Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2006-bestseller ‘Eat Pray Love’ has finally been adapted to the screen starring Julia Roberts and Spanish hotty Javier Bardem.

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The movie tells the autobiographical story of Liz, who underweight and depressed as a result of a horror-divorce in post-9/11 New York, sets off for a year of personal healing and spiritual meditation in Italy, India and finally Indonesia. “I wanted to explore one aspect of myself set against the backdrop of each country, in a place that has traditionally done that one thing very well,” she writes. “I wanted to explore the art of pleasure in Italy, the art of devotion in India and, in Indonesia, the art of balancing the two.”

The journey of the wretched Liz results in some nice cinematography – shots of a almost tourist-free Rome, amazing India and heavenly Bali – but unfortunately the film becomes a bit dreary halfway through India. It is too long, even for those who have read the book, which by the way is better than the movie. The book  is an open, honest and funny account of the writer’s personal struggles, emotions and actions, though sometimes too ‘American’ for my taste. The movie, however, reduced the clever and witty Liz to a lost creature, who unable to decide for herself, leaves her fate to other people..

Like the book, the movie will probably appeal more to women than to men. In the nearly-full cinema where I saw Eat, Pray, Love, there were only 5 men present, all accompanied by their girlfriends/wives. So ladies, you better take some of your female friends there and organize a girls’ night out!