‘The Crow’ reveals key money lessons: Financial wisdom from a cult classic reimagined

When a cult classic is reimagined, it is natural that we will compare it to the original that was mind blowing visually and aurally, and came with the baggage of the accidental death of the much loved young action star in a story that resonates across generations. James O’Barr wrote the comic book as a cathartic exercise, having lost his fiancee to a drunk driver crashing his car into hers.

Legend says, ‘People once believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes, something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right.’

Eric (Bill Skarsgård) and Shelly (FKA Twigs) are soulmates and when her past comes back to haunt her in the form of Vincent Roeg (Danny Huston) and his evil goons, the lovers lose their lives. But the crow brings Eric back to avenge Shelly’s death. What money lessons could this dark action fantasy could teach us?

If you love someone, plan for every eventuality

Eric and Shelly meet at a Rehab and discover love. But Shelly has been placed there to save herself from Vincent Roeg who sends young souls to hell because he doesn’t want to go there himself. No matter how far Eric and Shelly try to run away from Vincent’s satanic evil, it catches up with them. But the way Shelly is killed, Eric’s soul is without rest. He has to be brought back by the crow to set things right.

In real life alas, we cannot come back from the dead to set things right for the family we leave behind. So be prepared. A simple example: When you open an account, the bank makes you fill in nominees, and if you skip that step for some reason, your relationship manager will bombard you with emails and telephone calls until you comply. Am sure you also know that you can change nominees when you want.

A will to live, also a will that lives after you’re gone

Eric is single minded about avenging Shelly’s death. Vincent has made a deal with the devil because he wants to live at the expense of all the young debauched people who frequent his club. When the two clash in an operatic conclusion, you realise that this is vindication of Shelly’s death.

We tend to not plan for our deaths, but after the pandemic many of us have discovered how tough it is to figure out how a loved one invested, unless some reminder pops up on their phone you keep for sentimental reasons. Today most of us shrug because the possibility of another pandemic is negligible, but we need to organise our finances in such a way that our loved ones won’t be forced to run from pillar to post after we are gone.

Stock ownerships can be transferred through a beneficiary Every brokerage house has different rules and methods of distribution. As a smart investor, you should be informed, especially if there are processing fees that may be involved.

If you own stocks jointly, then the process is straightforward. The surviving person gets the stocks. But if you don’t name a beneficiary, then the stocks go through a probate process and your heirs might end up cursing at you for being so careless.

Having been a huge fan of the comic book and then the original film with Brandon Lee, this new version of the film was a tough watch. It is easy to empathise with young people who are musicians rather than drug addicts. But Bill Skarsgård is a good actor, so it was easy to concede the differences in the way Eric is portrayed in the film. The white shirt vs shirtless could have been a debate had the movie been amazing. Here too is a mini money lesson: I watched the film so that you save ticket and popcorn money!

Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveller, founder of Caferati — an online writer’s forum, hosts Mumbai’s oldest open mic, and teaches advertising, films and communication. She can be reached on Twitter at @manishalakhe.