FEMINIST FILM SOCIETY

Thanks to everyone who came out for this screening.

I really enjoyed the film, I think most of us did. One of the reviews that I posted had some negative things to say about the movie:

"requires its characters to behave in preposterous ways to bring the mother-son tension to a boil, that the movie's contrivances begin to rankle"

"McDormand radiates too much intelligence for Jane's actions to be believable"

"Laurel Canyon doesn't really end as much as come to a sudden stop, leaving its tangle of conflicts, iffy as they are, completely unresolved"

If you wrote out the plot of the movie, it might sound ridiculous. I will give the reviewer that. I mean if you just think about what happened it does sort of have a girls gone wild stink to it. But what makes this movie awesome, for me, is that the characters are of a certain age, they have accomplished certain things, and the fact that they are still interested in doing these sort of possibly immature ridiculous things is really compelling.

This goes along with that second quote, about Frances the Genius being too intelligent for the character or something. I take offense at this. [It reminds me of a horrible atrocious god awful movie called "Camp Nowhere," which I highly recommend that no one ever sees, but at one point a high school kid announces "just because we're smart doesn't mean we can't act stupid."] But to me, the mom was totally believable. Her charater made complete sense to me. That she did not sleep with Kate Beckinsale's character is what kept her believable to me.

I personally enjoyed the ending. I was worried about what they were going to end up doing, and I was much happier with the loose ends than a false seeming closure.


Obviously when I enjoy a movie I don't have as much to say about it. But here are some questions:

How are viewers supposed to feel about McDormand's character? Any pity? How do you think feminist and non-feminist viewers would see her character differently?

What happens after the movie? Does it matter?

Do you think this movie felt like it was directed and written by a woman? In what ways?

 

Thanks for screening this and organizing the screenings in general.

I was excited to see this film as I have missed it when it came around in the theatres.

I thought the characters were interesting in that they were realistically portrayed (for the most part).

My thoughts: 1. Jane (Frances McDormand), the mother who stopped a ménage-a-trois from destroying a relationship with her son could have easily gone the other way... meaning that it would have been just as easy and believable that she would do this for the sake of satisfying her senses. 2. Alex (Kate Beckinsale) WOULD have in fact had a ménage-a-trois if Jane DIDN'T stop her. It was thinly disguised under "I was caught up in the moment" blame. Sam (Christian Bale) had his own "almost fling." The difference is that he stopped this from happening while an external force (Jane) had to stop Alex.

In both scenarios, it is believable that there are people like this in the real world. As caricatures in a story, they are entertaining. In the latter point however, there was a sense that it was okay for Alex to "do as she pleases" because she is weak and delicate. But it was soon overwritten by a sense of entitlement as her feelings of remorse were quickly overshadowed by her desire to be back with her man, if only to cover up her "mistake."

The movie ends about there so that the filmmaker allows you to "make your own judgement" (else, she just didn't know how to end it).

Though not perfect, there were some entertaining moments.

Looking forward to the next screening.

-Insung