The Other Senses
I watched this the minute I saw it loaded on Netflix. I’m pretty sure most of us are watching Netflix and I don’t want to ruin this hit for anyone, so I’m not going to give away anything in my summary, rather I’m going to talk about certain characters and instances that I related to in the film. Don’t read any further if you haven’t seen this film.
Being Cautious
I related the most to John Malkovich’s character, Douglas. When things go south, I will work with a team, but I’m not trusting anyone if my gut tells me there’s something wrong with them.
He wasn’t a bad person, he just realized that in certain situations, we can’t be as open-hearted as we would like. He erred on the side of caution to the anger of most of his roommates. In the end, he was right. He wasn’t always, but in one brutal scenario, he was absolutely right. Does it matter at that point?
Match
I’m a sucker for a romantic angle and finding a companion in a fucked up world where nothing makes sense must feel like a reprieve. They didn’t have close-ups or waste time on endearments or proclamations, they fast-forwarded quite a bit of time and both parties were still committed to each other and their life goals — in this instance, staying alive. To survive that long with someone in a hostile environment means that ground rules were laid out. It was made clear that loyalty, respect, and trust were the foundation and they made everything else work. The relationship in this film is goals on several different levels.
Choices
I’ve never liked “Sophie’s Choice” scenarios. They’ve never worked for me because in hostile situations I will always go with extreme violence. Sandra Bullock made the only decision that I would have made. Between the worst of two evils, I will choose to throw caution to the wind and we can all die together. There will be no regrets or what ifs because if I make it, it’s because you did as well. If I’m not there, hopefully, it means I did something right and you’re still there to keep going.
It’s funny to see a new generation discovering Sandra Bullock. She’s always been here and she’s showing that she knows how to pick projects that work.
