SPOILER ALERT This is a TV show on Showtime that I am betting almost everyone stays away from. I am scared of almost every medical show, but for some reason this one interests me. Almost every minute of the show is sad. Not just the Laura Linney character who has Stage Four melanoma, but her bi-polar brother who lost a baby, her friend who died this season, her husband who is loving but so desperate for money to finance her treatments in a trial program that he makes bad decisions, her son who is struggling with losing his mother and girlfriend, her black student who gets involved with the wrong boy...and on and on.
And yet, I watch because the acting and writing is excellent. And I feel invested in their journey.
I stuck out Sophie's Choice, Philadelphia, What's Eating Gilbert Grape and somewhat recently the book, NEVER LET ME GO and TURN OF MIND for similar reasons.
Do you stick with books or movies or TV shows even if they make you sad or uncomfortable if the writing is great? Or isn't it worth it to you? What show/book/movie scared you and yet you stuck it out?
17 comments:
Patti - Isn't it interesting how such a sad story or story arc can still keep us drawn in...
Patti, wait until you get to the last second of the second season finale.
It depends on what it is. THE BIG C, definitely yes. The cast is great and I like a lot of the characters (though I was sorry they killed off one favorite, who I won't named for people who haven't seen it).
I'd much rather watch this than a total downer like THE ROAD, for example.
Jeff M.
I did, Dave. And it knocked me off my feet. Only these writers could seize joy from you so casually.
Jeff M., they may have, they may not, since they did show efforts underway for resuscitation. If the character is truly dead, I think the show might be too painful to continue watching.
I think Jeff may have meant the other M. patient.
I am sure they won't get rid of the other one. That character is essential.
We went and saw 50/50 last night. It was one of those movies that I could recognize what was good about it but didn't enjoy. Too much pain hitting too close to home, I guess. I don't know if this is what you are asking, but I wish I hadn't seen it. Come great performances, though.
That was on our maybe list for tonight and I guess maybe not after this. All four of the movies we are considering seem iffy.
"Breaking the Waves" was a movie that I found absolutely devastating, but I stayed with it (I'm still not sure if that was the right choice). Susan J. Miller's memoir NEVER LET ME DOWN about growing up with a heroin-addicted father and an abusive brother piled sadness upon sadness, but I kept reading.
I would guess that one of the reasons I finished watching/reading these was that they really didn't hit too close to home. However, one of my friends had to walk out of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" because her own mother suffered from chronic depression and had received electric shock treatments in the 1960s and she simply couldn't watch those scenes.
Good point, Deb although I doubt any of us haven't had the BIG C touch us. Maybe it's touched us enough to desensitize us a bit. Or maybe LL's courage on the show, shields us from the worst of it.
Darren Aronofsky's 'Requiem for a Dream'
It's a combination I rarely encounter, so I don't know.
BREAKING THE WAVES was a great example, Deb. Emily Watson was so good that it kept you watching no matter how painful it got.
Jeff M.
Breaking the Waves is a perfect example. And perhaps the last of his movies I could make sense of.
Requiem for a Dream-wasn't Ellen Burstyn fine. She broke my heart.
The Big C is worth every heart-breaking minute because Laura Linney is a fantastic actress and the writing is amazing. I'm much more likely to watch a "tough" movie on Netflix where I can pause it if I need to. Dexter is a show that took me past my comfort point. I watched a couple of episodes but the show left me feeling depressed and faintly icky.
"Sophie's Choice" pretty much cured me of anything sad. I had no idea what her choice was, so I was caught completely off guard. I'll never get that out of my head, not ever.
These days, I stop watching movies, and quit reading books, that are more than just a little sad. I can take a little, but not much more.
"Angela's Ashes" (loved the book, hated the movie) is the only exception. I had heard it was humorous, but it was anything but. It was depressingly sad; I didn't find the Irish wit I had heard so much about. Instead, I pictured poor little 4-y-o Frankie having to shoulder the care of his siblings while barefoot, cold and hungry on the mean streets on NYC. I kept reading because I had to have some closure. I had learn if Frank ever forgave his mother. I wanted to know if he was ever reunited with his mother and brothers. I didn't get my answers until I read "'Tis."
On a 1-10 scale of sadness, "Angela's Ashes" rates a 10 but "Sophie's Choice" rates a 20.
Although since Angela's Ashes was true it almost evened them up. They are about the two saddest books I've read with the exception of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK.
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