One of the things that makes life interesting is the matter of our expectations and how they are rarely just "met." In my own case, it seems as though my expectations are either unmet or exceeded. A perfect example is a couple of movies I recently watched on DVD.
Unmet: "Half Nelson" / I had read so much about this movie that I was almost salivating when I pulled it out of the Netflix envelope and popped it in the player. I was very disappointed. I found Gosling's character particularly annoying and unsympathetic. But I could have lived with that because there are plenty of great flicks with unlikable protagonists. The script was totally unbelievable -- there is no way the "real world" would have cut this guy that much slack. The most telling scene in that regard was the one where he took on the basketball referee and eventually threw the ball at the ref, hitting him in the back. Having been involved in coaching various youth sports, and refereeing soccer at high levels, I can tell you there is no way that he wouldn't have been banned from coaching for at least a year for that kind of conduct. Instead, he's back coaching as if nothing happened! And, most importantly, I did not buy the chemistry between him and the girl. What the hell did she see in this guy? It really seemed contrived to me, as opposed to the wonderful chemistry between Fishburne and the girl in "Akeela and the Bee" for instance.
Exceeded: "Sherrybaby" / This movie just knocked my socks off and I fell in love with Maggie Gyllenhaal. She is on screen for every moment of the flick and is simply amazing. I knew she was a good actress when I saw her as the "free-spirit" baker in "Stranger Than Fiction" (she stole the movie), but I was not ready for just how great she is. Sherrybaby has some squirmy moments (e.g. the scene near the end with her father), but they are not gratuitous.
When our expectations are unmet, we feel let down, chastened, and a bit embarrassed. But it all evens out with those joyous moments when our expectations are exceeded.
~ tom
2 comments:
For whatever reasons, I haven't seen either of those flicks yet. I usually know what will disappoint me and what won't, though going in with low expectations almost always leads to things seeming better than I felt they would and vice versa. So I had this feeling just from the rave reviews and previews that Half Nelson would be half baked, even though I heard the girl was terrific and would like to see it just for her performance. Sherry Baby I heard nothing but good things about as well, but didn't have any bad feelings about, just hadn't gotten around to it, so I look forward to checking it out. Have you seen The Wind that Shakes the Barley yet?
Lal: What you heard about the girl's performance is spot-on. However, "half baked" is a good description of the global effect of the flick (at least in my tiny brain).
As for The Wind that Shakes the Barley, I've got it on my Netflix list for when it comes out on DVD. We rarely venture out to see first run movies in the theater -- too many Yahoos talking, who will give you lip (or pull a gun?) if you ask them to shut up. Sigh :(. My exception is big, loud films with special effects that my TV can't approach. These flicks are usually so loud that I can't hear the Yahoos.
~ T.
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