The truth is that immense tragedy often destroys couples in part because we all grieve in our own way, and the idea that Jack and Lilly are dealing with the loss of their child in such different ways that they may not make it back together is fertile ground for complex, character-driven commentary. What adds to the frustration is that there are themes inherent in this story that aren’t often explored well in melodrama, namely how two people stay together when their joint grief isn’t identical. It’s a film that’s constantly using its characters in ways that don’t feel genuine, and you can see the talented cast fight against it. Every piece of advice he gives Lilly seems tender because of Kline’s notable humanity on-screen, but also simplistic and designed to emotionally provoke the audience. Kline hints at back story that gives his role depth, but then his character returns to tedious clichés. The scenes between the Oscar-nominated McCarthy and Oscar-winning Kline are fascinating in the way they push and pull between what they’re capable of, and what they’ve been given by the script. His new job will come in handy with the bird subplot, but he’s also really Lilly’s atypical advisor, someone who can speak to her without the same walls sometimes put up by his former profession. This leads her into the office of a local veterinarian (Kevin Kline), who used to be a therapist but now espouses a somewhat cynical view of the profession. Lilly is in the very recognizable role of someone who prioritizes another’s grief without managing her own, and so a counselor at Jack’s clinic suggests she tend to her own mental health before her husband’s comes back into her daily life. She’s also driving two hours every week to see her husband and starting to wonder if he really wants to come home, and what life will be like when he does. She’s working at a grocery store (with a boss played by Timothy Olyphant in a role that makes you wonder why someone would cast such a recognizably charismatic performer in a non-role) and trying to maintain her family’s property, which leads to a few showdowns with a rambunctious bird, hence the title. When Matt Harris’ script opens, Jack’s wife Lilly (Melissa McCarthy) is trying to hold it together for Jack’s return from the facility. Jack (Chris O’Dowd) can’t quite figure out how it hasn’t stopped, and eventually ends up at a psychiatric clinic. And yet the world doesn’t stop for people whose children die. I have three children and can’t really wrap my brain around it other than to say that I know I would simply be a completely different person.
It’s kind of hard not to when a drama centers people who have gone through the unimaginable grief of losing a child.
0 kommentar(er)
