Film Analysis on the Existential Movie Groundhog Day

There are two major existential themes that evolve in the movie Groundhog Day. One of the major themes is the loss of identity that evolves throughout the story. When Phil (the anchorman) realizes that he wakes up on Groundhog Day every day, he begins to do things that he wouldn't normally do, like stealing Punxsutawney Phil, or running from the police while under the influence. The second major existential theme is, "When is life worth living?" Phil gives up on life when he gets the idea that his life no longer has meaning. He repeatedly tries to commit suicide, but all efforts fail. He later realizes that there is more to life than keeping yourself happy.

The first theme that I found was Phil's loss of self identity. He no longer had a specific personality, because he had been a different person every day. He was a bored, lonely weather anchor one day, and the next day he was a crazy lunatic running his truck off a cliff with Punxsutawney Phil riding shotgun. What made him lose his sense of self identity in the first place? It was the fact that he didn't have any responsibilities anymore, so he could do and be anything he wanted to be. George Eliot once said, "The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice." Phil grew wiser when he realized that even though he would probably never get to his tomorrow, he could try and make it as painless as possible by helping people. Instead of caring for himself and himself only, he started helping the poor, getting to know the woman he loved, and helping people in need. Phil's good deeds helped him find his self identity.