Weekly Film Symposium #1: Third Response

There are a couple of things I wanted to touch on that you brought up, and that I missed in my initial response. First, I as well really thought about how far I would go to provide for the ones that I love. I realize that you don't want to get into a discussion of moral relativism, but I must say that as a husband, I would do almost anything to make sure that my wife had everything that she needs. The operative word there is almost. I agree that with you that people's actions can be justified by their situations and intentions, to a certain extent. As I said, I would do almost anything to provide for her and I would except the consequences for my actions. That is why I also loved the ending. She is willing to take her lumps because she knows what she did was illegal, but a mother's got to do what a mother's got to do. And I can't fault her for that. It's great to see and ending like this in a time and age where so few people are willing to take responsibility for their actions. I am also really glad that we both felt like the ending of the movie was hopeful, and that the worst of the storm had passed and that the dawn was coming.

I also wanted to mention that I loved the feeling that the film conveyed to me. It conveyed the feeling of hope and love amongst all the bad that was going on. Sure what she was doing was illegal, but it was for a better future for her family. The same went with Lily. I don't know, I started writing this paragraph and now I am really struggling to find my words. I think you may know what I mean though.

Also, I feel that the film perfectly captured the mood and desperation of the characters. Not only with the dialogue, but more importantly, without it. There is so much that is conveyed with the use of facial expressions, and demeanor. Melissa Leo definitely deserved her best actress nomination. Her performance was great. And back to the baby thing. I also feel that it was a little bit of luck and a little bit of, what I like to call, divine intervention. I like to think that that baby was protected by things greater than this world. But like you said, it's up to every viewer to decide, and I love when film does that. Also, when they were driving across the ice, could you just feel the bitter cold and the weight of that car on that ice? Everytime they drove across it I could feel the pressure that the car was putting on the ice. I found myself very tense and very worried about the inhabitants of the car, every single time. And once again, they did it without manipulation tactics. It was a risk they were taking, nothing more and nothing less. I loved the fact that I felt like I was out there with them. This was a great film and I would definitely watch it again. Did I already say that?