Die My Love: How does a relationship that starts out with love, passion and connection become filled with anger, resentment and disconnection? This movie directed by Lynne Ramsey and starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson explores this situation more fully. With an opening scene showing a young couple checking out a seemingly abandoned house, we see them move in with ideas and passion for other another. Lawrence plays wife and writer Grace and she is married to Pattinson as seemingly a general labourer who seems to spend plenty of time on the road. Supporting actors include veterans Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek who I have not seen in a while.
They live in remote farmland presumably in rural New York. It could be Iowa or Kansas or South Dakota. There are small town people around who all seem to know each other and everyone’s business. Grace has a newborn baby son which she adores. Husband is busy with work on the road. We see Grace being challenged with loneliness and an emptiness. She can have moments with local townspeople where she is downright rude, lashing out. All the while she also has a high libido which borders on nymphomania. Husband struggles to understand her moods. The story continues to show a steady downward spiral for Grace. It is difficult to watch.
If you think that Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I Would Kick You deserves Oscar consideration, then this performance by Lawrence should be given equal consideration. She plays a woman bordering on unhinged very well. You see in her face at times an emptiness. Where she doesn’t seem to be fully engaged. As her actions become more erratic she ratchets up the mania. This is a dark story and can be difficult to watch. As a male, once again I am troubled by a wife who is more and more challenging. It can drive him to lash out in frustration which naturally doesn’t help. I can add that it was not a good idea on his own to introduce a yappy dog into the equation especially when he had no real intention of being there for the training and discipline. It makes an already tense situation even more troublesome. This is not a public service announcement for dog ownership. I think that this movie does effectively show how ill prepared people are generally with others who have struggled with mental illness and depression. Small talk and condescending tones are not helpful. The two leads tackle the delicate subject matter well. Lawrence and Byrne may split the vote for those looking to reward a portrayal of women in distress.
Still this in the end is worthy of a viewing for the performances and exploring the subject matter in a fresh way. Sorry Baby also covers a difficult subject well. It has been a good year for such stories.
The Red Sea Diving Resort: in 2019 Netflix was involved in putting together a story about assisting native Jewish Ethiopians from their land. The was 1979 and there was change in the Ethiopian government. People were seeking asylum. Avi Levinson (played by Chris Evans without his Captain America suit) is looking to assist these desperate people and get them to Jerusalem. Also part of the cast is Ben Kingsley and Greg Kinnear as the most notable actors. Kingsley is in charge in Israel and wants to find ways to facilitate the ongoing mission. It is dangerous.
Evans after being extracted on orders back to Israel comes up with a plan to use an abandoned hotel with scuba diving to be a front to take refugees from nearby Sudan and bring them to this resort and then ferry them to Israeli boats. Ari is a risk-taker and he brings along a team of rebels (his known accomplices with required skills) to make it happen. Of course there is a villain who is a military commander who is ruthless in his dealings with the refugees. There is a cat and mouse game where Ari looks to fool the commander with his real intentions.
This was brought to my attention by a friend. It kept my attention and if only some of it is accurate it is a story that we didn’t hear about because it dealt with black African Jewish people. I am astounded at the level of investment in time, money and manpower in extracting these people by the Israeli government. Thousands ultimately were brought back to Jerusalem presumably to start new lives in peace. One wonders how well these people integrated back into Israeli society. I hope that they are doing well. Certainly I would expect that they would have sympathy with current events in Gaza as they have unfolded. It was good too to see Chris Evans do some more serious work.
Mondays With Robbie 