The aerobics instructor? After the beach scene? The director feels some need to show that every woman that even looks at his "protagonist" will mindlessly bang him without a second thought. Even Cotilliard, in the long run, comes off as nothing but a symbolic representation of damaged goods in need of 'saving' from his meathead protagonist.
I don't think it was meant to show that every woman is compelled to have sex with him right then and there, I think it was supposed to set the mindless jackhammering with those women in contrast with the I guess better state of affairs with Stephanie. I can think of a bunch of movies that have this kind of good sex/bad sex contrast. If anything I think the film primarily showed him being saved by her, another woman-as-sexual/emotional-civilizer plot (I wasn't a big fan), though obviously he was helping her get out of her depression as well. That was my interpretation at least. Did you honestly think any of it was genuinely misogynistic?
shareI don't mean the film intends to be misogynistic, but that it obliviously comes across that way. It wasn't "genuinely misogynistic" but club footed and clueless.
shareIt's not misogynistic to show that a man who wants to have meaningless sex with women he hardly knows, can easily find women who will accommodate him. It's true, isn't it?
You must be the change you seek in the world. -- Gandhi
Right, but even the cotilliard character is nothing but a hole of an entity. She IS what she lacks, and nothing more.
shareShe lost her legs. People change after that. You identify with yourself differently.
Btw, I first read that as "a hole with an entity."
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My Top 250 Films:
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I see. I was distracted by how much of the movie was cheaply conventional (especially with the kid), which I hadn't been expecting given its acclaim, so the gender stereotyping, overt or implicit, didn't stand out to me as much. I don't think the sex scenes with random women were nearly as big of a problem as the central relationship though. I'm still really trying to understand why so many otherwise credible people loved this movie.
shareI appreciate its depth, but I just don't understand the perfect scores it's received because it is definitely flawed...
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My Top 250 Films:
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Showing a man with as much sexual access as a typical woman is "misogynistic", right. We get it, you're a lesbian feminist seething with rage at the thought of a masterful penis violating the sacred yoni. If anything it's probably misandric, since as you put it the guy is a meathead, an animal like a whale or a dog that would hump anything with 4, 3, 2, 1, or 0 legs without hesitation. Do you complain about those horse movies for making women look like "damaged goods" so contemptible that they can be "saved" by a little bouncy-bounce in the saddle?
shareSo many people seem to miss what this movie about...
Both characters are physically gifted in their own way—but these gifts are defense mechanisms that keep each of them from being able to love or grow.
For each of them, the loss of that gift is the catalyst for their development. Stephanie’s growth takes place near the beginning of the movie, Ali’s growth doesn’t begin until the end of the movie.
This message is demonstrated by contrasting Stephanie’s profound changes with Ali’s inability to be anything but OP for most of the movie. His sex scenes and him leaving the club with the other girl are necessary contrasts to Stephanie’s newfound ability to fall in love, seen in her deepening affection for him.
Stephanie’s four sex scenes also help to demonstrate the growth, healing, and strengthening of her character:
1. He initiates, she is passive, she won't let him kiss her.
2. She initiates.
3. She is on top.
4. She is on top and demonstrates the fullness of her strength and confidence by risking the vulnerability of kissing him.
The story and movie are tightly constructed. There is no scene or shot included because the director is a man and all men are evil.
I totally agree with NashvilleFreeman -well said.
share@ NashvilleFreeman
I agree with your opinion completely & I am a woman BTW who believes that most women in this world are mistreated by men in a way or other ......
"The story and movie are tightly constructed. There is no scene or shot included because the director is a man and all men are evil"
yes, that's it. Those sex scenes with the other girls were also necessary .We get to see Ali doing that in a meaningless-almost mechanical way with girls that are equally not that ermotional about it ..On purpose , the director did n't even give them names or lines just to emphasise that ...
That was showed further in the scene with his son before the end , when the scene took longer time on the screen than usual I felt it was going to end in a "dramatic" way ..Every scene was tightly done for a certain purpose...
I would have give this movie higher rating, but I'M SICK OF ALL THE USELESS SEX (SOFT PORN) SCENES a director has to use to draw attention to the movie. Any message could have been given without the sex scenes.
Shut up and LIVE!
I don't agree at all--if you lost both your legs, do you think you'd feel very desirable, especially if you were a beautiful woman like Stephanie? I'm a nurse and had a patient just the other day who stared at his freshly amputated stump (covered by a dressing) and said, "This is so disgusting". My heart just broke for him. It changes your whole identity, especially how you see yourself as a sexual being...and she lost both legs. So I think it was important to show how gaining back her sexuality was part of Stephanie coming back to life. Think of how he found her in her apartment for the first time. Dirty, depressed, flat affect; she had pretty much given up already. And she was different to him and than the other girls he used for a quick screw--he was doing something for her too. He and Stephanie were really friends, as much as he could be. In his Neanderthal way, she really meant something to him--he just was incapable of showing it emotionally very much. Look how he treated his son and sister...he couldn't show any emotion except anger. That's why it was also important to show that the accident at the end jolted him into realizing that he loved and needed her, and it was implied he was able to be a better father. He didn't just run every time the going got tough as he had before.
shareI would have give this movie higher rating, but I'M SICK OF ALL THE USELESS SEX (SOFT PORN) SCENES a director has to use to draw attention to the movie. Any message could have been given without the sex scenes.
There was nothing misogynistic about this movie. He had access to meaningless sex. So what? Why is her sexuality something sacred and his sexuality something vile, disgusting, and in need of being controlled?
The relationship between Ali and Stephanie was beautiful. He cared for her and wanted to help her. She was turned-on by his physical prowess. They both benefited by knowing each other. They both grew by caring for each other.
The women seemed to be enjoying it, I don't get why that's misogynistic?
If your last sentence is what you took away from the film you missed so much.
She needed to be seen as a sexual individual. Before the accident she literally got off on that - she references teasing men. After the accident even though men hit on her after seeing her deformity they were instantly turned off. The "meat head" was the only guy that did not give a damn about that. It helped her heal. We're all sexual beings and it's important to be sexually attractive to others. A man and a woman going at it passionately isn't misogynistic - it's completely natural and loving.
Sex isn't everything though, that's what her dancing alone on the wheel chair and commanding the killer whale showed. Those two scenes along with her kissing and being on top were the most beautiful of the film.
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Bauer vs. Bourne, that is the question.
Dumbest thread I´ve ever read. A woman is having sex, so she is being objectified? Maybe the OP just needs to get laid because alot of women enjoy meaningless sex.
sharewhat bothered me most was that she was a smoker. ewwww :(
share