Watch Irish director John Kelly's The Pension Plan and if you're creative or ambitious in any way, you'll wonder: Why didn't I think of this? Because it's that simple: a list of things a man named Ray hopes to do after he quits his job. The animation is as simple as the concept, with the figures closer to Martin Handford's Waldo from Where's Waldo? fame is more than anything Pixar has accomplished. The character's eyes are dots or light reflected from glasses, and the script is primarily voiced by actor Domhnall Gleeson. The music, at first glance, is as simple as everything else: piano chords, a modest, almost mournful song by John Carroll Kirby, “A Walk Through the Family Home.” And the film is short – just under seven minutes. Kelly tells the story of Ray's life, telling us not what he accomplished, but what he didn't: writing poetry, meditating, microdosing, hiking.
It makes you think about your own life. I used to think I'd retire and enjoy a purposeful final act, but then I bought a second apartment in my Upper East Side co-op, which means I now have to pay two outrageous maintenance fees, which means I can never, ever stop working. Like Ray in the film, I had such big plans. First on my list was learning German. Now I'll have to make do with what I already know. This includes the line “I'm old and I have many ghosts,” which honestly might be all I need at ninety-two.
At the beginning of the film, Ray appears young, over sixty, and overweight. Halfway through, he becomes skinny, with a few simple lines drawn on his cheeks. Then he leans in and we think: No, wait! It's done with such grace, charm and humor that the end creeps up on us, just as I suspect when those who can afford it build their own retirement plans.
