{Spoiler alert: this review is written for people who have seen the movie}
The elevator speech for the movie seemed really inviting: a send-up of Trump-like self-absorbed elites encountering a fully-vested spiritual healer. The send-up didn't disappoint as we see a realistic portrayal of the "nice" people who live in world where the unwritten rule is never to see, speak, or hear anything that questions the actions, or consequences of the actions, from which their luxury derives.
Sadly, however, the movie disappointed my expectation that Beatriz' encounter with these people, particularly with the primary perpetrator, Doug, would somehow initiate a change of his life's tragic trajectory, or at least give the audience something to ponder after the credits rolled. The film didn't deliver. Instead, Beatriz gets bollixed up in her anger, fueled by uncharacteristic over-drinking, and does not effectively represent the deeply-centered, life-affirming compassionate healer that we see in the first part of the movie.
Beatriz fails to build on the surprising connection she makes with Doug when massaging his shoulders, and also when acknowledging what it was that he liked about hunting. That connection could have expanded into a real dialog. Instead, she has a violent fantasy, does nothing, and walks into ocean. Fade to black. It was a dues ex machina without the machina.
The problem, of course, is not with Beatriz, it is with the script writer, Mike White, and the director, Miguel Arteta. It wouldn't have mattered if Beatriz' encounter with Doug had succeeded in getting him to reconsider the destructive impact of his life, or if she failed. But in this movie, in spite of its exquisite setup, she doesn't even try.
I am left with this question to ponder: What could Beatriz have said to open up Doug's blinders on himself and his life?
1 - The film's director should have had her translate the song, or sing a verse in English, so the audience, as well as the people she was singing to, would know what she was singing/saying. I got only a bit of it about enjoying the little things in life.
And then, she could have encountered Doug with something like, "What really brings you satisfaction? You have so many houses and vacation houses that it is causing rifts in your family. Can you see that more money, more business deals will still leave you feeling empty? But, you do like a challenge - a challenge in the face of danger. Consider what a challenge it would be if you worked to reverse the destructive impact of your, and your colleagues' developments."
2 - In the driveway, late in the movie, when Doug comes out of the house to have a conversation with her, and he says, "I'm dying, we're dying, the Earth is dying, so we just got to take and enjoy what we can."
Beatriz could have said something like, "and what will you leave for your grandchildren?" Or, "and where would you be today if your grandfather had lived by those words?"
Or, she could have connected to the shoulder massage saying, "Yes, Doug, you are dying. I felt it when I touched you. You haven't long. What do you want to leave as your contribution? Dead animals? Displaced people? Or, a renewal of life, and healing for some part of the Earth."
Those are two answers I've come up with, I hope others will come up with some better ideas, because there are lots of "Dougs" in the world outside the cinema theater.
By the way, I searched IMDb.com and many other websites looking for the name of her song, and the words in Spanish or English. I couldn't find anything. Where can I find this information?
The elevator speech for the movie seemed really inviting: a send-up of Trump-like self-absorbed elites encountering a fully-vested spiritual healer. The send-up didn't disappoint as we see a realistic portrayal of the "nice" people who live in world where the unwritten rule is never to see, speak, or hear anything that questions the actions, or consequences of the actions, from which their luxury derives.
Sadly, however, the movie disappointed my expectation that Beatriz' encounter with these people, particularly with the primary perpetrator, Doug, would somehow initiate a change of his life's tragic trajectory, or at least give the audience something to ponder after the credits rolled. The film didn't deliver. Instead, Beatriz gets bollixed up in her anger, fueled by uncharacteristic over-drinking, and does not effectively represent the deeply-centered, life-affirming compassionate healer that we see in the first part of the movie.
Beatriz fails to build on the surprising connection she makes with Doug when massaging his shoulders, and also when acknowledging what it was that he liked about hunting. That connection could have expanded into a real dialog. Instead, she has a violent fantasy, does nothing, and walks into ocean. Fade to black. It was a dues ex machina without the machina.
The problem, of course, is not with Beatriz, it is with the script writer, Mike White, and the director, Miguel Arteta. It wouldn't have mattered if Beatriz' encounter with Doug had succeeded in getting him to reconsider the destructive impact of his life, or if she failed. But in this movie, in spite of its exquisite setup, she doesn't even try.
I am left with this question to ponder: What could Beatriz have said to open up Doug's blinders on himself and his life?
1 - The film's director should have had her translate the song, or sing a verse in English, so the audience, as well as the people she was singing to, would know what she was singing/saying. I got only a bit of it about enjoying the little things in life.
And then, she could have encountered Doug with something like, "What really brings you satisfaction? You have so many houses and vacation houses that it is causing rifts in your family. Can you see that more money, more business deals will still leave you feeling empty? But, you do like a challenge - a challenge in the face of danger. Consider what a challenge it would be if you worked to reverse the destructive impact of your, and your colleagues' developments."
2 - In the driveway, late in the movie, when Doug comes out of the house to have a conversation with her, and he says, "I'm dying, we're dying, the Earth is dying, so we just got to take and enjoy what we can."
Beatriz could have said something like, "and what will you leave for your grandchildren?" Or, "and where would you be today if your grandfather had lived by those words?"
Or, she could have connected to the shoulder massage saying, "Yes, Doug, you are dying. I felt it when I touched you. You haven't long. What do you want to leave as your contribution? Dead animals? Displaced people? Or, a renewal of life, and healing for some part of the Earth."
Those are two answers I've come up with, I hope others will come up with some better ideas, because there are lots of "Dougs" in the world outside the cinema theater.
By the way, I searched IMDb.com and many other websites looking for the name of her song, and the words in Spanish or English. I couldn't find anything. Where can I find this information?