Mike is a good guy. He is a passive, nondescript, laid-back writer of technical manuals, working out of his home. He is a family man, a gardener, and a good cook. But his voyeuristic impulses lead him to become enmeshed in a drama of spousal abuse next door. Is Mike being a good neighbor? Or is he driven by his baser male instincts in the intervention? This modest domestic tragedy might best be called "The Tragedy on Meadowpark Drive."
It is clear that the filmmakers were writing a morality play with characters representing individual human traits.
Mike's wife Lisa is the one-dimensional version of the shrew, rarely showing affection for her husband and clearly calling all the shots in the relationship. Rarely will Mike discuss his wants, needs, and dreams, as Lisa is the controlling figure and shows no concern for her soft male husband. When Mike recalls "Santa Barbara," he was undoubtedly thinking of an exciting time in their relationship that was filled with romance. But for Lisa, Santa Barbara is a forgotten moment in the past that she only associates with sex. Could anyone possibly be more crass and cruel than Lisa for summarily ordering Mike out of the house after he intervened on behalf of the woman next door?
Scott, the new neighbor is a loud-mouthed car salesman and wife-beater. His shallowness and violent temper are his primary traits. One of Scott's goals is to produce babies with Jenna and have a big family. He is obviously unaware of the damage to the planet that he is leaving in his wake in siring a brood of "little Scotts."
Jenna is the flirtatious, flaky, and vulnerable wife of Scott, who is unable to bring herself to get out of an abusive relationship. But that doesn't stop her from shamelessly flirting with Mike, leaning on him when she is depressed, and leading him on to the degree that he eventually crosses the line of propriety.
Of course, the Everyman character of the film is Mike. In Jenna, Mike deludes himself into seeing her as the answer to all that is missing in his stultifying existence. He may be egged on by his callous friend Brian. But the fatal decisions are made by Mike himself.
Mike's major flaw is that he violates that the good neighbor policy by walking into the home of Brian and Jenna in response to her scream. Lisa had warned him, "Call the police!" in the future. But that advice never registers with a poor schlub who never seems grounded enough in reality to behave like an adult. When he finally does take a stand, the result is the tragedy on Meadowpark Drive.
It is clear that the filmmakers were writing a morality play with characters representing individual human traits.
Mike's wife Lisa is the one-dimensional version of the shrew, rarely showing affection for her husband and clearly calling all the shots in the relationship. Rarely will Mike discuss his wants, needs, and dreams, as Lisa is the controlling figure and shows no concern for her soft male husband. When Mike recalls "Santa Barbara," he was undoubtedly thinking of an exciting time in their relationship that was filled with romance. But for Lisa, Santa Barbara is a forgotten moment in the past that she only associates with sex. Could anyone possibly be more crass and cruel than Lisa for summarily ordering Mike out of the house after he intervened on behalf of the woman next door?
Scott, the new neighbor is a loud-mouthed car salesman and wife-beater. His shallowness and violent temper are his primary traits. One of Scott's goals is to produce babies with Jenna and have a big family. He is obviously unaware of the damage to the planet that he is leaving in his wake in siring a brood of "little Scotts."
Jenna is the flirtatious, flaky, and vulnerable wife of Scott, who is unable to bring herself to get out of an abusive relationship. But that doesn't stop her from shamelessly flirting with Mike, leaning on him when she is depressed, and leading him on to the degree that he eventually crosses the line of propriety.
Of course, the Everyman character of the film is Mike. In Jenna, Mike deludes himself into seeing her as the answer to all that is missing in his stultifying existence. He may be egged on by his callous friend Brian. But the fatal decisions are made by Mike himself.
Mike's major flaw is that he violates that the good neighbor policy by walking into the home of Brian and Jenna in response to her scream. Lisa had warned him, "Call the police!" in the future. But that advice never registers with a poor schlub who never seems grounded enough in reality to behave like an adult. When he finally does take a stand, the result is the tragedy on Meadowpark Drive.