After the death of her physically dependent husband, May, a grandmother comes to London to spend some time with her two children: A stressed-ambivalent executive son Bobby, and an anguished-inadequate-narcissistic daughter Paula. And driven by loneliness and more, she starts an affair with Bobby's friend Darren, who is unfortunately also Paula's "lover".
The film is interesting because it illustrates that humans are altruistic only for selfish ends, even as they relate to their closest kin. Everybody in the film is self-consumed to a very large extent, and displays empathy only to want something in return.
Be it affection, understanding, money, sex, trust: in this film these are given so that one may get something in return. The characters are a study in self-delusion.
There are two extremely brave performances in the film, by Cathryn Bradshaw as Paula, and obviously by Anne Reid as May. May's character is not as transgressive as Erika's in La Pianiste (Michael Haneke, 2001), but nevertheless it may be extremely uncomfortable to watch for most people. But those who persist are amply rewarded by Anne Reid's full-of-candor acting and remarkable and subtle facial expressions.
The insistent demand for companionship, affection or physical intimacy is in its essence, undignified. When the facade of clothes and manners is cast away, as happens to a "civilized" man who has a one-night stand with May, it is not a pretty sight (and the horror is not because of his age, but because of something else).
The characters are gray, they are not bad people, but they can't help but hurt others. The most human of them all is Paula, and that is because she is the loneliest and the most angry at life.
1 comment:
"The film is interesting because it illustrates that humans are altruistic only for selfish ends, even as they relate to their closest kin."
Unselfishness is the highest selfishness.
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