Did anyone else find Diane Lane's character to be reprehensible? She has an affair with some bohemian guy that lives in a van, hurts her family, and really gets off pretty light. Her husband was portrayed as a good man, which she betrayed. He's away, working hard, so they'll have the money to play at this resort, and all she can understand is that he's not there and she's bored and horny. Ugh. I had very little sympathy for the character.
shareOh, come on... who can blame the woman? I think she's off her rocker to go back to her dull dud husband after having experienced the blouse man. I know that if I were Pearl, I'd ditch the dud and bratty kids and hop on board the blouse bus in a second.
sharehrmm... I think maybe you have to be a married woman with children in order to fully understand Pearl. Because dang I relate to her so well.... although I'm not about to have an affair but the daydreams of Viggo sure help me escape!
shareAmen. I'm not going into my life history but if Viggo was a real life choice, I'm outta here!
shareSeems to me you have to look at this woman's life as depicted in the script. It's clear she married young because she "had to" -- i.e. pregnant and too young. Her man did "the right thing" because he loved her. I'm not so sure she loved him at the time -- it isn't clear in the script. But she's come to love him and her kids, except she's at an age where she's restless and probably bored with being a mom and never had a chance to get out and see any more of the world than what she has right in front of her. I think I can understand why she'd consider kicking over the traces and having a fling with someone like Walker Jerome -- let alone as he's played by Viggo Mortensen!
I have a student who told me when he was in New York, to pick up some extra money, he'd teach yoga for seniors at a senior center. He said the announcements over the PA system were exactly like the ones in WALK ON THE MOON. "Attention everybody, Mark the yoga man is here...." in that exact same accent. So someone was paying attention to the ambiance of the story at least.
And yes, I'm happily married and wouldn't trade my man in for anything or anyone. On the other hand, he doesn't mind if I look -- and if there was a Walker Jerome selling blouses in my neighborhood -- I'd sure be looking!
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Perhaps it is because I was born in 1969 and see this as a poignant look at what was happening during that era to women in general in that era, I don't see anyone in this movie as a villain. Pearl was a relatively young woman (by my estimations she was only 30) who was caught up not only in her own restlessness, but that of the turbulence of the times. If you listen to her talk to Marty in a crucial scene, she tells him that the whole decade has gone by and her only big decision is (and I could be wrong on this so someone help me out if I am) where to shop for groceries. She sees Walker as an escape from the emptiness of a life that she did not necessarily ask for, but this is what she got. She married in the fifties out of necessity and now it is almost 1970 and not only is her world changing, but the world around her is passing her by. I am sure that many a housewife during that era would have loved to escape with a little fling (especially with a sexy hippy that looks like Viggo Mortensen) but just didn't do it. No, instead they carved out careers for their independence, or took pills and/or drank to dull the pain and the loneliness. Growing up in suburbia, I can identify with the women who wanted just one thing for themselves instead of sacrificing their own needs for the good of their families. Now I am nearly 35, and have yet to marry and have children, but when I do, I will not feel like I have missed out on anything, because I have my education, a great job, have travelled, etc. etc. Pearl felt trapped, and yes, was not thinking of Marty. But that makes her human, not necessarily a bitch. I agree that the character of Marty could have been stronger. But when he finally stood up for himself, I began to respect him. I also agree with whoever said that Pearl had no right to lecture her daughter, because it did make her a bit of a hypocrite. But I think she was just trying to prevent her from making the same mistakes as dear old mom. As for Walker, he was into Free Love and just happened to fall for Pearl. He is not a villain-just a carefree single guy who can hop in his van and go wherever, leaving all of that in his wake. He wanted to take her and the kids with him, but he knew at the end that Pearl would never leave Marty. The only real problem I had with the movie was the out-of-sequence events at Woodstock (believe me, Richie Havens did not sing on the same day as Wavy Gravy made his famous "Breakfast in bed for 400,000" quip-it was a glaring error on the part of the writers and anyone who has seen any documentary on Woodstock or seen the Woodstock movie) LOL and even worse, the odds of being in a sea of half a million people and spying your mother getting it on with another guy at the festival are like one in fifty million. I especially liked Marty's mother, because she comes off as old fashioned, but really she is the most with it character in the movie.
shareIf it is the man cheating on his wife or the wife cheating on her husband, it seems to always be betrayed as the wife being the victim.
A 26 year old teacher has the baby of a 13 year old student and is somehow out in time to have another baby when he is 15, she is then out again in time for when he turns 18 to marry him. A 17 year old boy is caught having consenual sex with his 15 year old girlfriend and he ends up being put in a sexual offenders database for the rest of his life.
When a woman gets pregnant, she can keep the baby and force an unwilling father to pay support for the next 18 years. When a woman gets pregnant, she can kill the unborn child even if the father wants to keep the child and raise it himself.
A married woman tells her husband that she isn't in the mood and uses the excuse he doesn't romance her anymore. The woman goes out with some friends to a dance club and ends up shagging a stranger in a car. Now that's what I call romance.
A woman drowns her five children one by one in the bathtub. Her defense claims it was due to her being off her meds and years of verbal (not physical) mistreatment by her husband. In other words, the man just lost 5 children all at once while he was at work, and then has fingers pointed at him like he is the monster and his wife is the victim.
Liberals on here can spin it anyway they want, but the father was the victim in this movie. His plans for life were changed just as much if not more by the accidental pregnancy. He was a caring father and hard working husband in an occupation he never wanted. He missed out on college to do the things he dreamed of doing. He was bored with TV repair but accepted that because he loved his wife and family.
Yeah, I think that was the point they were trying to make, as I said before.
sharewow...there was a lot going on in this movie outside of that affair..apparently it was wasted on a lot of people.
...and where did the sudden burst of "women get away with everything" come from?? i'm not even going to touch that one because that's a can of worms that doesn't need to be opened...but, just because this movie depicts a woman this way doesn't mean that there aren't 1,000 movie showing the other side of it all as well.
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Same Time, Next Year with Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn, both married people who met once a year for twenty some years and though you get the feeling that they do love their spouses, they love each other too.
1,000 movies that are empathetic and sympathetic toward men cheating on their wives? Name one please.
share"Far From Heaven".
shareI love everyone's comments on this thread but I am unable to give an intelligent response, primarily because it is darn hard for me to be objective. When I look at Viggo in that movie, I know that I would have done the same and gone off with him. He is irrisistable, not only because of his looks but also because of what he was offering. I think secretly a lot of women and people in general envy that carefree artistic lifestyle that some people are able to live. I think that kind of freedom is part of us but it often gets supressed by our boring jobs and conservative lives.
Viggo (I mean Walker) was offering her a carefree, spontaneous life and he was so darn sexy. It would really be hard for me to resist. I am not married so perhaps if I were married I would think differently. Or perhaps if they had cast another actor and not Viggo it would be easier for me to stay with the Liev Schreiber character. But, cmon!! It's Viggo Mortensen!!!
And, to the angry men on this thread: I feel ya. But, you just don't get it. It's about Viggo Mortensen for most of the women on this board. I think many women on this board, like me, find it hard to be objective because it is Viggo. Now, if they had cast Will Ferrell in the Walker Jerome role it would be a different story. Right ladies??
Will Ferrell?!?!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! (That's the same as LOL);>) RIGHT ON-Viggster!
shareLOL thats too funny. I am a bit of a Viggo fan but I was still ticked off at Diane Lane's character for being so selfish. Then, to give myself perspective, I imagined Brad Pitt as the Blouse Man and suddenly it all made complete sense to me.
shareI think you're right, Because even though none of this is real, it wouldn't have been believable for her character, if they got an actor that wasn't as attractive. We're supposed to look at it through Pearls eyes, and she saw this-Man,- Who looked this way, - offerin' more than just shirts and accessories..and...Ahem!...Okay!- I kinda drifted off for a minute there... Um, what was I saying? Oh yes! -But It's just a movie, It's a fantasy, and they just happened to find the right guy for the part. And just being honest, It probably would be tough, but not impossible, for a women or a man, to resist if someone looked that good. It's not like we see a bunch of people every day, just walkin' around lookin' like Viggo, every where you look right? Wait... that sounds pretty good!
shareYou would happily share Viggo with 1,000 other women who feel exactly the same way you do about Viggo?
Just wondering...
Ever heard of the "lost boys of Utah" as a consequence of Mormon polygamy?
Or is it just about sex and pregnancy is not to ever enter the picture?
so you didn't like the movie?
Actually, I liked the movie a lot, in almost all ways. I really liked the performance of Anna Paquin as the 14 year old daughter and also Marty's mother.
I just would like a little more feedback from one of the women posting here who seem to think the cutest boys are the ones to go for, in all circumstances and everything else just doesn't count. There seems to be a lot of that going around nowadays. Does the fact that the real cute boy-man - Walker - in this movie introduces Pearl to some MJ smoking - as well as oral sex - mean anything at all? They both ended up tripping on acid at Woodstock - probably from acid-laced wine but MAYBE Walker provided it knowingly. Is cocaine and heroin to follow? Not a problem because "if it feels good, do it, right NOW" is THE greatest ethos to build one's whole life on. Yes?
I agree with you 100% backlash. I could never forgive pearl. I can imagine my wife, whom I trusted, shagging some mf while I’m working my ass off and being faithful, that is reprehensible. i guess marty is more man than i'll ever be. i see women on this thread agreeing that they'd would do the same in pearl's situation. Please, save me from getting married.
shareI found this film such a wonderful interplay of emotions.
It was a period piece capturing both the innocence and safety of a family campground with traditional 50's and early 60's Jewish values contrasted with the changes taking place around them as wonderfully captured by Woodstock and the landing on the moon.
I enjoyed going back in time and fastforwarding to how the world is different today.
I just love a film that does not hand you the moral, but makes you think. Clearly from the other discussion points I read, the film was successful at making people question how they would react to such as situation; who was the villain, if any; and how their lives would be changed as they move forward both because of the infidelity and because of a world that was changing.
For me, it played out as real life for this family. It had a very different outcome than might have happened for many families. Marty was wronged, yet once he got rid of his anger, he came to terms with what he needed to do for the benefit of his family unit. This was Marty, always sacrificing for the benefit of his family - seliing his microscope to help out and repairing TV's instead of going to college. He always knew what he had to do.
For Pearl, she escaped from the cocoon to see and experience a world she was missing. Yet, eventually she too realized that she needed to appreciate what she had, that the happiness of her family was more important to her than the excitement of running off with Viggo.
For those seeing this film, you are put in a quandry as to how you view these characters precisely because you need to come to terms with how you would react. These predicaments and decisions play out every day. A great film is one that makes me think about it long after I see it. This did just that.
Phil-317:
Very astute explanation/commentary on the film, which I just finished viewing.
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To others:
I really liked the film and did NOT have a problem with it. From today's perspective, I suppose Pearl's behavior could be viewed as "reprehensible", but then so could the fact that she was smoking in front of her kids all the time, including while she was lying next to her sleeping son! And I smoke, but would never THINK of doing that!
The times were different, and our "judging" of them must be different. Nevertheless, the issue of infidelity is "timeless". What IS interesting today, then, is seeing how the parties involved handle the situation, and that is what we saw here--and beautifully acted besides.
As for the issue of women siding with Pearl but probably NOT siding with a MAN who did something similar, I hestitate to comment--rather volatile topic, eh? However, I feel that Marty was obviously ONE of the victims in this real-life story, at least temporarily. In the end, the drama resulting from Pearl's "experimentation" certainly got them to "air" their feelings and may actually bring them closer together.
Side comment on technical inaccuracy of Woodstock: Any discrepencies in a film like this should probably not be seen as "errors" but "poetic license". Now, if they wree driving a car or wearing clothes from 1975, THAT would be something to complain about!
Language is my life, but Peanut Butter is my passion.
The writers could have produced a better script in which Viggo told Diane more about the life she had missed. She just had this idea that Anything Different from Liev was what she wanted. But they could have had a philosophical conversation about how the world was changing, and they really needed to have a profound discussion about change while Neil Armstrong was walking on the moon.
The summer of 1969 was a big one in American cultural history and this film doesn't capture it nearly enough. Pearl is not a very well written character. She's provincial as it is and also she is not curious enough about the world that she would have bored Viggo in a few months. He needed someone who was thirsty for exploration. Not Pearl/Diane.
We all have little safety mechanisms that we employ to protect ourselves from pain and there is such a thing as honor.
All that said, here Diane looked like Mary Tyler Moore, only with a bit of heat.
Pug,
My wife did the shagging at resort, it was 1971.
We returned back to Brookyn, no it wasn't the same (Like the movie).
Then ful circle came in 1979, its disco time. The teen girls was going for married men. I met my present wife she was 15, I was 27.
2 grown kids and all these years later, we happliy roll along with no external shagging.
There is a site on Staten Island NYC, where I am known in the neighborhood.
My ex turned into junkie, HIV positive etc after this period. The daughter now is a failure.
So unlike Blousemen it doesn't end happy. There is room for a Blouseman Part #2, using a very true story line.
Pics and real stuff [email protected]
You're a completely idiotic fool. And yes, I am a very proud, intellectual, intelligent, highly educated, movie-loving liberal who won't even begin to dignify your idiocy with any form of response.
share"If it is the man cheating on his wife or the wife cheating on her husband, it seems to always be betrayed as the wife being the victim.
A 26 year old teacher has the baby of a 13 year old student and is somehow out in time to have another baby when he is 15, she is then out again in time for when he turns 18 to marry him. A 17 year old boy is caught having consenual sex with his 15 year old girlfriend and he ends up being put in a sexual offenders database for the rest of his life.
When a woman gets pregnant, she can keep the baby and force an unwilling father to pay support for the next 18 years. When a woman gets pregnant, she can kill the unborn child even if the father wants to keep the child and raise it himself.
A married woman tells her husband that she isn't in the mood and uses the excuse he doesn't romance her anymore. The woman goes out with some friends to a dance club and ends up shagging a stranger in a car. Now that's what I call romance.
A woman drowns her five children one by one in the bathtub. Her defense claims it was due to her being off her meds and years of verbal (not physical) mistreatment by her husband. In other words, the man just lost 5 children all at once while he was at work, and then has fingers pointed at him like he is the monster and his wife is the victim.
Liberals on here can spin it anyway they want, but the father was the victim in this movie. His plans for life were changed just as much if not more by the accidental pregnancy. He was a caring father and hard working husband in an occupation he never wanted. He missed out on college to do the things he dreamed of doing. He was bored with TV repair but accepted that because he loved his wife and family."
Ahmen to that! Well said! It's really a mystery why people cant see the truth in facts like these.
Pearl "lost" herself. She lost the respect of her daughter. The respect of her husband. Who could know what might happen to that family in five years or less? Odds aren't good for them once one spouse has cheated. All I saw in watching this film was how difficult it was for the entire family. Pearl, a woman of her time, had few options and felt trapped. That doesn't excuse her behavior, but neither does this movie.
Maybe Pearl should have been stoned to death for adultery at the end by a mob while her husband watched approvingly, then you'd find this film more palatable?
Oh, and I think your "proof" that women have it easier is ridiculous. What makes you think that women approve of the despicable actions of Mary Kay LeTourneau or Andrea Yates? Just because they are on the news and female? Come on, buddy, that is just really icky, and completely insulting.
Reality check: We live in a world where a woman who sleeps around is viewed as a slut and a man who sleeps around is viewed as a stud. All things are not equal between the sexes, never have been. If you think men have it bad, then you are delusional.
About time someone else sees what I already saw! ;) There is an episode of House where the wife cheats on the husband, and Cameron thinks that he is a jerk for leaving him. If it was the other way around...Well, you know very well that Cameron would have been on the wife's side. ;) Women!..And I am one! ;)
shareBacklash, old thread, but you are so right...If you are a middle aged white guy, you get blamed for EVERYTHING............
You Have a Hard Lip, Herbert..
Better Living Thru Chemistry
Wow. Most of that had absolutely nothing to do with the movie, and was just a rant about your beliefs. Please find another forum for it. I don't care that you think a woman should carry a child because a man wants it.
shareThe "liberals"? Why the f do people like you have to inject your warped politics into every discussion under the Sun? I was right with until that last paragraph. Grow the f up and turn of the AM radio and FAUX News. It must suck being you, but it must suck even more knowing you.
This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.
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As for the daughter spotting her mother at Woodstock, maybe the odds were long, but it would have been possible. My friend was at Woodstock. He and his sister went in one car. The sister borrowed the car to go back toward NYC to pick up some friends. By the time she was on her way back, the massive traffic jam had started. They hadn't really planned a "meetup" place or time for when she returned, just assumed they would find each other not realizing how big the event would get. Even in the vast crowd a day later, he ran into her unexpectedly. He said "That was Woodstock. All sorts of strange things happened."
share"This movie's message is trash."
Narrative movies don't have messages; they just have stories. You, as an audience member, can take from the story any message you wish. You seemed to have taken the message that adultery is wrong, a message that seemingly validates your existing value system. As such, I wonder why you dislike the film so much. You obviously found it to be engaging, based on the level of emotion I sense in your post.
I loved this movie, and like you, completely sympathized with Liev Schreiber's character throughout -- he was a good husband, a fantastic father, and an all-around decent guy. He certainly didn't deserve to be betrayed by his wife.
If I had to choose who I liked more -- Liev or Diane Lane -- I'd side with him. But you know what? The movie doesn't ask us to choose. Knowing that what she does is wrong, I can still watch the movie and feel empathy for a woman who has *always* done the right thing and never had the opportunity to let loose. It doesn't excuse her behavior, but it makes the character real.
If all movies were about saintly people we wholeheartedly approved of, they'd all be boring as hell. I think that "A Walk on the Moon" is a great movie, even if I cringed every time Lane's character made a bad decision.
Cheers,
EP in DC
"I don't want life to imitate art; I want life to BE art." -- Postcards from the Edge
Narrative movies don't have messages; they just have stories. You, as an audience member, can take from the story any message you wish. You seemed to have taken the message that adultery is wrong, a message that seemingly validates your existing value system. As such, I wonder why you dislike the film so much. You obviously found it to be engaging, based on the level of emotion I sense in your post.
I loved this movie, and like you, completely sympathized with Liev Schreiber's character throughout -- he was a good husband, a fantastic father, and an all-around decent guy. He certainly didn't deserve to be betrayed by his wife.
If I had to choose who I liked more -- Liev or Diane Lane -- I'd side with him. But you know what? The movie doesn't ask us to choose. Knowing that what she does is wrong, I can still watch the movie and feel empathy for a woman who has *always* done the right thing and never had the opportunity to let loose. It doesn't excuse her behavior, but it makes the character real.
If all movies were about saintly people we wholeheartedly approved of, they'd all be boring as hell. I think that "A Walk on the Moon" is a great movie, even if I cringed every time Lane's character made a bad decision.
Cheers,
EP in DC
I don't understand why people are so busy deciphering / condemning/condoning the "message" of the movie.
There is no message - it's an objective story about a wife and a mother who feels trapped and has an affair.
I wasn’t under the impression that the act was condoned in any way. The story was an anatomy of the affair.
It’s up to the viewer to determine his or her reactions to the act. Why do we expect a movie to have a coded message, a moral lesson? We are so conditioned by Hollywood archetypes of the good versus bad character that we have forgotten how to make judgments about the characters ourselves. And really, the beauty of true-to-life characters is their humanity and sincere portrayal, namely there are no good or bad characters. Just like there are no good or bad people, we are all flawed and ambivalent (I am obviously excluding the likes of serial killers here).
It’s not to up to Hollywood to teach us what’s good and moral. That responsibility lies within us ourselves.
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DITTO..... I FELL IN LOVE WITH WALKERS CHARACTER. I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THAT VAN IN A SPLIT SECOND.
sharetypical american women, bitchy, feel self-entitled and last but not least whores. Don't realize how great American men are compared on a worlwide level. Did you women know that the highest growth of a social group in this country is single American women... DO you know why that is???..American Men are tired of whiny useless women who have distorted feminism to advance a new social cliche, of lousy wives. That is why American men are going to latin America and Eeastern European women. To marry beautful loyal women. Dont believe me see it for your self........This women in this movie (belive it or not) represents a large population of American women, who dont have any guilt of being a slut because they have a sense of entitlement.
www.nomarriage.com
Ummm, u r right, we guys cant be married women to understand how u feel, but how will you fell if ur dear hubby says he daydreams(not an actual affair jst daydreams)about some real hot girl. I bet you will call him selfish and all other stuff, now imagine the hurt of Marty and how hypocritically girls r defending that bitch!
shareAnd life for the husband is a bowl of cherries? The only difference is, if he was the one having the affair, women wouldn't be jumping to his defense justifying his betraying adultery. I've never understood women loving these "chick flix" where the wife/girlfriend cheats. Men are pigs, but women are misunderstood. The double standard is alive and well.
This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.
I agree.....
shareYou da man!! I think everyone should ditch their spouses. One big cheating world. Like the cavemen days!!
I cheated once with a ballerina on the 25th floor of Trump Tower in AC. My live-in girlfriend was sleeping content in bed at home waiting for my arrival from a hard day's (night) work. I loved fooling her. She didn't and never guessed a thing about it. That girl was really cute. She weighed at least 30 lbs. less my real girl. i just showered before I left...best way to get caught if you don't. One other thing, if your wife ever asks you about infidelity, ALWAYS deny it. With your most honest face. Trust me on this.
Good luck cheaters...I loved this movie, and DIANE LANE. See "Unfaithful" for a more current double dose of D.L. and cheating. Richard Gere was the "good guy" in that one. What a sucker! Remember, cheating always heightens the orgasm.
Oh, come on... who can blame the woman? I think she's off her rocker to go back to her dull dud husband after having experienced the blouse man. I know that if I were Pearl, I'd ditch the dud and bratty kids and hop on board the blouse bus in a second.
yeah right, getting rug burns on the van floor and eating hot dogs daily would get old quick
I feel for her. I think she's a likeable, flawed character.
I don't like her choices, but I can understand them.
I can empathize with both Pearl and Marty. In different ways.
It was a good movie in that it showed that they are believable humans. They are real.
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Let me lay it out for anyone who finds any justification for anything that Pearl did. I'm a married parent of two boys; one in college and the other in high school. I can tell you for a fact, that if you want to be a good parent, you often times have to put your children's welfare ahead of your own happiness. There are a million things which will make you happy and a million things you want to do. But if you want to be a good parent to your children, your own wants and happiness sometimes has to take a back seat to your children's welfare.
What that means is, when you become a parent, you have to check your libido at the door until your children are at least older and on their own. You don't destroy your children's home just for a roll in the hay. Rest assured that there hasn't been a day in my married life, that I haven't thought about going to bed with other women. But I'm not going to destroy my children's home just for a good time. Pearl is tired of Marty and bored with her life? We all want more for ourselves. We can always find something wrong in our spouses and justify what we do. But if your life is so bad, and your spouse is so abusive, then you leave. If you choose to stay and have an affair behind your spouses back, then your complaints are not valid. They're just rationalizations.
Um folks first its a movie.....and yes I know it can still influence people but if you have to go to the movies to make life decisions you need help anyway.
And frankly you all need to get off your high horses and think about the arrogant remarks you are making....Pearl did not go into the situation to cheat on her husband.....and frankly considering the circumstances of her marriage and the era it happened in I think many of you here unless you also got married in the h1950's for the same reasons have no right to judge.
Today the world is a very different place..woman have so much more freedom then back then and to sit in judgment of a woman from 30 odd years ago and fictional one at that is just ludicrous. Take the message given, the good and bad and apply it to you own life but don't be so damn puritanical until you have walked a mile in that persons shoes....and since this is 2004 not 1955 or 6 there is no way you can.
Wow. Nothing like being told to get off my high-horse by someone who so very arrogantly tells EVERYONE in a group that they are, ummm, well, arrogant. Nobody said they use movies to make life decisions (thus allowing the incredibly insepid remark) but this is a forum about movies, and the contents of those movies. One of the contents in this movie was infidelity. The topic being "discussed" (sorry, I didn't catch the arrogance) was if one of the subjects deserved to be cheated on. This characters motives could have been discussed, what he does, what he doesn't do (i.e.- was he physically abusive, was he emotionally void). None of the opinions would have deserved being made fun of, as they are after all, opinion and discussion.
What I will make fun of is people who cruise opinion forums looking for a subject line in order to waggle their fingers at other people so as to make themselves feel good by using words like "high horse", "judgemental" and "puritanacal", giving themselves some kind of moral high ground when giving their own opinion.
Your opinion of the movie is valid. Lay off the condemning of all us little-minded people who just wanted to discuss a movie for it's content, and stick to the movie.
P.S. - 1950, 2000's, I don't care. We all make choices. They are not always good. Sometimes we regret them. If you make a bad choice regarding your marriage, get out. I serously suspect what happened here was that once she reached a certain age, she realized (like most of us) that life isn't like a movie, that all men are not fairy-tail princes (welcome to real life)and she was bored. Too bad. Cheating, in my opinion, in the context presented surrounding this character is NOT OKAY.
And that is my opinion regarding this CHARACTER in this MOVIE since this is a forum for that kind of discussion. The views might happen to align themselves with some of my personal moral viewpoints. But as long as I'm giving that opinion in the context of the movie, deal with it.
I was refering to all the people who were bashing the female lead and acting as if it were real life and acting as if they were so perfect that they would never make the decisions she did. And I found incredibly insulting and arrogant. People sitting in judgement as they were perfect is a the crux of our society today and it makes me mad so that is why I said what I said.
I am entitled to my opinion and it is simply that you can certainly ignore it or dislike it but it doesn't change it not will it ever.
Feel free to bash my opinion but at least I had the courage to be frank and speak my mind about what was being said here.
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Hi, just trolling about
How did she avoid repercussions? I decided to miss the ending as her dalliance annoyed me. I did view all of “The Secret Lives of Dentists” and that was a life of film. Many movie stories progress because no one confronts an issue at the first inkling of frustration/dismay.
Who wants to punish mom, when we’re past the hurdle of betrayal? What outcome would you prefer? That “for better AND worst” is the key. Violence and divorce are avoided in favor of compromise, communication and reciprocation. Like spilt milk, you grab newspaper to absorb and then grasp the container more securely. This should not equate to suffocation.
Now, in “Mondays in the Sun” the ending was wrong. “The Browning Version” ended correctly. I stopped watching “Eyes Wide Shut” after Tom’s husband makes his ‘first’ choice. Did I miss good cinema? Chevy’s Clark flirts with the model in “National Lampoon’s - .” Then there is the Glenn Close – Mike Douglas film.
regardless of role reversal, identification and sympathy (empathy) have more to do with my feelings toward a character than their actions or the story.
In “Leap of Faith,” Liam’s sheriff gets the low-down on Steve’s faith healer and publicly denounces him. Faith healer replies, ‘hey, would you rather take advice from’ someone who hasn’t been down that road? A weak analogy, but every parent has the right to help, deter and advise their child.
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Tors,
Lets see I married my wife at 27 she was 15, we are married for 25 years in december with 2 grown successful children.
She said missed nothing.
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Wow,
You missed the whole point of movie, it was about the era. Do you remember "free Love".
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Tors,
Then by your correaltion Star Wars is the Titanic.
This was a time when chemistry was in order for out-of-relationship-sex to occur. Hey want to do your husband/wife, no problem was the order of the day.
It was the beginning of the swingers crowd, plato's retreat etc to come into the vogue.
This time did not matter, happy, bored, rich or poor. The expression free love meant "to have your better half" no binds whatsoever.
Come on you did not see that in the blouseman, no future etc. If true he went to Calforinia and burnt out in the 70's like so many others.
I take it you did not live the era.
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Tors,
Totally agree with you, its that I lived the era. The movie was exactly as my history occurred minus the sticky sweet ending. Ours would end 8 yrs later, in quite the opposite fashion.
No not picking it apart, oncer again Blouseman 2 could be another hit with tables turned in Brooklyn.
Now that would be a shocker :).
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"Let me pose this question to all you defenders. Lets say we reverse the roles in this movie but keep the script the same. What if it were the husband cheating on the wife with some beautiful and exciting woman. Would you still defend his actions like you have been defending hers or would you be tearing into the miserable SOB?"
First of all, I don't consider myself a "defender" of Diane Lane's character, but I did like the film.
I think that if her character had been "the husband," and the film took great pains to show us why he felt trapped in his marriage (even tho' the wife seems to be a great lady) and how he knew that what he was doing was wrong, and how much it hurt him to realize how much he had hurt his wife ... then yeah: I wouldn't "defend" his actions, but I'd still like the movie.
I don't agree with the basic premise that this movie is pro-adultery. I also disagree with anyone who says that Tony Goldwyn (the film's director) tried to paint Liev Schriber's character as a "villain" -- he's an extremely sympathetic character, and it's hard to see him suffer the way he does. The film doesn't want us to condone Pearl's behavior, but it does invite us to understand why she does what she does.
As for "getting off scot-free," I think she's terribly wounded when she sees the consequences of her actions. And still, I was hoping that her husband could find it in his heart to forgive her, because I wanted him to be happy and I wanted her to get back on the right path. I have a hard time understanding those who claim to dislike this movie on the basis of being "pro-family" while wanting the film to end in divorce.
This is a great movie, about real & complicated people, in which nobody is perfect ... sorta like life.
Cheers, all.
EP in DC
"I don't want life to imitate art; I want life to BE art." -- Postcards from the Edge
You've just pointed out the great double standard in American movies: cheating wives are almost always forgiven while cheating husbands are either ostracized or permitted to the return to the nest only on conditional or probationary standard. There are exeptions, of course, and this rule of thumb does not apply in cases where the woman's cheating is just a prologue to the the subsequent story, as in "Body Double."
share"You've just pointed out the great double standard in American movies: cheating wives are almost always forgiven while cheating husbands are either ostracized or permitted to the return to the nest only on conditional or probationary standard."
Yes, but are cheating husbands ever at the center of a film? A lot of people didn't like Pearl; I gather as much from reading the posts on this board -- but she is the focal point of the movie. I'm trying to think of a movie centered around a cheating husband, and I can't do it. That would be an interesting film, come to think of it -- a movie from a cheating husband's point of view whose wife is *not* a shrew.
Cheers, all.
EP in DC
"I don't want life to imitate art; I want life to BE art." -- Postcards from the Edge
One example, off the top of my head, of conditional or probationary forgiveness for a cheating husband -- "Something to Talk About," with Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid as the cheating husband who at the end of the movie is essentially required to court his wife (Roberts) all over again. The Quaid character is of course central to the story, although the movie is more about the Roberts character. I can think of more examples if I give it some thought.
shareyo drkjedil, dweeve, this is just a board for people to share opinions. no one is coursing their live by it nor movies. shutup
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I think that the real story is about the times and the changes that were made from the fifties to the sixties, going into the seventies. It showed a young woman who was involved in her family for the entire decade of the sixties and then when she met the blouseman, she was exposed to a new way of thinking, a new age she knew nothing about. She was intrigued by it as anyone would be if they were honest. In the 50's, everything was perceived to be so prim and proper, then in the late 60's, everything was experimental, open, confusing, the is reality. They just used Pearl to show the change in atmosphere from that point in time. Also, I liked the point that they made about how Pearl might not have been doing what she wanted to do with her life, but neither was her husband, and Pearl never stopped to think about that! They both needed to grow, but they needed to do it together. Remember though that this IS a MOVIE, for entertainment value. If movies were only made about good faithful people, doing good things all the time, things that everyday people did everyday, things would get a little boring, don't ya think? But boy, that blouse man....I don't know who could resist!
shareOk, Pearl had an affair and that was an immoral, wrong thing to do. Should they have hung her for it? People make mistakes, and we, the audience, know that, Pearl knew that, and Marty did have a reaction when he found out about it. The movie tells the story of a young mother trying to search for herself. Topics like infidelity will upset some, but I think it's important to understand why Pearl did what she did. And it's a very human and compassionate thing to forgive someone who has wronged you. Jeez, lighten up, people, it's only a movie.
sharePearl did what she did because she was horny, and selfish....God knows ive been there and done that, and it was wrong of me...You dont stop and think about hurting the people you love when you are in that situation...I know I didnt, it was just all about ME........Yes, it was just a movie, and a good I thought, what she did was wrong, but without the Affair it would have been a boring movie......
Better Living Thru Chemistry
Quick question, no not be a wise arse.
Did your marriage survive, or are you simply sticking it out.
Did you ever notice how whenever the
subject of morality comes up, there's
always some apologist crying for us
not to be "judgemental."
It's almost like the concepts of right & wrong,
consequences, accountability, & responsibility
are viewed w/ a caveat- like situational ethics:
" there is no right or wrong, it only depends on
your situation." What grates most of all in this
movie, and if you check, in most of the tripe
spilling out of Hollywood, is that NO ONE IS EVER
HELD TO ACCOUNT! Pearl cheats on her husband, &
for the sake of the movie audience, he comes crawling
back, w/ minimal discussion, trauma, heartache, or pain.
Happily ever after- no matter what!!
Once, just once, I'd love to see a movie
that show characters who go through life w/ a semblance
of regret, & remorse for their bad decisions.
Instead, in EVERY movie, make a note of how infidelity
is handled- emphasis always on the affair itself, never
on the destruction that it engenders. Yes, it's only a
movie, but show us the wreakage, not just the occurrence.
I, like Bob Marley, fear that I'll be "waiting in vain",
before H'wood gives us such a movie.
Why is everyone so quick to condemn Pearl? She's human. She made a mistake. Plenty of women cheat on their husbands, but they manage to forgive each other. Now, I'm not trying to say "Hey, girls, if your husband isn't paying attention, go out and sleep with a guy who sells T-shirts!" but you have to take into account that Pearl was very unhappy.
Like Jesus said: He who sins shall not cast the first stone. Have YOU made mistakes in your life that you regret and are glad you were forgiven for?
"I believe it's the drama in life that makes you strong." - Diane Keaton, "Something's Gotta Give"
She wants what every other woman on this earth wants: To have her cake and eat it too.
shareI agree with most of the folks who make the point that this is "just a movie". I see several people getting all worked up primarily because they seem to have missed a lot of what was going on in the film. I see a lot of moral indignation where none is really warranted. Life is not black and white and if you think it is, you are either very young or very sheltered.
Couple of points I would like to make:
This film takes place in the late 60's. I am not sure how many of you were alive at that period in time. I was in my early teens. It was a time a great change socially. Pearl and Marty were a couple who had hooked up in the 50's under what might have been less than ideal circumstances and they were trying to raise their kids in a new age armed with the societal expectations set in the 50's. The title of the film is actually quite apt. When my parents were born, people could not image putting a rocket in space, forget about putting man on the moon. Suddenly, in the 60's, America was on the cusp of a new age. In the same way, Pearl is discovering that she as a women (had she been born a generation later), might have had different options.
I don't think it is an issue of hating her husband or deliberately going out to abandon him or her kids. She is exposed to a life should could never imagine. In a moment of weakness, she makes a bad decision. Rather than exploring these issues with Marty, she has a fling with the first guy who opens her world up to options. Bad idea? Probably. But it does not make her a bad character. EVERYONE makes mistakes. It is how one handles the mistake afterward that determines their true mettle. At the end of the film, Pearl understands that her place is with her kids and her husband. She sees the effect her actions have had on her family. Is she better off with her family or the "shirt man"? Obviously she chooses her family.
Marty IS angry and upset when he discovers his wife's infidelity. However, I think he (in his heart) understands. Hence the ongoing motif him trying to familliarize himself with "modern" music. He is just as confused as she is.
Exactly how do you expect Marty to "punish" Pearl for her indiscretion? He does love her and she loves him. I believe he feels it is better to take her back for the sake of his kids and for his own sake. Would you like to see him ask Pearl to sew a scarlet letter on her chest and leave the family unit? I think he realizes that in the long run, any drastic action would have a deeper affect on his kids. By "punishing" Pearl by leaving her, he would be throwing out the baby with the bath water. If you can dismiss your mate so easily for one mistake in judgment (and infidelity is not something I take lightly), you are either very immature, shallow or you simply did not love them very much in the first place.
The movie ends with Pearl and Marty tentively trying to dance. This seems like a metaphor for how life will be for their characters for some time to come. They are going to have to come to terms with her affair and learn how to trust each other again.
This was only a two hour film, not a weekly series so we don't know how the characters fare. It would probably take a LOT of work for them to rebuild their relationship. They would probably fight and have trust issues. But the big kids learn to do that rather than throw a hissy fit when the going gets rough.
I don't think Tony Goldwyn was trying to say that infidelity is a good thing. He was simply making the point that it happens and it is how one deals with life's curve balls that determine his or her fate.
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Wow, you really are friendly, jlwunder. I've never dismissed anyone's opinion. Some people are really bothered by infidelity, and I was merely trying to get everyone to dig deeper and understand the reasons Pearl cheated on Marty. I wouldn't automatically condemn the husband if he had been the one to cheat. I treat men and women the same.
sharePeople are sure touchy about this, aren't they? Well, I think the reason that people are sympathetic towards Pearl is that the movie introduces you to all characters involved. I felt sympathetic towards ALL the characters. It was a different situation than say, The Graduate (same era), when you have a bored rich wife looking for some fun. Or even in "Spanglish", where you have another bored rich wife. Pearl wasn't looking for something, it just happened and the movie just shows how the couple dealt with it. If you are looking for the reverse situation, where the husband cheats, look under "Cheating Husbands" under plots on this website. You'll find a ton of them. Or just watch Oprah. You can't generalize everyone's situation.
shareHmmmm...bet you have been waiting a while to use the word "canard". It seems as if you yourself tend to be rude and dismissive of people. Some of us just don't believe the themes of this particular film deserve such a lambasting.
I don't think anyone was using the phrase "it is just a movie" to be dismissive of other's opinions. However, in the scheme of life, "Walk on the Moon" is simply a film. From reading other folks postings, you would think this was a discussion about nuclear proliferation, world hunger and genocide. If only people DID expend as much energy on those topics as this film,
I think what is being said is to calm down and not take the themes of a film so personally. I understand that the story in "Walk on the Moon" might conflict with some individual value systems and that is fine. But to dismiss the film in its entirety for this reason seems foolish. Your postings seem mean-spirited and not in character with the concept of open and free discussion.
B,
You are correct, the movie simply reflected an era that was dying and another awakening. I can personally attest, my ex did the same thing.
Its wasn't until the disco era, we would come full circle, this is where the movie should have led us with a closing statement, or sequel.
See my post.
reidqa,down here in Tennessee we call you guys Child Molesters and have a special place for you.What in the World could a 27 year old grown man possibly have in common with a 15 year old? Are you trolling about for a younger version yet? Stay away from my daughter.Or else.
I too grew up in this era and the movie brought some good memories back for me.It was entertaining,I suppose I am naive for thinking that was the point of movies.
Sorry buddy,
No need for your overweight duaghter, been married to my love 26 yrs.
Tras,
Before posting garbage, please read your laws.
Under 18: If either party is under the age of 18, they must be accompanied by parents. If under the age of 16, Tennessee law requires that the couple receives a court order before being allowed to marry.
WE HAD THE BLESSING OF COURT AND CHURCH.
Nobody in this family is overweight.
Regardless of what the courts say,you are a morally bankrupt character to consort with a 15 year old at the age of 27.That was fact,not garbage.I reckon the Fathers with guns down here don't read much law,too bad for your kind.Maybe you should do a search on how many child molesters get shot instead of what the legal marrying age is.Or was that just part of your research for the next baby you molest?I'm sure you have many reasons,she looked older,she acted much more mature than 15 but there are no excuses.I bet your parents were proud. (now lie to me about how they were)
Insulting my young daughter,who has no idea this thread exists,is indicitive of the type of 'man' you are.
Shame on you,Child Molester.
Better do you history reading and soul searching.
Your post references today.
Did you jerry lee lewis (good old boy) any guess his wife's age.
Be more scared of the young people to whom daughter will date.
AIDs, illigamate child or worse.
Now move on.
PS: Your aguement is null and void.
Since your opinion is bigger than the law and god.
So you are morally bigger than god, since a man of the cloth married us.
There was not the age difference between Jerry Lee and his first wife that you have.Besides,what indeed happened to that relationship? Jerry Lee almost lost his career.This is who you compare yourself to? Had he not been rich and famous he would probably be dead.
My opinion is far from null and void,since I know MANY agree with it.Probably the Majority,how about you take a poll,Child Molester?
Funny you are trying to take the high moral ground in this thread.Feeling penitent,maybe?
Don't worry about my daughter,I will keep her safe and aware of such things as HIV,child bearing and Child Molesters like you.
I will move on when I choose,Child Molester.Not when a morally loose ...person such as yourself tries to take the attention off of his moral crimes.
Child Molester I hope you have no daughters.I worry for them if you do,once a perve always a perve.
Gee,
You certainly are a loser.
Sorry 27 yrs married, empty nesters and having survives approximately 8000% divorces (1980-2007 total marriage).
Gee, been told over the years "you one lucky guy".
Oh, you her the basement, better call child services. Its such statements that usually cost a child a lifetime.
Well guess marriage in your eye is a crime.
Daughter, want some pics.
Iraq, 7 medals including army commendation, gun truck driver, 21 yrs old going
for sargent stripes.
Move on troller/flamer.
I met my Wife when I was 34 and she 28.Who's the loser? Trolling? Looks to me like you were trolling for babies and found one.
Good thing (for you) you weren't here where men are men and Child Molesters scared,moving somewhere else or dead.
Most girls are raised without illegitimate children or STD's (or being molested by grown men) without being whatever that incoherent crap is you posted,'you her the basement'.Who are you to talk about costing a child a lifetime here?Too bad that 15 year old was robbed of her childhood.
Glad your kids got away from you,good for them.
Child Molester.
More dribble from our resident troller and flamer.
Gee, most girls better do your homework on this matter for pre marriage and post marriage any idea of statistics.
Sorry better do marriage ages of bride/groom in Tenn, you will uriniate your pants.
Gee, kids got away. My daughter lives home and is proud of her parents.
Robbed childhood, what point of reference. I am retired since 45 yrs old.. Please how many of your people can post that.
More dribble go find a life.
"'Its just a movie' is a meaningless line thrown out by thoughtless people to dismiss anyone who disagrees with THEIR opinion."
~~~~~
Says you.
When I say, "It's just a movie," it's usually in response to people who treat their opinions as fact, and seem to be investing far too much emotion into their arguments one way or the other.
But since you bring it up ... let's say that you believe in fidelity and keeping one's marital vows to be faithful and true. Are you then obligated to hate "A Walk on the Moon" or any other movie that depicts extra-marital affairs? Are you also obligated to attack anyone who enjoyed the movie? Does enjoying this film immediately make a person "pro-adultery"? That's a pretty black-and-white view of the world, don't you think?
Personally, I believe in fidelity and keeping one's marital vows to be faithful and true ... AND I liked this movie. To me, this film expertly showed how adultery might feel good in the moment, but is clearly not worth the pain and suffering it causes to the people you love most. Another way to make this point would have been for Marty to reject Pearl and divorce her -- but if you prefer this ending, aren't you then pro-divorce ... (kidding)? I suppose you could also make a movie about a woman who is *tempted* to stray but resists her temptation and is glad she did -- but that's a different film altogether.
I enjoy debating the meanings found in various art forms, but it ceases to be enjoyable when people can't seem to tell the difference between a friendly discussion and an ideological battle to the death. Relax, folks ... it's just a movie.
Cheers,
EP in DC
"I don't want life to imitate art; I want life to BE art." -- Postcards from the Edge
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"Did anyone else find Diane Lane's character to be reprehensible? "
Definitely. I certainly had no respect for her. Both men were infitely to good for Pearl.
I don't think a man who would actively pursue a married woman and mother of young children is "too good" for anyone or anything.
shareDiane Lane has made two films where she plays an adulteress. And the characters she potrays are so similar (mothers of children & married for at least a decade +), and the character's husbands are decent, hard-working men who are both completely unaware of the infidelity until much later in the film. She's making a killing making these kind of movies, yet her range doesn't seem real broad. I saw this movie on cable the other night (more like, I listened to it since I was putting together something for my wife). And right there, I totally sided with Liev Schreiber. I kept watching hoping that Lane would have an epiphany or something, realizing what she had done and focus on her daughter or something. Didn't happen. I watched the movie a little bit longer hoping Viggo would get killed or something. Wouldn't happen, either.
So I guess I feel lke you, because the trouble I had with this movie is that I couldn't enjoy it. My wife's stupid "Lifetime" movies are better than this!
I thought Diane did a good job with the 'concience juggle' that her character was going through. She had that inner turnmoil going on.
It was actually going on before she met the "blouse man".
yes her husband was a cute funny husband, but he was gone a lot. and she was young and yearning and ....you get the picture.
Then she meets the blouse man. When they cast Viggo as the blouse man, they knew what they were doing. He shows her his free spirit world...and she's mezmerized.
I really wanted her to go with him. And when she turned him down, i sooo badly wanted her to send him to me:)
hah hah
One,
If they were to continue the story, and family from brooklyn/Oueens payback would occur about 9 yrs later.
It was disco, and it was the thing to catch a married man by a teen.
I can personally attest to the fact.
If I read one more post about the disco era and teens catching married men, I think I'll puke.
sharePlease feel free to puke,
The woodstock era, was followed closely by the Disco era. I just happened to live in the epicenter the Odessey Lounge (orginal film locale) right down the the street.
Perhaps you should watch some vintage SNL for more information.
Oh, but you aren't, DarkSorcerer! You are an intelligent person full of dignity who wouldn't dare call a stranger names or look on a message board for a fight! You are a perfect human being!
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