Literary Monday?

Not quite. Maybe.

I saw two really interesting films this weekend:

Away We Go (released last month) was quite a pleasing little one, filled with laughter, tears, and a great soundtrack.

It had me thinking about Garden State (2004) a lot. I saw Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) as an older Andrew (Zach Braff) and Sam (Natalie Portman) still on a quest for “home” or that infinite abyss.

Either film defines the existential struggles of my generation well—(my generation being those born in the ‘70s). Heartbreaking and funny. Poignant and silly. I may have to hang some plastic fruit on a tree just because…

THEN I finally watched Revolutionary Road (2008) and was blown away.

Again, another generational (is that a word) film—this one dissecting suburban life in the 1950s.

Kate Winslet was perfection (as always) and since I haven't read the book, the ending was a shock/surprise.


As I was watching, I thought about a few of the short stories I've read by John Cheever...and then afterward I started thinking about similar films, or films on similar themes.


I call them "films of quiet desperation"...they are my favorite! And so there was a texting session later on...

J: I'm the queen of suicidal flicks, I guess
A: Seems so! While I have many involving the murdering of others...
J: We may need to be studied.

Of course if you put our movie collections together...

J: It would be a bad idea; if we don't kill ourselves we'll commit murder instead.
A: True.

If you like The Hours, Evening, or Closer--you'll probably like Revolutionary Road.

If you like Garden State, Lost in Translation, or Juno--you'll probably like Away We Go.

~~J