We all have problems. If you're sitting there thinking, Well, I don't have any problems - that's your problem. You're clueless. That said, it's not about how much shit you're dealing with, or severity they are in the grand scheme of things (because, who's to say?), it's all about how you let them affect you and how you decide to handle them. Don't think, by any means, I'm one of those guys who takes charge and immediately addresses anything weighing me down - far from it (I'm a fan of duck and cover). The only advantage I have? I'm one of the guys. Meaning? I'm not a woman. At least I have that going for me.
As someone who has a wife, a daughter, a sister and of course, a mother, please don't read that as sexist. I've been just been around enough women to know that the same qualities that make them interesting, caring, nurturing and compassionate are also the same things that can make their world fall in on itself. Case in point? Jasmine.
From iconic writer/director Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine painfully tells the story of a woman in the midst (or wake) of a nervous breakdown. Hauntingly brought to life by the luminous Cate Balchett (in an Oscar-winning role), Jasmine is a woman who after seemingly had everything, has completely bottomed out. Or, it would appear that way, until she routinely digs herself an even deeper hole.
Having been forced out of her picturesque upscale life in NYC, Jasmine has turned to the only person on the planet capable of tolerating her, her likable younger sister Ginger (played by the lovely Sally Hawkins). Despite living in the shadow of Jasmine (and her better genes), Ginger does her best to keep her drowning sister afloat. You would think she should really appreciate this. You would think.
Is it okay to loathe someone who, due to a variety of quirks, deficiencies, and mental problems, has become borderline insufferable? I hope it is. Because the more time I spent with Jasmine, my pity and sympathy turned to indifference and rage. Maybe she can't help being a joyless bitch, but I had a hard time cutting her slack. Yes, that seems heartless and cruel, but she was so ungrateful, so petty it made me care less and less about her as the film went on (I probably should have been doing the opposite). But her worst offense? The way she speaks to people. Her constant but casual venom undercut her failing mental stability. I felt bad, sure, but not really.
Hopefully, my room in Hell has a DVD player.
As someone who has a wife, a daughter, a sister and of course, a mother, please don't read that as sexist. I've been just been around enough women to know that the same qualities that make them interesting, caring, nurturing and compassionate are also the same things that can make their world fall in on itself. Case in point? Jasmine.
Having been forced out of her picturesque upscale life in NYC, Jasmine has turned to the only person on the planet capable of tolerating her, her likable younger sister Ginger (played by the lovely Sally Hawkins). Despite living in the shadow of Jasmine (and her better genes), Ginger does her best to keep her drowning sister afloat. You would think she should really appreciate this. You would think.
Is it okay to loathe someone who, due to a variety of quirks, deficiencies, and mental problems, has become borderline insufferable? I hope it is. Because the more time I spent with Jasmine, my pity and sympathy turned to indifference and rage. Maybe she can't help being a joyless bitch, but I had a hard time cutting her slack. Yes, that seems heartless and cruel, but she was so ungrateful, so petty it made me care less and less about her as the film went on (I probably should have been doing the opposite). But her worst offense? The way she speaks to people. Her constant but casual venom undercut her failing mental stability. I felt bad, sure, but not really.
Hopefully, my room in Hell has a DVD player.
