I watched the show "Big Little Lies" with hindsight. I didn't expect such a surprise. I finished two seasons in a week. The suspenseful setting and the story line are very exciting. The most interesting is the line of Celeste played by Nicole Kidman. It can be said that it is the most layered portrayal of domestic violence in my limited history of watching the drama. It moves away from that black-and-white narrative of demons and innocence, and plays with a lot of grey areas between love and violence. And Nicole's performance shows the fragility and strength, despair and hope of the people in it, shaking in hatred, passion and shame, just like Celeste himself said "it's complicated" many times in the play.
There are foreshadowings everywhere in the play. First of all, when the character Celeste appeared in the first episode, the BGM sang "I'm a victim of loving you, I'm a victim of wanting you". So, who is the victim, and how is it hurt? I didn't say it here, only through the scene on the balcony and the observation of the crowd, the impression that they were so in love was highlighted. Problems start to surface in the second episode, when Perry pushes Celeste for missing school orientation, followed by an apology, and the anger turns into intense sex. When you see this, you will wonder, is this an occasional or regular behavior? We know it's a pattern from Celeste's conversation with Madeline at the bar, where in front of friends Celeste's expression is "Sometimes I think he likes to fight, because it leads to sex. Sometimes I think I like it too." , with her own sway here, and understatement in front of friends and keeping it decent.
The violence escalated in the next few episodes, without warning, and was terrifying, and as a viewer, I was nervous every time I saw Celeste pull the door open and come home. She frequently used concealer to cover up the scars, then picked up the baby, went to have coffee with her best friend, and the surface was normal. The counselor's office was the only place where she let her guard down a little. Even so, she still tries to hide the worst-case scenarios, such as the fifth episode, when the consultant has clearly noticed something is wrong
Counselor - He hurts you
Celeste - No, I mean, I didn't say that... We both become violent sometimes. I take my share of the blame
Counselor - He hurts you
Celeste - Look, I'm not a victim here, I'm not. I hit him, I throw things at him
...
Counselor - When this violence occurs, have you ever been afraid you might die?
Celeste - Never
Consultant - Never?
Celeste - Silence, remembering the morning, shedding tears
It's so bad it's life-threatening, why hasn't Celeste made up her mind to leave? There are many layers of reasons buried in the play. They, or Celeste thought they were so in love, that she could give up her career for him because of that love. She experienced four miscarriages, and he stayed by the bedside and took good care of her. She is an only child, her mother died and her father remarried. After having twins, she cherishes the company of this family, not to mention he is a great father. After each violence, his apology seemed sincere, and he asked for help, like a helpless child, begging her to help him with his violence. When not beating her, she was offered to him like a goddess. Besides, he is so handsome, he will play a Neil Young song to ask her to dance, and there is great sex between them, "we've been through so much together". Because of this, she will say in front of the counselor that there is violence in our relationship, so hopefully you can help. The subtext is that everything is so good except for the violence, if you can remove the violence from the relationship like surgery, you can happily ever after.
In addition to the good things in the relationship, what made Celeste stay is her self-esteem and pride. Until near the end, she refused to be a "victim of domestic violence". She is very far from the image of the victim in everyone's impression. She is well educated, she used to be a successful lawyer, and she lived a prosperous life in a seaside town. She was the envy of everyone. The more she suffered violence and Humiliation, the more I want to hold on to these things that make her feel powerful, and it is these things that prevent her from calling for help from the outside world, even her best friend. In front of the counselor, she would stress that she was not submissive, and she would fight back when Perry hit her. She will emphasize that it does not affect the child at all, because educating and protecting the child is an existence that makes her feel of great value, and she will not allow anyone to belittle it. She chose this man herself, and she wanted to prove that she could manage this marriage well. She put all the things that were created together in the intimate relationship on her shoulders, and she felt that there must be her own fault when something went wrong, even if Perry's violence and desire for control were closely intertwined, and it was about to suffocate her.
In the last two episodes, the dangers and fears piled higher and higher, and I began to sit still in front of the computer. There were monsters hidden behind Perry's lingering, and once it encountered resistance, it was a volcanic eruption. After being hit by a tennis racket, Perry said to Celeste "You are lucky I didn't kill you". On the night of the fundraiser, when they were packing up to go, Perry handed Celeste his phone and said, "A guy named Tracey is texting you, your real estate agent," and the air froze for a moment. After arriving at the event, he specially drove the car to a remote place and locked the door. My heart was pounding, and it had reached the critical point of death. Fortunately, Retana knocked on the door to welcome the guests, and Celeste opened the door and ran for her life. If it wasn't for the Monterey Five's last fight, Celeste would probably have died on the night, not Perry.
Speaking at the Emmys, Nicole Kidman said she valued the show's portrayal of domestic violence as an epidemic, more prevalent and in more places than we thought. Due to the guilt and humiliation of victims in society as a whole, people who have suffered domestic violence often try to hide in front of everyone. Celeste's understatement in front of friends makes Madeline mistakenly think that she really has a great passion for sex. On the car to Disney, Celeste was very quiet, and Madeline just asked a question and passed by. She never said anything about the rest. Even in front of the counselor, with images of the morning's violence replaying in her head, she just squeezed out a smile and said it was business as usual. If it wasn't for the rhetorical questioning and analysis by the consultant over and over again, things would probably accumulate quietly and then "suddenly" erupt, leaving everyone stunned. And how many similar things are buried around us.
Chai Jing wrote in "Seeing", "Family is the smallest social unit. After the door slams shut, how people treat each other here determines to a certain extent the basic face of a society." Violence in the family will spread. Create a squeeze in the public space, spread between generations, like Max hurting Amabella on the first day of school, setting off a season of adult struggles. Domestic violence never stops behind closed doors. And domestic violence is not always black and white, it is often accompanied by the complex family relationship itself, showing little by little, "There is never only evil or good in human nature, but if evil is not suppressed, it will be swallowed up. The fear of others grows." Big Little Lies shows a vast gray area between the black and white of domestic violence stereotypes. This is a zone that can effectively suppress evil and prevent it from continuing to devour fear and grow. Right now, not enough people see this gray area, and this show shines a light on it.
Some digressions:
I have to say that Nicole Kidman's performance is very good, and he plays the character's mood layer by layer very full, and the Emmy Award is well deserved.
BGM is also very suitable for the occasion. Except for the beginning, after E3 Celeste helped Madeline win a battle, he sat on the balcony and smoked, singing in the song
Do you need me like I need you Look at me I'm crying from wanting you Make me forget the pain that you cause Understanding it's a great thing If it comes from the heart The musical taste of this show couldn't have been better
There are also some details handled very well, such as Perry pinched Celeste's neck in the second season, and then raised his hand, Celeste dodged habitually. In another episode, after being beaten by Perry, Celeste was in a cafe wearing headphones and looking out the window. The boss came to refill the water, and she was terrified. The three women in Finale looked at each other and understood everything in an instant. There are more details. About the time of the second brush, I know the ending is calm and I can find more surprises.
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