The genius of this film is that it uses sub-plot to mask its main plot: this is NOT about whether or not the lovers squeeze a happy ending out of their situation; rather it is about how the main character Na gets her brother back and makes her family whole again. It starts and ends with this. It is nothing short of brilliant of this director to have hidden this right before our eyes through tapping into our prejudices about sex and relationships. If you don't get this of course you will find this movie full of question marks and loose ends. Also the pace of this movie is perfect; it is the pace of life in Thai towns. Those who don't understand this may have been to Thailand but unless they have wasted an entire day or more waiting to get somewhere have not had an authentically Thai experience. This movie is a good example both in how it tells its story and the technology of the lives it portrays of how global culture is evolving into something beautiful and subtly expressive. It apologizes for nothing about Thai culture, and, like Thailand itself, shows a vitality that is capable of assimilating what it likes from ours without losing even a shred of its integrity. I congratulate this director and everyone associated with this film, it is a gem!
Reviews
2 Reviews
About Mrs. Leslie
(1954)
Brokeback Mountain 1950's style
31 March 2006
Anyone who was impressed by Jake Gyllenhaal's performance in Brokeback needs to see About Mrs. Leslie. Undoubtedly one of the best young actors alive, he deserves the highest praise possible for believably delivering lines as corny as the lyrics of bad Country & Western ballads ('Sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it
') . However, in this obscure movie with an oddly tragic-comic version of the same plot, Shirley Booth manages to meld an equally corny script with an impossible character not only believably, but irresistibly. If Jack twisted your heart, Vivian ('life') will rip it out and stomp on it. Maybe it's just me but I find that as actors only children and people with a bit of mileage on them have the depth to move me really deeply, sometimes they have a power that goes way beyond their physical selves. Just watch her: through a microscopic pout, the merest suggestion of a tilt of her head or just a hint of a downward glance Booth does what it takes Gyllenhaal and Ledger's whole body to express. I know she had a great and long career on Broadway, but it's a shame she ended up wasting many years playing a maid on a sitcom. Better than not working at all, I suppose. P. S. If anyone is inclined to read a book with a similar and equally engaging story, they should try Absent in the Spring, written by Agatha Christie under the name Mary Westmacott because it's not a murder mystery. Obviously, there was more to her as a woman than was hinted at in the biopic about her.
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