The oldest heart, go left or go right.

Patsy 2022-03-31 09:01:09

A constellation of stars. Love the music in it. How I have missed it.

out there there is nothing but possibilities.

you always said you will never come back, like you always said: "I'll never leave." and now you are here.

There is nothing noble in failure.

We got something special. We bleed the same.

so that is that.

--- come on i love that boy.
--- Either be in his life or don't.

you had to put me in that position. you are priceless.


you want to know why it doesn't bother me? All right, let me tell you something. When my father gave this place to me years ago, i used to dream about these girls, every night. Dreams, all kinds of dreams. But then I saw them come back after graduation. They come to homecomings, ball games, they sit at the same tables, eat the same food. And I looked at them and I noticed, they dont stay like this. None of them. They put on years and pounds, wrinkles. And I got one like that at home. So. And we can talk to each other. I know her and I always know her.

This is what it is.

As bad as it may have been for you, it is worse for me.

Actually nothing. dont tell me anything. because you are just gonna say whatever you think I need to hear and then you are gonna do whatever you want anyway.

--- I am sorry to hear that.
--- But not sorry enough to do something about it.

--- are you really gonna make us walk out of your life?
--- you are making the choice. not me.

She is a good one. Pure, like gold, rare.
When you meet a good one, you dont want to fuck it up.

The end of the movie seems to deliberately leave a suspense for everyone, guessing whether Ben goes left or right. Going to the left is not the end of time and returning to the original, but a helpless compromise to real life; going to the right is not ambitious and insisting on being yourself, but the belief that has long been corrupted is suspended in the body that has not yet aged. No matter how you choose, you are a lonely person who seems to love noise, lively, fear of aging, and immaturity. He has the oldest heart.

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Extended Reading

Solitary Man quotes

  • [last lines]

    Nancy Kalmen: When was the first time that a doctor sent you for a heart scan? Hospital called you. Called your daughter.

    Ben Kalmen: Uh, Dr. Steinberg ordered up that test about six and a half years ago.

    Nancy Kalmen: And how long after that did you start cheating?

    Ben Kalmen: That day.

    Nancy Kalmen: And you never went back to have the test done, did you?

    Ben Kalmen: No. Cant use that as an excuse though. It was a factor. But, uh, you know, things were building up.

    Nancy Kalmen: Building up?

    Ben Kalmen: Yeah. I was becoming invisible.

    Nancy Kalmen: [confused] Invisible?

    Ben Kalmen: Look, thirty years ago I would walk into a room, that room would change just because I was there. It was, you know, I was a graduate, self-made man, great shape. I had the TV commercials, all that stuff. I remember. I was right next to the camera when you shot them. You know what it was like back then, I was a lion. That's how people looked at me. But then, you know, things started to change. And over the, uh, past ten or twelve years, I'd walk into a room and only old people noticed me, they knew who I am. And to everybody else Im invisible.

    Nancy Kalmen: You were never invisible to me.

    Ben Kalmen: Well, that doesnt count because you were my wife.

    Nancy Kalmen: Oh? Well. You know what, Benny? If you're lucky, that's what happens. You get old.

    Ben Kalmen: No, I accept it's biological. I just don't accept that it happened to me. So, when, uh, Steinberg said he thought he saw something on the EKG, I got nervous. And when he called up the heart scan, uh, to see if there was any blockage. I had every intention of walking out of his office and going right there to check on it. But instead? Instead I went into a bar and grill on Lexington Avenue had a couple of pops to calm down and, uh, I picked up the first young girl who said yes and took her back to a suite at the Carlyle.

    Nancy Kalmen: And what did that do for you?

    Ben Kalmen: The truth...? It did plenty. See, I figured you'd see it on my face, you'd know straight off. But you didnt. You didn't say anything, you know. So, I kept right on going. And then, uh, you know, awhile after that Im up in my shop at white plains looking at the books. And I say to myself, why should I be New York's honest car dealer? Then again, nobody said anything. Nothing for years. But you know, I, I still don't understand why you... you didn't go back and have the test just to make sure. I'm gonna go to a doctor and give him that kind of power? The, the when, the where and the how? There's no, theres no way. You know what its like when we get our age. The best thing a doctor can say is, uh, well, "Oh, the survival rate is high"... or, uh, "it''s a good cancer", or... uh, hey, you know, no problem. "We got it early." I dont wanna hear any of that. And I wasn't gonna go get some of those, uh... those, those beta blockers and all that crap that slow you down and level you out. I was gonna live my life the way I wanted to until the fucking thing in my heart exploded.

    Nancy Kalmen: But you cant cheat death, Benny. Nobody can, no matter how many 19-year-olds you talk into your bed.

    Ben Kalmen: I know that. I know that now.

    Nancy Kalmen: Well... my car's parked over there. And I'd be happy to drive you back to New York City... if you're ready. Take a few minutes and you decide what you really want.

  • Susan Porter: You're gonna be okay.

    Ben Kalmen: You came to see me?

    Susan Porter: Yeah.

    Ben Kalmen: You're gold, Suse. You're... pure gold.