Tuesday, May 23, 2006

emotional

Last night I went to the cinema and saw The Squid and the Whale. It's a good film, well made, but possibly the most gut-wrenchingly upsetting film I've seen in a while. It's the story of a couple splitting up and the effect it has on their two sons, Walt and Frank. No-one comes out of it well, neither parent is the hero, both boys are more or less screwed up by the experience. I almost walked out a few times, but ended up staying to the end, just in case it got better. It didn't really, although the title does get explained and the end scene is almost beautiful, if also sad and ambiguous. But I never want to see it again and I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone, especially not anyone who's easily upset. I'm not usually, but something about this film got to me.

I cycled home in the rain afterwards on the edge of tears. This is the flipside of my habit of going to the cinema alone. Yes, you get to chose exactly the film you want to see and where you want to sit and whether you stay until the end of the credits or not, but there's no-one to discuss it with, or to pick you up and give you a hug afterwards.

I went home, had a shower, chatted to my housemate a bit and then want to bed, still feeling drained. Not much better now, although more rested. Going to buy petrol this morning and leaving my wallet at home didn't help. (Sorted now, I went back and paid once I'd collected my wallet from home).

I'm meeting knitters tonight, perhaps that will cheer me up.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You could have rung us. We might have tried a hug on the phone. Poor you.

Dave Routledge said...

Hi Bekki

'The Squid and the Whale" is a great divorce movie. It's also one of the canniest comedies ever made about a certain kind of literary pretension.

Jami Bernard.

Just wondered what you thought of this review.

God bless
Dave

Pig wot flies said...

I agree about the satire of literary pretentiousness. Some of the scenes where Walt tries to impress girls and his teachers by parroting his father's opinions about books he's never read are spot on. There are laughs between the sad bits and it is a good film. It just sort of hit me at a weak point and upset me too.