Seen at the Cinema
The Last KissAnother vehicle for Zach Braff to lay around looking pitiful? Or a fly-on-the-wall perspective of modern relationships? A bit of both. The obvious comparisons are going to be made to the amazing Indie film--Garden State--which Zach directed. The soundtrack is equally compelling and the perspective a bit more mature. We see several generations of relationship--from the 30-year marriage of the parents, to the young couple with a new baby, to the honeymooners. We get to witness all the neuroses--of both men and women--of feeling trapped; feeling abandoned--unseen; feeling used; feeling abused; boredom; all of it. And we get to see Zach in various postures of malaise, desperation, and consignment. Here's a guy who basically blows it. He freaks out because everything is too perfect. (I've often cautioned my brother for the very same reason: You have everything--don't screw it up.) So he plays with the idea of what's still out there? Maybe there's something more? This is a man's greatest weakness. So, he plays with fire in the form of a little brunette, a last kiss. (This character was too painfully close to my life before 3HO. Frightening. "They always say it's not me, but then they never call me back.")
Meanwhile we see Blythe Danner playing the neurotic, ignored, wife in a 3o-year-marriage, who can't contain her rage at not being acknowledged or even noticed by her faithful, but dismissive husband. So she acts out for attention. The character of the husband/therapist in this marraige remains a mystery to me, somewhat. I'll let y0u know if I get more insights upon reflection.
Along the way we get to witness man's second greatest misjudgement: "I thought a child would bring us together" and all the commiseration that comes with that blunder. Casey Affleck plays the defeated new dad and he's wonderful. Maybe he'll redeem the family name! There are two more characters in the mix that show the extremes of desparation (the stalker) and debauchery (the playboy). Meanwhile, Zach's character goes a little too far and we get to witness what he's willing to do to come back home.
Overall a charming, well-acted film that identifies all of our neuroses but also calls on all of our hopes and how far we'll go to have love and to keep it.
posted by Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa @ 10:06 AM
2 Comments:
This post reminds me of last night. I watched that movie 'Friends with Money' and it was awful. It was definitely the biggest waste of my time in a long time. I thought it was going to be a comedy, instead it was all about people who are neurotic. I thought, why do I want to watch a movie about people who are totally neurotic? So I think I will skip this one that you have mentioned :-)
There are such simple pranayams and meditations to keep our lives healthy and neurosis away. After watching that movie (at my brother's house) I went home and read from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. The neurosis of the movie got into my mind. Guru Ji blew that away. Dhan Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj!
Thanks for the review Sat Purkh. Have you seen anything imaginative or inspiring lately that you might recommend?
Well, I definately recommend Michael Franti's new documentary: I know I'm not alone.... I've got it on DVD at home and am planning to have a screening eventually. But you can always borrow it too. There's a review for it somewhere on my blog with the past month or two....I haven't seen that "it" fall movie yet, but I'll keep writing the reviews and you can guage whether you want to go or not by that (smile).
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