On Chesil Beach

Year 18, Day 167 - 6/16/26 - Movie #5,347 - FATHER'S DAY FILM #8

BEFORE: See, what did I tell you, finding Father's Day films is a snap, I just linked a bunch of movies and I let the chips fall where they wanted, and now I'm going to hit 10 or 11 films on that theme before I'm done, at least. The ones that I did plan aren't going to even start until Saturday, and then there's at least one more waiting at the end of the month. Easy and peasy. 

I've also got the Doc Block that is approaching fast, the target start date is still July 1, so I've got one last push to add a few films because while 37 is great, 40 might be better. What I have now is 37 films locked in place, and what I DO NOT want to do right now is to tear down that framework and rebuild it, there just isn't time for that. So if something can't find a place in that sequence, I'm just not going to add it, it might have to wait for next year. Already this year I'm doing clean-up and I've programmed a few films that didn't make the cut LAST year. Thematically it looks like I'm going to bounce around a bit, like from a bio-doc on a movie star I'm going to a band, then to a film director, then to a politician or sports figure, I think I can say, however, that the subjects are like 95% American, which seems appropriate for this semiquincentennial year. OK, there are a couple Canadians and one Italian in the mix, but you know, this country is a melting pot and I think I can sell this as a mostly Amurrican line-up. What could be more patriotic than movies, rock and roll, politics and baseball?

Today, Saoirse Ronan carries over again, and I'm in a UK-themed mini-chain that started with "Agent Cody Banks 2" - it seems appropriate to have the UK films lead into the very American ones - it's another metaphor for the founding of our country that I totally deliberately planned and it's not accidental in any way. 

THE PLOT: In 1962 England, a young couple find their idyllic romance colliding with issues of sexual freedom and societal pressure, leading to an awkward and fateful wedding night. 

AFTER: Well it's definitely been a veddy British week so far here at the Movie Year, but what else have these last three films had in common, besides the presence of Saoirse Ronan? All three films were based on books, that's something, and they've all had pretty complicated relationships - in "How I Live Now" we had cousins falling in love during a future war, in "The Outrun" we had an interracial relationship further complicated by alcoholism, and tonight, well we've got a lot to unpack, I'll get to it in a bit. Two of the three films have also been very flash-backy aka non-linear, so yeah, a lot of jumping around in time, today we also have an extensive flash-FORWARD, and then we spring back to 1962. And then there's parents, since we're coming up on Father's Day it's worth keeping all this in mind, in all three films the relationships with parents have been strained, I guess that's just a part of life, but when you put it all together it feels like I kind of hit something here and programmed three films set in different years, but they share so much of the same DNA that it would be uncanny if some of these things weren't so basic an universal to, well, all stories. 

I had TWO of these films on the romance/relationship list, meaning they would have been possibly appropriate to program in February, I was at the very least keeping myself open to that, except they didn't link up to any of the other romance films on my list - OK, fair game then to program them in another month. Also, I needed them for linking HERE and NOW, so that kind of takes priority now and then over programming solely based on themes. Hell, I've had nine films already this year where characters were seen celebrating Thanksgiving or Christmas, and that's all been off-season - meaning I had no idea that was going to happen, and simply nobody considers those films to be holiday films, primarliy they're all something else. 

But let's stop dancing around what happens - or doesn't happen - in this film, which is about two young Brits, Edward and Florence, getting married in 1962, and they go on holiday for the honeymoon, and we see them on their first night together. Get it? They're British so it turns out that neither one has had sex before, not with each other and not with other people - so neither one really has any idea what that entails. Again, it's 1962 so it was a different time. The swinging 60's and the free-love 70's haven't happened yet, plus they've been at university, they had finals, you know, they've been busy. Well, what better time to flashback through the memorable moments of their relationship so far, in anticipation of the big event, which I'm sure will go swimmingly, nope, can't imagine anything going wrong when two people who never had a sex education class come together for the first time.  I mean, they've kissed, they've held hands, what could POSSIBLY go wrong at this point? 

Through the flashbacks we see them both attending college, he's got a history degree from University College in London and he loves rock music, she's a music major and violinist at Oxford who performs in a classical string quartet. On paper it shouldn't work, but they meet at a rally against nuclear weapons, I suspect they're there for different reasons, she's probably against nukes for moral reasons and the preservation of life but he just wants to rebel against anything that the government suggests. We all know that when people come together romantically they focus on the things that they have in common, and then later when they break up it's often because they've been focusing on the things that they don't - let's put a pin in that for the moment and get back to it later. 

They come from different backgrounds, different social levels - Florence's is more upper class and her father runs some kind of electronics firm, her mother is more concerned with society parties and such. Their concern is that Edward went to college in London, which makes him more of a commoner in their eyes. Edward's family is a little more down-to-earth and crazier, literally crazier - his mother had been struck by a train at some point and got brain damage, before that she ran an art gallery and after that she'd spend her day finger-painting or standing nude in the garden, talking to birds. Edward has some kind of job maintaining a cricket field and at some point Florence comes to visit him there and while they have a nice afternoon together, she can't believe he has to mow the grass and paint the lines on the field, it seems like so much back-breaking WORK. 

Well, they get married and they go to the resort at Chesil Beach - they have a really nice roast beef dinner served by two bumbling waiters and then they have their first fight, which is about whether they should go take a walk on the beach. It's the same sort of argument anybody might have about ordering dinner, do you feel like Chinese? Wait, we ordered Chinese last week, what about Mexican? Wait, I wanted Chinese, why don't we ever order what I want? Well, why did you bring up Mexican, you know I can't eat spicy things or cilantro. Indian? It takes too long, you know that, we should have ordered an hour ago if you wanted Indian. I know that, but I was busy doing something and you said you weren't hungry yet. It's not really a fight, it's bickering or maybe it's just two people trying to get on the same page and failing. 

Well, because the food would get cold and the waiters took all the time of setting the table in their room, and also it's one more thing to do on their honeymoon AND it's going to fill the space between now and their first time having sex, they finish dinner - but now probably neither one is going to enjoy it, because one person wanted to take a walk on the beach and now they're disappointed, the other one won the fight but it's a pyrrhic victory because now they're both in a mood, and anyway it's British food, so really they both lose. They also realize that their relationship is now no longer what it once was, where they would just DO stuff, anything really, it doesn't matter if they're seeing a movie or bird-watching or painting lines on a cricket field, they're together and that's all that matters. But that's a dating thing, you can tell it's early in the relationship when it doesn't matter what you do - later on people tend to get very specific about what they will and won't do together. If one person wants to go bowling or drinking or axe-throwing and the other person isn't into it, they kind of learn to just go do those things alone, it's just easier that way, and forcing your mate to join you in an activity they don't like gets you nowhere, really. 

Anyway, the sex - it doesn't go well. We've established that they're both British, they're both inexperienced and they're both unlikely to work on their communication skills, so yeah, it's not going to go well the first time. Then you add on the pressure of it being their wedding night, they've both mentally built this thing up to be much more important than it needs to be, and it turns into a learn-as-you-go situation. Or "fake it till you make it", maybe. This is a strong argument for pre-marital sex, preferably with each other so that if this day comes, it's not going to be as much of a big deal. Anybody these days who doesn't practice "try before you buy" is kind of out of their minds, but again, this was 1962. 

Now the WHY of it all, why it doesn't go well, has a lot to do with the lack of sex education back then - the book apparently also suggested that Florence had maybe been sexually abused by her father, and that could explain a lot, but I didn't pick up on that in the movie. Without going into the mechanics of the sex fail, the bottom line is that she's not all that into it, and also maybe not very good at it. This would be a great time for some understanding and compassion, maybe listening to what the other person has to say, and trying to see things their way. But instead he accuses her of being frigid, also dishonest and manipulative. Anyway, he doesn't really DO compassionate and understanding, he's more of a "fly off the handle" and get angry kind of guy, not a great combination. 

Florence does offer him a deal, they can stay together and whatever happens (or doesn't happen) in the bedroom can stay between them. Like, maybe over time she can come to enjoy sex, you never know, but again, British, so it's not likely to happen. She offers him a deal, since he has sexual desire and needs and she doesn't, if they stay together he can go have flings with other women because, you know, the 1970's are coming up and all, and she would understand and even encourage that. DUDE, take that deal, you'll never get a better one, you get all the benefits of marriage (companionship, someone to share the housework with, second income, tax breaks, and maybe sex some time down the road) and none of the problematic bits (jealousy, infidelity, etc.). 

But, he doesn't take the deal, and at this point the movie flashes forward to show Edward in the future, because walking away from the marriage also means not taking the job in her father's company, and it's not like the 1970's and 1980's is going to be the time where devices like home stereos, VCRs and car phones are really going to catch on or anything like that. So we see his life as a swinging single, running a struggling record shop at a time just before vinyl records go the way of the dinosaur, but hey, don't worry, they'll be cool again, just give it another 30 years or so. He's got a girlfriend, heck, maybe two but you know, it's probably casual and every day he's probably reminded about what he gave up on because he didn't compromise or settle. 

One day a young girl comes to the shop and asks for a Chuck Berry record, Edward remembers that was the one rock artist that Florence liked, she called him "merry" and so does this little girl. The girl is also named Chloe, and he remembers that Florence once said that if she had a little girl that was what she would be named. It couldn't be her daughter, because Florence said she didn't like sex - but still, maybe? Years after that, Edward finally tracks her down, she's still working that string quartet and he goes to see her perform - it seems like she married that guy who played the cello in her group and either she learned to enjoy sex over time thanks to an understanding partner, or she cut that guy the same deal and he took it, it's unclear but it doesn't really matter, something got worked out. They recognize each other and they both cry over what might have been. (Excuse me, but isn't this the same ending as "La La Land"? Or it's very similar...)

After this, thanks to the magic of non-linear editing, we flash back to that honeymoon day on the beach, right after the failed sex and the big argument. Maybe this time Edward will show some compassion and understanding and they can work things out, know that we know the bleak future (at least for him) that lies ahead if he continues to be small-minded and quick-tempered. Nope. 

Look, I can see how that first night after getting married is supposed to be special, but these days I think there's much less pressure put on it - but still, how many honeymoons is the average person going to have in their life, maybe two or three if they're lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it?). I remember my first honeymoon, it was certainly not our first time having sex, but we did drive up to Cape Cod and stay in a little cabin near the beach. But she got sick on some bad seafood so she was throwing up that night, well, guess what, nothing kills the romantic vibe like vomit breath, really neither one of us was in the mood. The second time I got married I think after the ceremony, the dinner and the partying we were just tired, I think we did change clothes and go hang out with friends to watch a baseball game. Well, it was game 6 of the 2001 World Series, and the Yankees were playing. Thank God that Arizona won that game, I couldn't fathom being married on a day where the Yankees won - but by then it hardly even felt like the same day. 

The only other thing I can say here is that life is long, times change and people change - and where relationships are concerned, you may not be in the situation you want to be in at the moment, but you could always work to make things better, I guess Edward just didn't get that memo. But I think we can agree that when we get older, we can look back on things that went down 30 or 40 years later and maybe wish we'd handled things differently. My mother wanted me to get my first marriage annulled, I guess to maybe counter-act the stigma of divorce, plus it's what she thought the church would want if I wanted to receive communion in the future. I told her that I didn't care what the church thought about my marital status, and if I tried to pretend like the marriage didn't exist, then I might not learn anything from it. Hey, a lot of people these days have what they call "starter marriages", you try it and if it's not for you, you walk away but it's important that maybe you learn a thing or two from the experience, and maybe then you try a little harder next time. 

Billy Howle had a small role in "Star Wars: Episode 9" as Rey's father (seen only in flashback) but I think I'm going to add him to my autographs wish list, you know, just in case.

Directed by Dominic Cooke (director of "The Courier")

Also starring Billy Howle (last seen in "Infinite Storm"), Emily Watson (last seen in "The Water Horse"), Anne-Marie Duff (last seen in "Notes on a Scandal"), Samuel West (last seen in "Carrington"), Adrian Scarborough (last seen in "The Last Vermeer"), Bebe Cave (last seen in "Tale of Tales"), Anton Lesser (last seen in "The Exception"), Mark Donald, Tamara Lawrence, Anna Burgess, Mia Burgess, Andy Burse (last seen in "Napoleon"), Rasmus Hardiker (last seen in "Cockneys vs Zombies"), John Ramm (last seen in "The Love Punch"), Barney Iley, Imogen Daines, Molly Miles, Victoria Hamnett, Marianne Cecil, Martin Bassindale (last seen in "Black Bag"), Daniel Boyd, Oliver Johnstone (last seen in "The Courier"), Philip Labey (last seen in "The People We Hate at the Wedding"), Tony Lucken (last seen in "Love Actually"), Esther Coles (last seen in "Enola Holmes"), Christopher Bowen (last seen in "Tomorrow Never Dies"), Toby Dantzic, Bronte Carmichael (last seen in "Darkest Hour"), Terenia Edwards (last seen in "Peter Rabbit"), Roseanna Leathley, Jonjo O'Neill (last seen in "All the Old Knives"), Claudia Jolly,

RATING: 5 out of 10 bowls of rabbit stew