Re: More movies
Submitted by Michael Mejido on 2003-03-6 01:36:16, Thursday
In reply to More movies submitted by Drifter on 2003-03-6 01:13:02, Thursday
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Happiness to me just showed a man with a problem. He knows he has a problem from the begining, he treats it as a problem throughout, and we leave him knowing he has a problem. Yes, it attempts to show a stereotypical pedophile in a more humane light, but i personally feels it doesn't succeed in that particular theme. On another note, the fact that you say "if only they wouldn't have ruined it by turning the character into a child molester" tells me that you didn't understand what the filmmaker was trying to say about the CHARACTER. And we must assume that he is making a statement about this particular character instead of commenting on what society deems as 'pedophiles'. Every character in the story has problems connecting with others. EACH HAS A PROBLEM. The director, Todd Solondz i believe, is not going to make this character into a Boylover like you'd like him to. If he's going to write a pedophile character, he's going to write a pedophile character that feels guilty, and feels he's sick. He is going to have a PROBLEM to overcome, to connect him thematically with the rest of the characters living out their lives within the same film. There is no happy ending for this character, but we come to a satisfying conclusion with the talk with his son at the end. "Would you ever molest me, dad," the son asks, without really understanding what the word or action means, but feeling its something bad. "No," says the father. And therein lies the catharsis and satisfying ending. He realizes he has a problem, but realizes he has enough control to stop himself from molesting his son, but more importantly, he finds he is able to talk with his son about his problem. His tears reveal the catharsis. |
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