–noun, plural -ties.
1. the quality or fact of being honest; uprightness and fairness.
2. truthfulness, sincerity, or frankness.
3. freedom from deceit or fraud.
The films Closer and Revolutionary Road seem like very different movies. They are in two different time periods as well as places in the globe. One is based on a play the other on a book. The plots even follow two very different structures as well as themes and motifs. The only comparison is that both have a great line up of actors and actresses.
In Contrast my experiences with each movie were very similar. I watched Closer at a theatre in Myrtle Beach with a good friend, Revolutionary Road was viewed in a theatre with a another good friend. Sounds similar but let me explain a major portion of how I watch a movie. Maybe the most important part of the movie for me is leaving the movie. Let me explain...
It is important for me when I leave to be impacted by a movie, by the story, impacted in any way; offended, excited, engaged, frustrated. Any of these will do as long as I feel something. These are the movies that resonate with me, stick around and make me think about life, love and the pursuit of happiness or whatever. This could include anything from Casablanca to anything starring Tim Allen. Regardless of the film I need an attachment to it. I want to interact with it in some way.
So the question is how was I impacted by these two movies?
Leaving Closer I was fairly confident I had never been more offended by a movie. I was blown away by the dialogue and some of the content and themes. I also consider this movie one of the dirtiest I have ever seen without a single sex scene. If you have not seen this movie it is about two couples; Jude Law and Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. It explores the complexities of these relationships when these two couples meet each other. The offensiveness of the film is not necessarily the fact that they cheat and lie to each other, it is how they discuss it with each other. The brutal honesty that each person needs to maintain their sanity. Up to that point in my life I had never seen how complicated a relationship could truly be when there was not an inherent trust between the two people.
Revolutionary Road was released 4 years later. My interaction was very different. Revolutionary Road is based on a book by Richard Yates. It is the story of a couple in the mid-1950’s that struggle with the idea of living the “Suburban Lifestyle”. It stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo Dicaprio (Their first time together since the juggernaut Titanic). This film is also an exploration of a relationship. However the difference here is that it seems to me that it is based upon the hope of a different future for the two of them. This movie also contained some of the most brutally honest scenes of inten
se dialogue I have ever seen.The question that I am wrestling with is Reality vs. Fairytale, Fact vs. Fiction etc. I think of some of my favorite paintings, they are not the distorted realities of Picasso or Dali but the brutal reality of Goya or Rembrandt. I appreciate both but I spend more thoughtful time on the latter. These things show us something of the world and culture that we live in.
When leaving both Closer and Revolutionary Road I uttered the same phrase, “If thats what an adult relationship is than I am not interested, no thank you.” When I first read some of the definitions above on honesty the third one seem to shine the most light on this line of thought, “Freedom of deceit or fraud” These movies do seem to show an aspect of this.
Growing up we are taught to be honest, do not lie, I mean there is a whole disney movie dedicated to the idea of telling the truth. But, this is not the type of honesty portrayed in these films. Honesty seems to encompass more than just simply our speech but how we conduct our lives. Living honest lives in every aspect. That may be why I have been so offended by these films because we have a voyeuristic opportunity to see morality played out in front of us. We are peeping toms looking in the window of these peoples lives watching them have a breakdown of morality. We have the leisure to watch and judge and dissect the themes in front of us.
The question I am wrestling with is which is it? Is it the simple principle, “I shall not tell a lie” that a young George Washington gave to us. Or is it something more brutal? Something that encompasses more of the person, the whole person.
The more I think about it I think I want brutality. I want complete and utter honesty in my relationships. I just don’t want to have to stumble upon the truth and then deal.
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