hancock', with the couple weakening and becoming more human the closer they get. So, was this film somewhat of a metaphor for 'soul mates?' Well, I guess there's no way of knowing. Written in 1999 by Vietnamese American writer Vy Vincent Ngo, who declined to comment on the film. The writer was upset that so little of his original script was kept in the film so he provided no interviews or feedback on the story, only that the money earned from the movie will be used to build a school in Vietnam.

(http://neaat.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/writer-vincent-ngo-behind-will-smiths-hancock/)