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A "Manchester by the Sea" in a sci-fi coat
Nels 2022-04-20 09:01:44
This is a "Manchester by the Sea" in a sci-fi garb, another movie full of grief, and another life full of guilt. When a person makes a mistake, how can he be redeemed? How do you get forgiveness? Can you forgive yourself? In the movie, the female protagonist who has just been admitted to MIT drives drunk and kills the male protagonist's pregnant wife and son. Four years in prison did not bring Rhoda redemption, and she was still engulfed by guilt. She allowed herself to live an ascetic life and tried her best to make up for the male lead, but many things, once they happened, could never be undone. We can only carry this self-blame and pain through this life until we die. This unsolvable problem in the real world, the movie solved with science fiction. In another parallel world, the car accident didn't happen. But in real life, there is no parallel world.
Extended Reading
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Richard Berendzen: It would be very hard to think "I am over there" and "Can I go meet me?" and "Is that me better than this me?" "Can I learn from the other me?" "Has the other me made the same mistakes I've made?" Or, "Can I sit down and have a conversation with me?" Wouldn't that be an interesting thing? The truth is, we do that all day long every day. People don't admit it and they don't think about it too much, but they do. Every day, they're talking in their own head. "What's he doing?" "Why'd he do that?" "What did she think?" "Did I say the right thing?" In this case, there's another you out there.
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Rhoda Williams: If you met yourself, what would you say?
John Burroughs: Hey, you up for a video game? Probably beat me. What would you say?
Rhoda Williams: Better luck next time.