MovieChat Forums > Paterson (2016) Discussion > Did anyone else think the gf was a freel...

Did anyone else think the gf was a freeloading...


Hippie?

Hate on it!

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Yeah I think that's what we were supposed to think, actually. She may be cute and quirky but she also asked him for hundreds of dollars for guitar lessons and stayed home all day painting and I think it was apparent that he was kind of worried about her jobless situation.

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I was like, you gotta step up Pat Pat.

Hate on it!

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Say, what?

The girlfriend was hardly a free loader - she was the light at the end of the tunnel (his reason for being, or getting up in the morning and coming back home again).

She inspired and supported him in every way she could whilst trying to follow her own dreams.

I think, though, she was a free spirit who Paterson saw as chasing pipe dreams. Although she was creative, she appeared to have no discernible talent and was delusional.


The question, then, is this: if she was so mistaken about the artistic value of her own self expression, what does that say about her evaluation of Paterson's poetry (and her insistence that he share his poems with the rest of the world)?

I'm not sure where the film stands on this - particularly since Paterson appeared to leave his book of poems out for the dog to destroy (so as not to have to make copies of them at her insistence).

The film seems to recognize the importance of expressing yourself freely or creatively - independent of whether such self expressions have any true artistic value or worth.

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He left the book of poems out by accident. He was very upset when they were destroyed. He kind of went into a depression and funk.

(Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.)

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If she's a freeloader than that makes Paterson an enabler since he allowed her to stay at home and never insisted she find a real job. If anything I consider her a stay at home wife/gf. And I don't see how that makes anyone a freeloader. Especially if both parties are okay with the situation.

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Stay at home wife/gf with no kids? That's literally the definition of a freeloader to me lol. I do think he became quite irritated with her several times (her always spending his money on her rather odd & quite silly trivial pursuits. They obviously didn't have alot of money, but she's asking for a 500$ guitar so she can be a "country singer"?  And then when she said "We can do payments!" I literally groaned along with a few others in the audience.

I think it all boiled down to the fact that Paterson is content with his everyday life. He has his routine and he prefers to keep it as close to that routine as possible, so he consistently avoided conflict and arguments with her and others to achieve that.

Hate on it!

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Stay at home wife/gf with no kids?


The movie literally begins with her dream of them having kids ...so clearly she wants to do more than paint curtains and be his cheerleader.

At any rate, you should be more concerned by her characterization than her character.

One of the film's major failings is its condescending attitude to her, and you're merely falling into the trap of buying the bill of goods it sold to you.

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I didn't. She's not really a freeloader if she was a homemaker. She did all the cooking, housework and shopping. She was also trying to bring in money from time to time. She wanted the guitar, but she called it his gift to her - perhaps for an upcoming birthday or anniversary.

She was also very supportive of him. She never criticized him, didn't mind his hanging out with his friends at the bar each night.

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I agree. I saw their relationship as a sort of symbiosis based on mutual respect. She did seemed materialistic in comparison to him but I think we can agree that he saw no value in money.

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No, she wasn't a freeloader per se, she was more flighty.

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I actually thought her stuff was really creative, definitely marketable. Some people have the ability to create, but not get it out there. She could also have a mental illness, she has a bit of an ocd obsession with black and white. They love each other though, that is clear, and she seems to have her heart in the right place. Her quirkiness seems to be part of the appeal to him though and she looks after him too.

I've seen freeloading, this ain't it.

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I was bothered that they struggled for money, and she stayed home all day playing around and not working a real job. But then wanted money to spend on frivolous stuff. She's the type of person who can't manage money and would run them into debt eventually.

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I couldn't have lived with that woman. I would have fucking strangled her eventually. I was actually waiting for Driver's character to snap and do exactly that.

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Someone should check the ground in your basement.

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