BEFORE: Vanity's not a word that my friends generally associate with me, but I'm probably more self-conscious about how I look than people realize. I'm always willing to do voice-over work or sing for a project, but if I have to appear on camera, it's a different story. I maintain a consistent panda-bear shape, but since we're planning to go on a cruise in April, I'm trying to eat a little less these days. It wouldn't hurt me to lose a few pounds - that's what people often resolve to do this time of year, right? One school of thought says I should lose weight now, since I'll probably gain a few pounds on the cruise. (The other, of course, says I should hit more buffets now in preparation, so that my stomach is better prepared for all the eating I'll be doing on board.)
But my foot's been bothering me for the last month or so - at first, I just figured my sneakers were worn out, so I bought a new pair. Then I thought my feet were hurting since I was breaking in the new pair. Perhaps I was spending too much time sitting at my desk without elevating my foot, I thought - or perhaps I was walking around NYC too much in the course of a day. Finally, I just had to admit that my heel just freakin' HURTS, and I should see a podiatrist about it. It wasn't so bad over Christmas, since we were driving around in Massachusetts, but since then the pain has been getting worse. Turns out I might have a heel spur, so I got a steroid injection yesterday and had an x-ray taken.
In the meantime I'm walking with a limp, or maybe it's more of a lumber - so at my size, I'm probably scaring small children as I walk down the street. It's just as well - keeps annoying rugrats away. If it's not a heel spur, it may just be a strained ligament, which means I've got to start soaking it and stretching it back into shape.
Once I get my foot fixed, it's time to get my eyes examined - I've noticed I can only play games on my cell phone if it's a very specific distance from my face, which is a bad sign. It's probably been 3 or 4 years since I got new glasses, and it's been even longer since I've been to the dentist, which will be the third stop on my self-improvement agenda. But jeez, if I have to start walking with a cane or wearing bifocals, I'm going to feel a lot older than I actually am.
Sticking with films based on novels, and set in old-timey London. A few more days of corsets and cumberbunds, and then I can start a new topic. Connecting from "Tom Jones", Albert Finney was also in "Miller's Crossing" with Gabriel Byrne.
THE PLOT: Growing up poor in London, Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend, Amelia.
AFTER: This one wasn't really my cup of tea, either, but I think I grasp where it's coming from.
I now feel like I've come full circle from "Les Miserables" - this one's set around the same time, only on the other side of the English Channel, and where that film was a collection of life's major tragedies, with some tiny joys among the sorrows, this is about mostly successful people, with some sorrows among the joys. Becky Sharp is able to advance herself in British society in a way that Fantine never could.
There are other similar themes - people raising other people's children, either by choice or default, people fighting and dying in wars, people putting their dreams on hold so that others can have a chance at theirs. While no one here pursues a criminal for decades, there are those that believe their happiness lies in romance with a specific person, and are willing to wait decades until they can make that happen.
What is a film, but a series of comic and/or tragic scenes, that may or may not add up to present a greater truth? For that matter, what is life but a series of comic and/or tragic events, that may or may not add up to a grander purpose? Some of the characters here are too involved in their own hangups to view their own lives properly, so naturally they make mistakes. Decades later, they've got the perspective they need to think, "Oh, maybe I let the wrong person get away from me."
It's a delicate balance, showing someone climbing the social ladder, making the connections she needs to make to advance, and discarding the ones she doesn't need. I don't know about the novel, but the film did a fair job of not letting her appear heartless - she seems to genuinely care about her friends, even though a passing remark or a revelation of some small truth can wound them greatly.
And isn't that true, too - how it's easier to hurt (or be hurt by) the people that we let get closest to us? By letting someone into your heart, you also make yourself vulnerable, by depending on them. A number of characters here have the power, either accidentally or on purpose to hurt each other by their actions (or inactions), lending the story the sting of harsh reality.
Starring Reese Witherspoon (last seen in "Four Christmases"), James Purefoy (last seen in "A Knight's Tale"), Bob Hoskins (last seen in "Nixon"), Jim Broadbent (last seen in "Nicholas Nickleby"), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (last seen in "Bend It Like Beckham"), Rhys Ifans (last seen in "Anonymous"), Romola Garai.
RATING: 4 out of 10 auction lots
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