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knitty78
Reviews
Country Comfort (2021)
Partridge Family for the 21st century
Is it cheesy? Most certainly, Is it heartfelt? Most certainly. I really enjoyed watching this series. The only reason not to give it a 10 is because the writing is so-so.
But it's sweet and we could all use a bit of sweet in these turbulent times. If you just want to watch something that makes you feel good, has a bit of music, and is fun, give it a watch. Don't expect great scripts, but a bit of heart.
The Tale (2018)
"It was the 70's - a different time"
That is the phrase repeated over and over by Laura Dern's character in defense of the abuse she endured. I lived through that time and it was different. I know of cases similar to this, where an older adult man was known to be having sex with one of the young people he was coaching. Yes, he was a track coach as well. (Odd, huh?)
Everyone in the school knew it was happening. The parents' and other adults either didn't see or didn't want to see. But it was a different time. Parents were not as cognizant of what to look for in abused children. Maybe the helicopter parents of the 21st century are part of the abused of the 70's and 80's. I would like to think that parents will follow their instincts a bit more readily than Ellen Burstyn's character.
This movie is difficult to watch, difficult to see the brave way young Jenny tries to justify her abuse to herself. One of the best movies I've seen in a long time.
5 Flights Up (2014)
Quiet little film for a Saturday movie night.
I'm always looking for films I can enjoy with my husband. He likes a quiet film with little conflict. While 5 Flights Up offers conflict, it isn't the usual kind I enjoy. (Full disclosure, I love a good action or science fiction flick!)
Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman play an interracial couple who married when "it was illegal in 30 states and looked down on in the other 20". It really wasn't that long ago, the 70's. We see flashbacks to their meeting, her discussion with her mother over their marriage, and other glimpses in to their past. I love these little glimpses, as I was a few years younger than the portrayal in the 70s and had many of these same questions. The film makes you consider race relations - not just the relationship between Freeman and Keaton, but also the relationship between New York and the alleged terrorist. 'Fake News' is instilled in this film before it was a buzzword. The terrorist is incorporated to show how quickly and completely we jump to conclusions about people based on their ethnicity or religion. Was he really a terrorist? We don't really know, but the news made him in to one very quickly, with no evidence other than his religion and he left a truck on a bridge. Hmmmm....
Dorothy, their cute dog with a medical problem, is included to show the love that the couple would have showered on a child if they would have had one. The dog's medical issues also serve to show Freeman's devotion to his wife. He tells the vet "do whatever it takes. Don't worry about what I signed" when they learn Dorothy needs surgery and he sees Keaton's devastation. Before they go to visit her at the vets, we see Keaton and Freeman discussing her: "She must be scared, confused, alone, in a strange place not knowing what's going on." Is that Dorothy she's talking about? Or herself?
We see the way life has changed, yet remains the same. Like many artists, Freeman's character is told his painting style is outdated and to be profitable, he needs to change his painting style to match the current art climate. Keaton suggests in her passionate way that perhaps he could go to a potential clients home and see where they want to hang the painting. Perhaps get paint chips to be sure it matches. Watching the film and pausing several times, I loved the paintings, bright colorful portraits that highlight a moment in a person's life.
There are several side characters of interest in this movie. Keaton's niece, Lily, is their real estate agent. She seems overzealous and I believe she talked her aunt and uncle in to selling their apartment for HER future, not in the best interest of her aunt and uncle. Their interaction is often happening with Lily on the phone talking to others, excited about the offers they are getting on the apartment. Zoe is another interesting character. A young girl whose mother drags her to open houses of apartments she longs to own, but cannot afford, Zoe and Freeman meet at several open houses and have interesting, if brief, conversations. She admires his paintings, wonders at a turntable, and tells him his dog will be all right because 'I know these things'.
Is this a big flashy movie? No, but it is full of the truths of aging ... that those who are of a certain age don't feel like they are, they still feel like they did in the 20's and 30's, but older, wiser, perhaps a bit slower. That their children/nieces/nephews feel that they know what is best for them. That their grandchildren will be the ones who love and accept them unconditionally.
Perhaps my favorite scene is one of the last ones. Freeman witnesses a young couple moving in to an apartment downstairs and, although we don't see anything but the legs, we hear them reenacting the same carry-over-the-threshold we witnessed earlier in a flashback. He smiles as he walks to his apartment, perhaps thinking that the more things change the more they stay the same.