Passion Of Mind Explained

Passion Of Mind

The movie Passion of Mind (2000) is a journey through looking in the mirror for us all. Directed by a Belgian, Alain Berliner, it is his first English-language film. Berliner is best known for the arthouse success Ma Vie en Rose Co-written by Donald Bass and David Field, with the premise being, what if you had two lives at once and you knew that one life took place only in your dreams, but you didn't know which life was real. The movie is a psychological romantic thriller where fantasy and reality become indistinguishable for Marty (Demi Moore) leading a double life in her dreams.

In one life, she is Marty a high-powered single literary agent in Manhattan. Through a business deal, Marty meets Aaron ( William Fitchner), an accountant. They fall in love. Marty confides in Aaron about her dreams and how vivid and real they seem to her. So much so, that she does not know what is her real life or what is her dream life. She is afraid she is losing her mind and fears he will want to run away and never see her again. He feels she uses the dream life to distance herself from getting closer to people. Marty's New York psychiatrist, Dr. Peters (Peter Riegert), thinks her high powered, lonely New York life has driven her to dreams of being a mother and wife, living a simple life elsewhere.

In another life she is Martha Marie (Demi Moore), a mother and widow with two daughters, Jennifer (Eloise Eonnet) and Serafine (Chaya Cuenot). Her oldest daughter has a constant boy companion, Jeanne Pierre, (Hadrian Dagannaud-Brouard). They live in Provence, France. They are frequently visited by Martha's older friend, Jessie (Sinead Cusack), who Martha confides in about her double life woes. Martha also meets and falls in love with a writer, William Granther (Stellan Skarsgard). Her French psychiatrist, Dr. Langer (Joss Ackland), feels she is wanting more than her drab home life raising children. She longs to write and lead a more exciting life working in New York.

Which life is the real life and which is the dream? Thus begins our characters quest of who and where she is.

In her New York life, she loses her mother when she is 11. We are not told what the cause of death is, but the story alludes to alcoholism. Marty was raised by her father, who we assume is also gone at this point. Marty is alone living in New York. She is lonely. Each time she meets a man, she keeps them at a distance by telling them of her dream world.

In her alternate life, France, she is a widower. Martha is a single mom raising two daughters, whom she and her friend Jessie keep insinuating are just like her. Jessie is an older friend who is more like a mother to her. Martha confides in her and receives advice.

Along the way, Marty and Martha find clues of each other's life in each world. Yet, the real, tangible things are always found in the New York world. Eventually, she realizes her New York Life is real. Her French life is a dream. The two girls are Marty when she was 7 and 11. Martha Marie is basically her, giving herself the mother she never had and also lost at age 11.

Jeanne-Pierre is a memory of a trusted childhood male friend she had during the years after her mother died, who comforted her. He kept her sane during the death of her mother and possible distance of her father.

We then learn the brandy toting friend, Jessie, is a memory of how she wishes her mother would have been, but never was, because she was an alcoholic. Marty finds her mother dead one morning. She makes Jessie someone she can talk to, confide in. Someone who would always be there when she needed her. Yet again, she realizes she can be her own mother and confidant, even though her own mother was not capable of doing that for her.

The man she is falling for in France, William, has the voice of her father, who we are never quite sure, if he abandoned her emotionally or physically or both after her mothers death or had passed on later in life after she was grown. We can see that she is looking for a man who can love her like her father should have, someone to love her unconditionally, accept her just as she is. What all the shrinks say we are looking for in a partner, someone to heal our relationship with our parents. Oddly, he is the one in the story who leaves her and does not accept her alternate dream world. She brings him back in her dreams, so she can see him one last time. Get what she needed from him in real life. She says a final goodbye to a father, letting him move on and out of her heart, leaving room for a new man to come in and love her, just as we all have to do.

Now we see that Marty has created this dream world in France to comfort herself in her loneliness and sense of loss. Since she never really had a loving caring mother, she herself is being a mother to her 7 and 11 year old self, giving them the love she never received in real life. Letting us all know that when we don't get what we need from others we can love the child in ourselves and repair the hurt we may feel.

Aaron, who is real and not in her dreams, is the man who helps her to let go of it all. He tells her that he hopes if he cannot be her great love, he would settle for being her very good friend. He says he will always be there and never leave, no matter how crazy she thinks she is. He will wait for her to realize just how much he loves her. Aaron helps her to heal and gives her the unconditional love and acceptance she has been looking for all her life. Now she can let go of her dream world. Marty created the love she needed, which in fact, was her love for herself. She, in fact, was protecting herself from anymore hurt, until Aaron shows her he will not hurt her, leave her, but will love her for the rest of their lives together.

I have read several reviews on this movie. I think most have missed the point all together. This is a very complicated movie in theory, but a great premise and story. Isn't this what most of us do? We hold others at a distance before we let them in. Maybe even create something to test their true devotion to us.

We have all been hurt. We have to protect those vulnerable places from being further damaged. We wait for that person(s) to come along and show us that we can trust them, open up and give our hearts to them, without fear of being hurt once again. And when we do, we can let go and let them be our soft place to fall in this world. What a wonderful thought!

©2010 All Rights Reserved

Mary Shelley Move Review

Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley (2017) is a biopic of the famous author before she married Percy Bysshe Shelley, her husband and romantic poet and philosopher.  It explores Mary's life from age sixteen to her eventual marriage at age 21. The screenplay was written by Emma Jensen and Haifaa Al-Mansour, who also was the first female Saudi director to direct a Hollywood film.

We are introduced to Mary's home life, family dynamics and life experiences that formed the famous author.  Insight about her parents, who were also famous authors and activists is explored.  Mary Wollstonecraft, her mother, was a famous writer, philosopher and women's rights advocate who unfortunately died after Mary's birth. Her father, political philosopher and writer,  William Godwin, remarried Mary Jane Clairmont when Mary was four.

Mary always felt she had killed her mother and felt a sense of abandonment from her mother not being there and her father being emotionally absent.  Although she did have a stepmother, her relationship with her was highly strained, because she was a reminder of a woman her husband still revered.

Mary studied her mother's life, writings and philosophies, choosing to adopt her mother's open minded views.  In the movie they make it clear that Mary's parents only married, because they were pregnant with her.  They lived a very open lifestyle for the time.  Mary chose to adopt the same open minded views toward life and relationships.

Mary being sixteen, was very curious and rambunctious.  Her father chose to send her away to relatives in the Scottish countryside.  During her stay there she met Percy Shelley.  He was handsome and had a reputation as a womanizer.  Unfortunately, he did not tell Mary he was already married and had a child.  When Marry finds out later, she decides to adopt the openness of her parent's youth and run off with him.  But not before she meets his current wife and child, whom warns her of Percy's wondering eye.

As the story progresses, one night Mary, Percy and her stepsister Claire go to see a science exhibit showing how electricity can move a frog's legs even after death, then dubbed galvanism.  We see where Mary, at 18, got the idea for charging life into her future creation of science fiction in her Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818).

We meet English romantic poet, Lord Byron, as well as physician and author John William Polidori.  Mary's stepsister, Claire Clairmont, has an affair and a child with Lord Byron as a result. 

On one rainy night, in their boredom staying in Geneva, Switzerland, Lord Byron challenges them all to write a ghost story.  Thusly, the beginnings of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) novel about narcissism and abandonment were spawned.  Also, the night Dr. Polidori started to write his book, credited with beginning the vampire genre, "The Vampyre" (1819).

We get to look into the reasoning of why Mary wrote this very famous book and the personal life influences that shaped this story.  Also, the social commentary she meant to create with her story of a monster created by a society that would only see it with disdain and want to abandon it.  As she had felt abandoned by the narcissists in her life, her mother, father, step-mother and her husband. 

A deep dive into the psyche of a very special young woman who was far ahead of her time in life choices, her world views and her intelligence.  I think you will enjoy discovering more about this amazing woman.

©2022 All Rights Reserved

Looper the movie review

LOOPER

The sci-fi movie Looper (2012) gives us a perspective on society, the nuclear family and the effects of environment through a futuristic view.  The classic nuture versus nature point of view.

Directed and written by Rian Johnson, the movie is set in the future in the year 2044.  The mob is now using time travel to eliminate people they find as troublesome.  They send people back in time to be murdered finding it more efficient, since DNA cannot be tracked, etc; back to the actual perpetrators. But the reasons why certain people are being eliminated is not quite so clear.

Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) in the year 2044 has become one of the Loopers.  They are assigned to wait for the human being sent back in time, so they can, in effect, murder them in the past as soon as they show up.  Hired guns, so to say.

 
Part of the deal in becoming a Looper is that one day you will murder your future self.  Thereby, closing the loop of your life.  Then you have 30 years and a huge payoff to live your life until it is time for your life to end.

An older Joe (Bruce Willis) in the year 2074 has decided his life is too good for it to end.  He has just started to really live life. So, he highjacks his way back into the past in an attempt to change it all.

As future Joe fights his way to change the past and insure a more promising future, he meets his younger self who isn't quite convinced that the future Joe has it all figured out.  The cat and mouse game of future Joe trying to reason with present Joe about how things need to change and how corrupt the system is begins.

As Joe is trying to track down his future self, he meets a mother, Sara (Emily Blunt) and her son, Cid (Pierce Gagnon), who both have special gifts in telepathy.  Joe realizes there is a precarious connection with his older self to the son of this woman. Joe then makes it his mission to save her son from his own future self.

The connections of the past and future in this story line are expertly thought out and weaved back together keeping you on the edge of your seat until the very end of the movie.  Each detail is brought in just as you are asking, "But I don't understand."

 
You realizes why Joe is the only one who can understand the big picture, because of his own broken family, addiction filled and abandonment background.  Only he can solve the puzzle and make the right choices that may just save society as we know it.  Or as the year 2044 knows it.

You will be constantly guessing what is going to happen next.  You will also be surprised as each piece of the puzzle in the story comes together.  Another great movie plot filled with amazing actors.  A must see!
©2022 All Rights Reserved

Toast movie review

Toast

Toast (2010) is an biographical comedy drama, directed by  S.J. Clarkson and written by  Lee Hall and Nigel Slater.  It is based on the autobiographical novel Toast, written by English cookery writer, Nigel Slater.   It was originally a made for television movie first shown on BBC One. It was later released theatrically. The movie received a gala at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival.

The story was adapted for the stage in 2018 by Henry Filloux-Bennett. The play premiered at theWeek 53 Festival, then the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  In 2019, the play opened in London at The Other Palace.  So, a very popular book and story in the U.K.

Young Nigel Slater (Oscar Kennedy) lives with his asthma ailing mother, (Victoria Hamilton) and his overworked, worried father, (Ken Stott).  The only thing his mother will cook is food in cans that can be boiled and then served.  Nigel dreams of eating delicious food made from scratch.  He tries to get his mother to teach him how to cook, but she is either too sickly to do so or just does not want to.  His father suffers as well from stomach aches, because they never eat well.  When his mother does not make the food well, she serves them both toast with butter on it, which is quite often.  Thus, the name of the subsequent book, movie and play, Toast.

After Nigel's mother passes away from her disease, Nigel attempts to cook a nice meal for his father.  His father comes home late after Nigel tries to keep reheating the meal.  He eats the meal anyway, even though it is burnt.  Seeing how hard Nigel was trying to make a good home cooked meal, his father hires a woman to cook and clean for them, Mrs. Potter (Helena Bonham Carter).  His father feels this will make Nigel happy.  Although Nigel welcomes her delicious meals and deserts, he sees her as competition for his father's affections.

As Nigel gets older, (Freddie Highmore), he decides to sign up for a cooking class in high school.  He starts bringing home his creations for his father to try.  The film alludes to Nigel wanting to compete with Ms. Potter, whom Nigel's father has now married after she divorced her husband.  So, Nigel and Mrs Potter now compete with their cooking to see whose dishes his father will like best.  As a result, his father gains a lot of weight trying to please them both.

We also go on a journey where Nigel discovers his sexuality as a homosexual.  You get the feeling that his father and mother knew he was gay from the start, which is probably why they tried to discourage his interest in cooking  When they find out the gardener, Josh (Matthew McNulty), has been changing his clothes in front of Nigel, they fire him, because Nigel mentioned his nudity to them.  Nigel is very upset, because Josh was his friend and only normal person in his world.

We get to take a look inside the life of Nigel Slater, a famous English chef.  We, of course, see all the events from his viewpoint, so the story may be a little skewed.   Yet, it shows us where his motivation for his ultimate life calling, becoming a world renowned chef at the Savoy Hotel, came from.  The real Mrs. Potter's children say that she and her husband, Nigel's father, were not portrayed correctly  Nigel Slater has never commented one way or the other to their accusations.  Yet, he wrote the book and movie script, so pretty sure this was how he saw it all go down.

©2019 All Rights Reserved

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The Love Punch movie review

The Love Punch

The Love Punch (2014), is a British romantic comedy, directed by  Joel Hopkins and written by Tess Morris and  Joel Hopkins.  It was screened at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival in the Gala Presentation section to positive reviews.
Richard (Pierce Brosnan) and Kate (Emma Thompson) have been divorced for some time now and have separate lives.  Their children, Sophie (Tuppence Middleton) and Matt (Jack Wilkinson) are both off at college and have now left them both as empty - nesters with their separate lonely lives.
Kate has been trying to venture out into the internet dating world and meet new men.  Her friends, Jerry (Timothy Spall) and Pen (Celia Imrie) attempt to set her up with friends they know.  Richard has just ended his relationship with a very young girlfriend, because of the age difference.  So, both Richard and Kate are very single and alone.

Richard arrives to the business he owns one day only to find out that a French business tycoon, Vincent Kruger (Laurent Lafitte) has bought Richard's company out from under him.  All after Richard had recommended to his employees to buy in on an investment with his company that he thought was sound.  All of his employees are now in financial trouble, as well as out of a job.  Richard and Kate have lost everything, since their pension, homes, and savings were all wrapped up in Richard's investment company. 
Both Richard and Kate travel to France to appeal to Vincent to return their money, but to no avail.  Then Kate sees in a social magazine that Vincent is to be married to a beautiful socialite, Marion Fontaine (Louise Bourgoin).  She will be wearing a very expensive diamond he gave to her at the wedding that is worth $10 million.
Kate comes up with a plan to steal the diamond and sell it to recoup their money.  When everyone becomes suspicious of how much time Richard and Kate are spending together and why they are traveling to Europe together, they have to fess up somewhat to their friends and son that they need their help to complete the task.  This is when we find out Jerry, Pen's husband, served in the military and has many underground contacts.  We also discover Matt, Richard and Kate's son, is adept in hacking into computers.
The shenanigans ensue throughout the film as the whole group schemes to get themselves into the wedding to steal the diamond.  They try everything from kidnapping to impersonating others to accomplish the task.
The movie is very funny and imaginative.  It keeps you guessing at what will happen next.  You find out new things about each character around every corner.  How could you miss with the cast of actors headlining this movie?  You know it will be a good film, just because they all chose to join the project.  I highly recommend this for a date night or just a great film to cheer you up and keep you laughing.

©2019 All Rights Reserved

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The Ruby Ring movie review

The Ruby Ring

The Ruby Ring (1997), a made for TV movie, directed by Harley Cokeliss, written by Yvonne MacGrory, Alan Moskowitz, Lin Oliver, is a modern day, time traveling fairy tale.  Lucy McLaughlin's (Emily Hamilton) father (Todd Boyce) has lost his job.  The family is forced to move in with Lucy's grandmother, Gran (Jan Moffatt). 

Lucy is not taking it all very well, because she has had to give up her riding and equestrian training.  Plus, she feels her friend, Noreen (Emma Cunniffe), will not stay in touch with her.  But Lucy's sister, Victoria (Sophia Money-Coutts) seems to be taking it all in stride and is happy when Gran takes them into their newly decorated attic bedroom.

Gran realizes how upsetting this all is for Lucy.  She also remembers that today is Lucy's birthday.  She gives her a beautiful gift box.  Lucy opens it to reveal a beautiful, large stoned, ruby ring, which cheers Lucy up.  Gran tells Lucy it is a magical ring that her great Aunt Edith (Bridget Biagi) bought in India.  Her grandmother gave it to her on her 16th birthday, just as she was giving it ti Lucy on her 16th birthday.

Gran explains that if Lucy turns the ring twice on her finger, she can make a wish for anything she wants and it will come true.  Lucy, of course, wishes to live in a big, beautiful house and have a stable full of horses.  Just as she does, the ring begins to glow red.  Her great Aunt Edith appears to her in the ring and tells her to remember she only has 24 hours to change her mind about the wish.  If she fails to turn the ring twice and wish to come home, she will stay where she is forever.

All at once, Lucy is no longer in her Grans attic.  She is now in a big, beautiful castle, with a large library..  She is dressed in a long maid's dress and also seems to be in the far past.  While trying to gather herself and figure out where she is, she is met by the head mistress, Mrs. Puxley (Judy Parfitt).  She has been looking for the new maid, which is Lucy.  Mrs. Puxley introduces her to another maid, Nellie (Emma Cunniffe), who she mistakes for her good friend Noreen, because she looks just like her.  During these meetings, Lucy is told she is in the 1600's.

Lucy then realizes she has lost the ruby ring in the sitting room and needs to go back and look for it.  But Mrs. Puxley tells her servants are not allowed in the owners quarters unless asked to be there.  She will have to go look later after her work is finished.  For the rest of the movie, Lucy is trying to track down the ring, so she can wish to go home. 

We meet the son of the master, Robert Langley (Christien Anholt), who tries to help her find the ring.  Elizabeth Langley (Gillian Kearney), Robert's sister, Lady Langley (Joanna Tope) and Lord Langley (Michael Derrington) can't believe that a maid would own something so expensive, so they set about to find one of their wealthy friends who might have lost the ring on a visit to the castle.

Lucy's punishment is to clean the horse stables.  As she is cleaning, the stable man, Patrick Collins (Rutger Hauer) and the ladies maid, Mary Spencer (Samantha Bond) walk in and start kissing.  This is when we learn Patrick is using Mary to steal things from the house that they can sell and finally escape their lives of servitude.  Later, they will also be someone Lucy will have to fight to get the ruby ring back from.

Her search for the ring leads Lucy through an awakening.  She learns how selfish, immature and self -centered she has been.  She realizes how much she misses her family.  Lucy grows up and sees that possessions and status are not the most important things in the world.  Time spent with the people we love is the best gift of all.  A lesson we all should learn as well.

©2019 All Rights Reserved

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Main Street movie review

Main Street

The movie Main Street (2010), directed by John Doyle, written by Horton Foote, has a Texas stranger, Gus LeRoy (Colin Firth), come to town with a questionable business idea that could save the dying city of Durham, North Carolina.  To initiate the first part of his plan, Gus rents an old tobacco warehouse from Georgiana Carr (Ellen Burstyn), the daughter of a past tobacco business owner, for 6 months.  This sets his business plan in motion for the warehouse and the town.  But it is all a bit mysterious with big trucks and men guarding the warehouse doors 24/7.

Georgiana is now struggling in her old age to pay the bills, so she cannot refuse the rent money he is offering.  She doesn't even ask or care what her family warehouse will be used for, because she is in such dire straights. She is extremely relieved that her prayers have been answered and she does not have to sell her daddy's warehouse or the family mansion.

After the tobacco industry closed down years before, the city has struggled to stay afloat.  We see the destructive aftermath of jobs lost and younger inhabitants moving out of town to find jobs.  It rips families apart.  Parents who no longer have children who can help them in their older age.  Sons and daughters who are forced to move to cities far away, struggling to get by just to have a chance in life.  Or forced to stay in town to help their parents, whom they resent, while their siblings leave to never return.

Harris Parker (Orlando Bloom) has stayed, working as a police officer, to help his mother, Myrtle Parker (Margo Martindale), survive, after his brother abandoned them both to travel the world.  Harris is dating, Mary Saunders (Amber Tamblyn) who only dreams of leaving Durham for a better life.  She is slowly moving away from Harris, because he does not want to abandon his mother or leave Durham.  Harris attends a local college law school at night, trying to become a lawyer to impress Mary.  But he wants to remain in town to practice law and help his neighbors.  Mary wants him to move once he gets his law degree.  Her mother, Miriam (Victoria Clark), and step - father, Frank (Tom Wopat) seem to be working together with Myrtle to keep Harris and Margo together, so they both will stay in Durham and marry.

Meanwhile, Georgianna gets a bad feeling about what her warehouse might be used for, so she calls her niece, Willa Jenkins (Patricia Clarkson) to help her investigate.  Once they find out what Gus' company is storing in the warehouse, which may endanger the town, Georgianna and Patricia devise a plan to get the company out of their warehouse.  Even if it means selling Georgianna's beloved family mansion.

Gus retaliates with overwhelming charm and kindness to convince the two women and the leaders of the town that his company cannot only provide jobs for people in town, but they could effectively save the city's economy and drive business to their area.  With such high hopes, the people of the town start to consider his proposal.  Even if what the company is shipping and storing in the warehouse could be harmful to the town or even for the country.

In the end, the townspeople have to decide, if their town and their people are worth the risks they have to take to open their doors to this business, or, if they need to find another way to help their town thrive.  Is the risk too great?

This is the same story we see happening to towns all over America today.  Industries die out and towns are left decimated in their path.  They find it hard to pick up the pieces after these corporations pull out of town, because they have known nothing else for years.  The corporations pay no taxes to the cities and get many financial breaks, which also leaves the city government broke and treading water to stay afloat or go under.

Main Street takes a look at how these factors effect a town.  Should they let another company come in, use their town and people to do the same thing the last company did to them?  Or should they find other ways to band together as a town to bring their city back to life?  Some will run away from the responsibility and never come back to town.  But others will stay, stand strong, and fight the good fight to find a way to make it work, helping others along the way.  That is really what the American spirit is truly about.  When times get tough, the tough get going to get back their American dream.  For themselves and all those in their city it was stolen from.

©2019 All Rights Reserved

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