I caught this on satellite last night and watched 'cos the missus had seen it previously and wanted to watch it again.
I have one question. Does anyone know if the writer and director (Tim Sullivan) had experienced the loss of his wife/partner? We just thought that Jack's part had been written by someone whom had probably been in his position.
"It takes two to lie. One to lie, and one to listen."share
I don't know I'm afraid! I also thought the emotion was very real. your missus has good taste in films but i can't halp but think that she would have given you the option to change channels... maybe you are falsly reporting the situation! perhaps at the end of the day it was your choice to watch it!
just thought i'd say!
Just go and have a bloody good laugh!- Sophie, Peep show
I don't know I'm afraid! I also thought the emotion was very real. your missus has good taste in films but i can't halp but think that she would have given you the option to change channels... maybe you are falsly reporting the situation! perhaps at the end of the day it was your choice to watch it!
just thought i'd say!
Tim Sullivan said in an interview once that he spoke to a friend (or family member I can't remember exactly) who had been in that position of loss in order to build a realistic picture. He also used his friend's input for the speech Jack gives Amy when he says that for a split second when he wakes up every morning he forgets that his wife has gone and then suddenly remembers again that she's died. This was apparantly exactly how the friend described his grief to the writer. I thought it quite moving.
"Opinions are like a**holes. Everyone's got one."
- The People V Larry Flynt
Jack's grief seemed completely unrealistic to me. The movie presents the situation as if Jack's loss is somehow greater than that of his wife's parents. They are put in the position of comforting him! How utterly ridiculous. He'll be able to get a new wife once his grieving is over, but they can never get a new daughter. If I met that character in real life I'd slap his maudlin self-pittying ass. I couldn't make it all the way through this picture. They took a gorgeous young actress and completely wasted her. And where on earth is the much vaunted British wit that could have redeemed the film?
This film was just discouraging.
You're kidding me, right?
Since when has there been a ranking system stating who deserves to grieve more when someone dies???
Death is death. When someone dies, that means they are taken from you. And death affects us differently. Where one stumbles and falls, another becomes stronger. You can't dictate to people how they should feel in a time like this.
When your spouse dies, are you doing to sit back and button your lip because you shouldn't grieve anymore than the parents?? NO! That is stupid.
And I'm sure to all the people out there who have lost their husband or wife, they probably wouldn't share your opinion that because they can "get a new spouse" their grief should not be as paramount as the parents. It's not like they go to the "Pick A New Spouse" store and find an exact replica. They lose that person forever too.
And remember, this movie is about HIS loss. Not the mothers. Otherwise, what would be the point of the story??
AMEN!
Lost my wife 13 years ago. Still hurts like hell.
One of the best movies ever about LOSS.
This IS what it feels like.
I love this movie.
Katsmiow, you took the words out of my mouth.
When that other person goes through a horrible loss one day, I hope they never have to hear comments made to them such as the one they made regarding mourning and finding a new mate.
I don't know about Tim Sullivan, but I am currently reading Richard E Grant's book, With Nails, the Film Diaries of Richard E. Grant and in it, he reveals that he and his wife Joan lost their baby to premature birth, 7 months, and his description of bearing the unbearable (tiny baby that he held in his hand for a few minutes -it was that small but perfectly formed), certainly informed his performance, if not the writer - who no doubt incorporated Richard's thoughts into the script. I highly recommend the book - it's mostly belly laughs but as the English believe about drama and comedy, in comedy, you look for the thread of drama and vice versa. I lived for a few years in L.A. around the Hollywood scene, going to the parties - I did not have an agenda other than to have fun, but Grant is spot on with how he describes the souless interactions in that town.
I'm sure he did not have to search for a method memory in the scene where he cries on his father's shoulder. Besides the baby, he also lost his own father when his father was in his early 50's.