Blindly forbearance will only result in more excessive abuse. In the face of violence and exploitation, resistance is the only way out.
Seventh score: 8.00
Synopsis
Selena (Jennifer Jason Lee), who left her hometown since she was a child, works as a reporter in New York.
The pressure of work made her breathless, and drug use became her habit.
One day, a fax forced her to return to her hometown where she had been away for 15 years.
The old widow Vera (Judy Parifford) was found dead at home by the postman.
Selena's mother Dolores (Kathy Bates) is the only suspect.
When Selena was very young, Dolores had been working at Vera's house for nearly 20 years.
In the eyes of Dolores, Vera is a bitter woman with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.
But because of a good salary, the strong Dolores has always endured Vera's oppression on her.
Strangely, after police investigation, Vera made a will 8 years ago, and she will leave all the money to Dolores after her death.
This also gave Dolores a motive to kill.
But Dolores claimed that she didn't know this, and she didn't believe that Vera would leave all her possessions to herself.
I haven't seen each other for many years, Selena and her mother seem to be separated from each other, and this separation has actually existed for a long time.
Selena's father Joe (David Strizeen) died in an accident 15 years ago. She has always believed that her mother was the murderer.
In her memory, her mother was a strong woman.
She is different from other women. In a society dominated by men, she can fight her husband.
But what she didn't see was her father's violence against her mother, and her mother's tolerance time and time again.
Finally, the thing that violated Dolores' bottom line finally happened.
Once, Joe misappropriated the money Dolores had saved from her hard work at Vera.
The money is reserved for Selena to study, so that one day, her daughter can leave this small place and have a better life.
What Joe had done completely annoyed Dolores, but what she didn't expect was that the nightmare had just begun...
Film Analysis
The film uses a two-line narrative, distinguishing between cold and warm tones. From a female perspective, the story is peeled off like an onion, step by step, and straight to the truth. The director used a lot of shots that alternate between virtual and real. From a technical perspective, it was already very advanced at the time.
All the actors in the film gave almost perfect performances. The lead actor Kathy Bates has won an Oscar for her "Ten Days in Crisis" in 1991. Her performance is at the textbook level and she will be strong in her heart. , The love for her daughter, as well as the characteristics of the "aunt" of that age, are all performed vividly, very natural, and there is no trace of performance.
There are a lot of scenery descriptions in the film, which are very beautiful. As the weather changes, it alludes to the mood of the characters. This kind of processing has a strong sense of substitution. The director also naturally expressed the theme through the spectacle of the solar eclipse that runs through the film. It is a metaphor that although the sun (man) is shining brilliantly, at the moment of the solar eclipse, his brilliance will also be blocked by the moon (woman).
"Sometimes being a bitch is the only way for a woman to live", this sentence recurs and is also the theme of the film. In some ages, and even in some places in the contemporary era, women's status and status are low. Plots of domestic violence, abuse, and fisting of women are widespread, and "women in danger" has almost become a mainstream movie genre.
As a reporter, Selena needs unspoken rules to get career opportunities. Like her mother, under the influence of contemporary society, she has put on the disguise of a "shrew". She has never seen "kindness" and "kindness" in her eyes, but only indifference, because she knows that repeated tolerance will only In exchange for even more excessive abuse.
Dolores, the hostess, had endured a long period of domestic violence until she looked at her husband with an axe and threatened that either you were dead or I was alive. Then she understood that weakness will only be exchanged for endless torture, and toughness is the only thing. The only way out for women in this era. When she knew that her money had been embezzled by her husband for private use, she said the phrase in the bank, "Because I am a woman, right? If it is the other way around, the situation will be completely different." In the same way, if she was the one who died and her husband was the suspect, the case might be over.
Is Vera a good person? Obviously, she can't be regarded as mean, she uses her obsessive-compulsive disorder and fault-finding character to exploit the servant. But what Dolores did not expect was that the person who treated herself best was the one who had exploited her labor for many years, because they had something in common. They were both women. They all endured the torture of men for a long time. Ra's husband used cold violence.
A good work should not be buried. It speaks for women who are struggling in every possible way but still can't get rid of the shackles of fate. The social phenomena it displays make us think deeply.
Selena left this sad town and went to the city, but is life better? If the whole society is unfair, then what is the difference between where to live?
There are both pros and cons in life. Avoidance can't solve any problems. Only by confronting fear can we get out of the shadows as soon as possible.
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