A woman's story always begins with an affair at one end. I don't even remember seeing a similar beginning in that movie or TV before, but when the affair came out of the water a little bit, I wasn't at all surprised. This is also how I feel about the whole movie. Every step is on the point. There are no surprises, but it is not boring. The heat is just right.
Mary, played by Meg Ryan, stagnated her career and devoted herself to being a good wife. Over time, she could not help but become a yellow-faced woman. Finally, her husband's extramarital affair was exposed. Mary first listens to her mother, Catherine (Candice Bergan), and pretends she doesn't know, and takes the kids on vacation to make her husband miss her. This trick is quite effective, Stephen (that is, the hero who does not appear in the whole play - this method is very 8 Femmes) three times a day expecting Mary to return home soon. Mary was about to endure like her mother and wait for everything to pass, but inevitably, she and the third party met face-to-face in the lingerie store. Crystal is also the most typical third party, eloquent. In the end, Mary went home angrily, quarreled with Stephen, and decided to divorce. Then there is the story of the most typical abandoned woman, after a dark period of self-defeating, to reinvigorate herself and make a new face, and finally the story of two bumper harvests in career and love.
The plot is the typical of the typical, that is, the cliché that people often say. But the director's tight narrative style doesn't make people tired, and some of the heroine's lines are also very subtle, making people feel her pain. I haven't experienced divorce, but everyone has experienced life in a mess, and all the good things have left me in an instant, and then I suddenly realize that I don't even know what I want and what kind of person I am.
The happy ending is also why I love this movie. As a typical commercial film, it can at least make the audience smile after watching the meeting, which is also good. Even though we all know in our hearts that in real life, Mary says that beauty is beauty, and if you want a career, you can really succeed in your career. A good friend can recommend a No. 1 buyer on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to cheer you on. In the end, your husband still loves you. Yours, such a thing is impossible. But in the end, we are still willing to believe such a fairy tale.
In terms of actors, although the female lead is Meg Ryan, Annette Bening is as always in the game. Annette is one of those women who looks vicissitudes of life, with those wrinkles and eyes even older than her real age, but I just like it. In fact, Annette herself has plenty of reasons to be proud. Her husband is Warren Beatty, an old Hollywood playboy, and the list of Beatty's girlfriends is really scary. British and American are all beautiful and talented women in the history of film. The whole world is waiting to see Annette being abandoned. But only until Annette and Beatty were born one after another, only until Annette smiled happily and said that her success in her career is thanks to her husband, only until Annette lost OSCAR when Beatty held her hands tightly, only until Beatty was awarded a lifetime achievement Looking at Annette's affectionate smile on the stage during the awards... In terms of career, due to the conservation of luck, it is difficult to have such a happy marriage and want to dominate OSCAR again, but it is recognized that her acting skills have always been wonderful within the standard, American Beauty From Running with Scissors to The Women, whether it is the protagonist or not, it will always be the most eye-catching and unforgettable one.
She plays Sylvie, a career-minded strong woman in this film. Bening brings her unique vicissitudes back into the role, so even though the role is a very beautiful magazine editor, a picky woman who is keen to go shopping and can see through fakes at a glance, Sylvie is still easy for the audience to accept. Of course, Bening is more familiar with the scenes of dealing with Sylvie's career and falling into a trough. With a few slaps, Sylvie has changed from a high-ranking editor to one of the most ordinary of us.
Meg Ryan's side, how can I put it, the sweetheart image is really gone forever. In a sense, this role is quite suitable for her. Meg in life was not abandoned by her husband but by the film industry. The women who once gathered thousands of pets seemed to have nothing in one night. So, it's another character, and the effect is good.
In terms of storytelling, in addition to the overall compactness and fluency, the details are also full of surprises. In Saks, Sylvie said seriously to Edie's child: "I'm gonna say something very important, and I want you to remember for the rest of your life. NO BODY HATE SAKS." Her face was serious and sincere The way it looks, it really amuses me.
The film does not directly shoot the quarrel between Mary and Stephen, but shows it to the audience through the mouth of the servant who overheard the content of the quarrel, which adds a lot of fun to the film. "It's really cute.
Barbara, who appeared at the party at the beginning of the film, is also very interesting, very polite and flattering, but secretly tried to poach Mary's housekeeper. Later, when the servant heard that Mary had broken up with Stephen, the housekeeper really mentioned that he could resign and go to Barbara. I really like the interlocking of details like this.
All in all, this is an American film that is very relaxed and inspirational, with a lot of highlights and a few wise sayings. What more can I ask for! ~
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