Ryan McNeil
Gonna start something a little new with this post. I got a movie reccomendation this week from my friend Beth. As I was watching it, I knew I wanted to write about it…but not in the same way I write my usual full-on reviews, or my doubleback DVD reactions.
Instead, I wanted to combine my thoughts on the movie, with some observations about the reccomendation in general. So every once in a while, I’ll put up posts like this, which I’m calling “With a Little Help From My Friends”. After the jump, take a look at my thoughts on Beth’s choice, TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY.
The Details: TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY – UK, 1990. Starring Juliette Stevenson and Alan Rickman. Directed by Anthony Minghella.
The Source: Beth B. Friend, co-worker, and fellow film enthusiast.
The Reason: For Beth, the movie recently came up in a conversation that asked “What do you like to watch when you’re feeling down?”. Now even though I knew precious little about the movie, given Beth’s description of the synopsis, I knew that her preference of lousy day movies, and mine, were very different. So, I guess you could say that part of me wanted to watch it purely for some insight into my friend’s cinematic psychosis.
The Reaction: Beth summed up T,M,D as “A british version of GHOST…and done far better”. I can see where she’s coming from, but I think she’s oversimplifying. T,M,D is a movie about emotional baggage, and how we can get completely overwhelmed to it. The movie illustrates that when pressed by a traumatic experience, the hardest thing is to keep functioning, and not break down into a slobbering mess unprovoked on the subway ride home.
Nina (Stevenson) is having an achingly difficult time recovering from the death of her boyfriend Jamie (Rickman), and when it seems as though she’s reached her lowest point – he returns. He knows he’s dead, but he doesn’t feel like he’s really departed. He explains it as being behind a glass wall and watching everyone talk about you.
What I liked most about T,M,D is that it didn’t feel like a conventional romance. There were no floating pennies, and no Righteous Brothers’ songs. Instead it focuses on what it takes to move on with your life (and even your death), and how sometimes we can take our sweet time realizing that only by moving on, will we be able to achieve true happiness.
Adding It Up: My bad-day movies help me see that others have it worse: Beth’s bad day movies help her weep out her troubles. Interesting the way people differ cinematically, isn’t it? TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY is a sincere, and often funny movie. It won’t knock something like FIGHT CLUB off my bad-day list, but it was 100 minutes well spent.