But I also have to admit that the role of Judi Dench's Barbara made me uncomfortable, and it extended from resistance to disgust.
It might feel better if you read the novel first.
I have to say that I have never been biased towards the so-called sexuality, so I blame Judi Dench for this discomfort, her temperament, her deep grasp of the role gradually expand this discomfort, yes, it is the vulture , it is the potential lethality caused by this temperament that makes me slightly afraid. If it were Meryl Streep or Jane Fonda, I would probably lose all of the above feelings.
Maybe loneliness is a huge monster that can devour all reason and kindness. The old woman Barbara played by Judi Dench is almost a pair of cameras hidden all the time around, with the satisfaction of voyeurism and the fun of control will drift away The secrets in the air are captured one by one and put into words. Her so-called scandal notes have such a thick row, and each book and even each page may be mixed with the previous dependence and trust, but unfortunately, because This kind of "keep one hand" habit, love can't grow, some are just the resentment of being deceived and humiliated, and finally they are separated from each other.
Maybe everyone should learn Zhou Muyun's way and go to Cambodia to find a tree hole to tell secrets, instead of entrusting it to someone you trusted at the time, let alone written records.
Sheba played by Cate Blanchett may be the Nth woman to appear beside Barbara, beautiful, white as snow, blond hair, a vague rebellion that has been veiled by the years, and the boring middle-class life. The emptiness and pallor of the package, the husband of a father's age, the mad daughter, and the demented son, the contempt and disdain of the old woman's scrutiny immediately put an unhappy smack in Sheba's life. Label, she self-righteously thinks that Shiba being with her is really releasing the passion and fun that the backwater life does not have. Her hallucinations are so huge that they are forced by loneliness to become so huge that they can cover the world. It's a pity that Xiba's way of dispelling loneliness is to have fun with her 15-year-old students. This is a moral category. How does society define it? By the way, "child molestation" is accompanied by hidden dangers, violates morality, and is not Loyalty, crime or excitement, the pleasure of a young body, for a beautiful young woman like Shiba, who is bound by the same immutability, perhaps sinking is more attractive than loyalty. As for a 15-year-old boy, in addition to being obsessed with mature women There is also the joy of conquest.
Barbara seized the secret, nervous and angry, until she realized the joy of control. Sheba had to accompany this lonely and eccentric old lady, perhaps for her, this relationship has evolved from the initial friendship. For a kind of involuntary following and cooperation, with a little deceitful illusion. And in Barbara's heart, she probably has gradually raised this to the height of love. So when she needs company, Sheba temporarily ignores her because she wants to send her demented son to school, a departure she sees as a betrayal.
This old lady must have thought this: I saved you from that boring life, but you left me when I needed company most and went back to the life I despised. She sees the light in Sheba's life as her alms, and she needs an equivalent repayment.
What was the moment when Barbara needed it most? It was her cat that died. She has no reason to let go of her loneliness, or more seriously, the company in her life has been lost. For her, it is almost like a lovelorn. Lonely and exploited to maximize her madness, she twists and turns out Shiba and the 15-year-old's indecent secret with a chastening sanctity.
The secret was thrown under the sun and it exploded. Sheba's peaceful life was crumbling, forcing her to get out. Barbara stood up at this moment and played the role of protector. When she was almost despised by the whole world, she offered a helping hand at the right time, comforted her, took her in, and with a smug nobility, she would probably call it the power of love.
While digging up secrets, you must also learn to kill them. Talk to the tree hole, talk to the air, talk to cats and dogs, but don't talk to the book. The book will betray you. There, waiting for the caress of any pair of eyes, if Barbara doesn't have the habit of documenting, her past, so many scandals she's caught, her scheming about Sheba might not have come to light so soon, and she might still have time there. Transform Shiba into her lover in the days of mutual dependence, if only a little longer.
It's a pity that poor Barbara has written so many books, since it is a secret and not locked, it is inevitable that Shiba will discover the truth. I even imagine that it was a premeditated occurrence, in other words, Barbara may know this moment is coming, she may deliberately let it happen, but wait calmly or even indifferently.
First meeting, acquaintance, betrayal, anger, attack, comfort, betrayal, separation, she carefully manages such a process, just like a love contest, is she addicted to the fun of this reincarnation, hoping for a kind of pulling, a In order to continuously stimulate the lifeless life, so that the loneliness in life can be reduced.
When at the end I see her approaching another woman on the bench, a new cycle is about to begin. I admit, this loneliness is sad and, at the same time, creepy.
- Originally published in ＜Watching Movies＞
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