the p's

so i wanted to start this blog when i watched the new pride and prejudice at a relief society sleepover. i thought about it again when i finished watching phoebe in wonderland tonight. and as to not make it coincidence, but pattern, i decided to add punch drunk love to the list.

i came home from a wrap party tonight after talking with a friend for a while and feeling very contemplative. i didn't want to watch mindless t.v. as i often do with my roommate. i wanted to watch something meaningful and satisfying. at first, i suggested the hurt locker. it was made by the first oscar-winning female director. that in itself is satisfying. but she didn't sound too into it. i had already been browsing netflix for a while and had considered instant playing a foreign film, but settled on phoebe in wonderland, a recommendation from a film friend and t.a.

the main character has an obsessive-compulsive form of tourettes, and seems to only be able to control it when concentrating on something else. in this case, it's the school play, alice in wonderland. her parents are both writers, and both phoebe and her sister are kind of brilliant, but they've all got their issues. her disease seemed almost contagious, but i must've been noticing the similarities between her parents once her problem became more obvious. her parents are honest and they talk about things. i love that. communication was never a big thing in my household. and their opening up is the semi-resolution along with the show going on (as it must) despite her theater teacher being fired. the whole "the man" theme always intrigues me, and there was definitely a lot of "the man" suppressing differentness.

it was good. but not in the way i wanted. it was beautifully lit, and the acting was fantastic, especially by dakota's little sister, elle. but i felt dark and confused. probably as the little girl did, but that's not what i was looking for. it was all the better for making me feel as the character did, just as in punch drunk love (but i hated it for that reason). it should be regarded as filmmaking at its best, and it is, but it makes me feel awful. lucky for me, it wrapped it up a little at the end--but don't get me wrong, i like sad, and even unresolved, movie endings--however it wasn't enough to bring me back up from what i'd been brought down to.

it's the same with punch drunk love. the message of the film, although uplifting, was not strong enough to support the darkness that had preceded, and essentially filled, the movie.

next time i'll go with my first instinct, which tonight was to watch o'horten, a movie by the same person who did the delightful, yet depressing, swedish film kitchen stories.