Film
THE SUBSTANCE: A Sad Gory Story of a Woman’s Self-Hate
Elizabeth Sparkle, an aging yet beautiful actress, hates herself. That’s why The Substance is a sad, gory story of a woman’s self-hate. Self-loathing always stems from early trauma. And, both childhood trauma and self-hate are devastating. You never feel good enough, are vulnerable to feelings of rejection, and do everything you can to prove you’re…
Read MoreA REAL PAIN: To Numb or Not to Numb?
Numbing pain is not a conscious choice. It’s a common survival strategy, a self-protection from emotional overwhelm, during and after trauma. And, it is often passed down for generations. Take cousins Benji and Dave, for example, in Jesse Eisenberg’s film, A Real Pain. They both struggle with their feelings in very different ways, revealed in…
Read MoreA COMPLETE UNKNOWN: A “Free” Contrarian, But at What Price?
A Complete Unknown is …yes … Bob Dylan – even though I can’t completely see Timothy Chalamet as Bob. The music is undoubtedly Dylan and, although I wouldn’t presume to speak to Bob Dylan’s psychology, this film tells us volumes about someone bent on (personal) “freedom” at any price. Especially the cost of alienating friends…
Read MoreBLUE VELVET: Why Desire Goes Wrong
David Lynch’s troubling and sexually violent 1986 film Blue Velvet reveals the corruption and dark impulses under what seems to be a white picket fence kind of purity and innocence. In Lynch’s signature style, this jolting movie strips bare the confusing urges and compulsions people live with related to desire, need, and what is or…
Read MoreALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT: What Happens When Love Hurts You
What happens when love hurts you? In Payal Kapadia‘s All We Imagine as Light, Nurse Prabha’s sad, lonely, closed-up face tells us (almost) all we need to know. Prabha has been failed twice by love. No voice against an arranged marriage. A husband who abandons her. What’s there to do but devote herself to the…
Read MoreCONCLAVE: The Why’s of Secrets & Breaking Free
Why do people keep secrets? Mostly, shame, terror, fear of being found out, or a desire for power and control. Edgar Berger’s Conclave shows a struggle with secrets, past and present. There are the Cardinals’ secrets and the Church’s widespread cover-ups. Lawrence, the Dean, is tasked with managing the Conclave, where the next Pope is…
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