I love watching movies on the plane for multiple reasons. I can rarely sleep on the plane and this is my chance to watch the newer movies I have missed in the theatre. I used this opportunity to watch Brooklyn, Carol, The Danish Girl and the Big Short.
My friend had asked if I wanted to see Brooklyn, but I had previous plans. When catching up with her I asked her if she enjoyed the movie and she said she loved it and it made her cry. Going into the film with those expectations, it lived up and it made me cry too! Brooklyn is a story about a young Irish woman who leaves her live in Ireland (family responsibility, rigid society) for New York City. After being quite homesick, she meets someone who shows her the City and they instantly hit it off. Cured of her sadness, she embraces her life there, her freedom, and her independence. A family tragedy forces her to go home and she is confronted by the differences (in herself and home) and struggles to resist the pulls of home. I don’t know if this resonated with me because I could relate to the homesickness and leaving behind my family. Probably. There were a few elements I couldn’t really relate to, but the ones I could were a winner. I loved the ending a lot and I felt she was a complex character (there were moments I wanted to yell at her and cry with her). I understand leaving home and going to a new place where things are very different. So watching how she handled it made me remember how it was for me.
Carol was less touching for me in a personal sense, but uplifting. It didn’t make me think of myself. Carol struggles in New York in a time where homosexuality is frowned upon. She cannot deny her true nature and separates from her husband when she meets the other character (where they have a love affair). But her desires cause her problems when her husband wants to take her child away and she does try to conform. It reminded me of Elizabeth Gilbert’s discussion about how ugly divorce can be (she even says in the movie “we’re not ugly people”). Her journey trying to take care of her child, while stay true to herself is touching. It made me sad as well that people had to struggle so much in this situation. I really enjoyed the movie because of Carol’s character (she is an extremely strong woman).
The Danish Girl was by far the saddest. The Danish Girl is about a couple, two painters, and the husband is quite famous. One day when modeling for his wife, he realizes that he feels that he is a woman trapped in a man’s body. This obviously causes a lot of problems for their marriage and their life. It was so sad for me to watch how society and doctors treated Inar/Lily (trying to get him committed). It was also so sad to see how Gerda (the wife) deals with losing her husband in the sense she knew him, how hard the transition is on her. So in the end I felt so deeply for both characters trying to fight and argue on both sides. I don’t want to spoil what happens, but if you are looking for a movie that won’t make you cry, this is not the one.
The Big Short was about some people who saw the collapse of the housing bubble in the US before it happened and their actions. This was the most light hearted, but also pretty sad when we see the aftermath. All of these movies had a pretty sad angle actually. But the movie tried to be similar to a documentary drama and it tried to be humorous. It was definitely interesting to see their realizations and how corrupt the market was.
All in all, it was a pretty emotional plane ride.