Two For Four, Part One
For a little over a week now I’ve been emailing back and forth with an old high school friend, Paula. We weren’t remotely close back then, but oddly enough the emails and text messages have shown us to be more or less kindred spirits.
My recent post on Donnie Darko turned her on to that film, which makes me very happy. I always love it when I can get anyone to watch a small, indy picture and they love it. Her love of Beatles music, and forgetfulness about where it was used in Love Actually inspired the previous post on this blog, and today she sent me an email with one of her most favorite movie scenes in it. And, surprise, it features music! Now, the scene she sent me is the final scene from Juno (see next post…), and I’ve added another one to compare it to the final scene of Mike Nichols 1967 masterpiece The Graduate…and here’s why:
First, let’s start with The Graduate. I don’t think this movie had the same effect on me as it did on the people who grew up during that time. I did like it alot, and I really understood what Nichols was trying to say, but 40 years later, so much of it really just isn’t that relevant. Except that last scene. If you haven’t watched it already, it’s a bit long, you might want to start it at the three minute mark, because that’s what I’m going to focus on. As Ben and Elaine escape from her family and board that bus they both look so happy, and you buy that, yeah, maybe their love is real. Then, as they get to the back of that bus and sit down, the realization of what they’ve just done starts to dawn on them. And in that two minutes you see a lifetime of fear, happiness, regret and joy cross their faces. And after two hours of hoping that these two will end up together, you’re left wondering, did they make the right decision?
