Relationships

Today, we slogged through much of the movie, so it was a little hard to be exact and concrete, but one of the significant things I noticed about the film was its depiction of relationships. Ennis initally seemed to connect with his girls as babies, but as they grow up, they become almost foriegn and strange, and he shows a lack of communication. The scene with his teenaged daughter felt tragic, as if he is losing everyone he loves (except for Jack.) Alma seems to be the dominant mother, and while I think Michelle Williams was great in this role, I have to unashamedly say that she seemed to be crying most of the time, although I understood her pain. By contrast, Jack seems to be much more invested with his family, especially his son (That footaball moment was powerful!), and trying to get him a tutor. Lureen is a little bit like Ennis, in the relationship, but focusingon her work and career. I thought Lee's portryal of both men filling opposite roles in their families was really good.
Lastly, Lee's use of music is very expressive, especially Jack confidently driving to "King of the Road" and then returning with the melancholy accompaniment of "A Love that will Never grow old." Later in Mexico, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps," is heard while Jack debates about whether he should sleep with the male prostitute, but ultimately gives in. The asynchrounous sound during J. and Ennis's final fight, was really good, with the music at the end punctuating the sad, tragic seperation of the two.