This article is based on the analysis of the plot, so it is not suitable for friends who have not watched it yet. Although this film is rated R on IMDB, in my opinion there is nothing taboo, it is just slow-paced and more literary, suitable for friends who are interested in literary films and social issue dramas to watch quietly.
This film explores the problem of "standing in line" when people face the three stages of the past, present and future:
1. Facing the past, should I stand on my side?
The heroine of the film stabbed a female classmate with scissors when she was a child, which led to her being dropped out of school. When she grew up, she was always regarded as a problem girl. Relatives and friends smiled on the surface, but they treated her differently. The birthday party was in full swing, and she was in the center of happiness. but not her.
Because she grew up in a traditional conservative Puritan family, the rules and precepts in her life restricted her real reflection on this matter, and she just felt that everything was her own fault. In the second half of the film, due to multiple stimulations by family, boyfriend and other events, her inner guilt gradually increased, which drove her to summon the courage to personally apologize to the female classmate who had been stabbed by her. She appeared in front of the female classmate for the first time, and it was a pity that she angered the female classmate because of her unmodified words and was driven away by the other party. Please note that I deliberately used the expression "unmodified" here, because after the heroine said "I'm sorry", she realized that although it was called an apology, she was still unwilling in her heart - she didn't feel that they are wrong. This is easy to understand. If it was me, even if it was me who was wrong back then, after 20 years of repression and humiliation, I would still think that I have redeemed my sins, and I am not wrong.
2. Faced with the present, should I stand on the side of my boyfriend?
The boyfriend is the catalyst for the heroine to break away from her current life. She feels that she is young and should not use her good years to serve her family because of a fault in her childhood. Of course, it is understandable for family members to take care of each other, but the heroine's family, especially her mother, basically treats her as a maid. This is overkill. The heroine was not reconciled, and escaped from the fence of the big family with her boyfriend who had "game" on him, and went to the wilderness to live a free and happy life.
At this time, the traditional and conservative social mechanism of the old Christian country in the United Kingdom began to operate. Under the initiative of relatives and friends, the law enforcement system intervened in the small days of the two young people, easily suspecting murder by fluttering the wind. Take away the happiness of the heroine. The heroine guards her hard-won happiness like crazy, fighting with her family, with the media, and with the police who lured confessions. There is no doubt that the heroine at this stage recognizes that her boyfriend is everything to her, and anyone who tries to put her boyfriend in handcuffs is her enemy.
3. Facing the future, should the young couple stand together?
In the end, the heroine was still with her boyfriend, but the relationship between the two had already cracked. The heroine felt sadly because of her boyfriend's violent tendencies and her replay of the incident in her childhood. Her boyfriend was not the happiness she wanted. She cut off the relationship with her family without leaving any way out, and finally plunged into another abyss - her boyfriend was just a male version of herself. The sense of insecurity permeated the whole body again.
But after twenty years of hardships, she was reluctant to give up this happiness, so at the happiest seaside dinner table, she tested her boyfriend and finally confirmed her feelings. It doesn't matter whether this feeling is true or not, the important thing is that the heroine thinks it is right. So she personally ended this happiness that she felt was just a mirror, and continued to go back alone.
So what this film is saying is that our choices come from our flaws, and our flaws come from our childhood and upbringing. We may think that we are on the right side, but after a period of time we find that this is not the case. The problem at this time is us. Bravely correcting and starting over, or embracing mistakes and continuing to live, the heroine's choice in the film is obviously the former.
There are two ways to avoid regrets caused by choices. Take the heroine in the film as an example. Either make a mistake, accept the imperfection in her heart, and fly away with her boyfriend, or bow down to fate and pretend to be a family member. Ended up living a life of discipline. Personally, I think the first one is more preferable, because as long as she escapes from that island and cuts off the connection with the past, every day she will be in the future will be brand new. Even if she repeats the tragedy of the past 30 years, it will be better than a pool of stagnant water at home. What's more, there are still many variables in the future, and it is still unclear what the outcome will be.
This is a British film with a strong bookish flavor. The rhythm and atmosphere are not as intense and gripping as American films, but it is worth savoring.
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