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Little Fires Everywhere (2020)
Saved by the last episode
A series based on a book that questioned motherhood, identity and, in part, the American dream and all its self-congratulatory smugness.
Everything that this series could have been seemed spoilt by adding in popular emotive themes; they made it about race, homosexuality, sex, drugs, infidelity and excess emotional expression at every turn. Racism and homosexuality are important themes in themselves, and should be developed with integrity, rather than as popularist extras. Indeed, the whole idea of racism is undermined by how it was mixed in this film plot.
They made Mia, the iterant artist, as snarling and belligerent, often cool when she could have been warm (and was so in the book). Rather than being the strong minded, silent, of secretive character she was in the book, she was an often furious single black mother. They made Elena Richardson as somewhat caring and supportive, rather than someone who wanted to see herself as a certain sort of person, although this did get developed in the end.
Kerry Washington, playing Mia, so criticised in reviews here, came across as inconsistent; hot and cold, confrontational and kind. I blame the direction and the writers, rather than the actress. Reese Witherspoon was excellent in every way as Elen Richardson, as was Megan Stott, her rebellious rebuffed daughter.
It was the last episode that redeemed the series for me. At last we got down to the main issues of motherhood, identity and the fragile superficiality of the Richardson's wealthy lifestyle. Mia's last conversation with Elena makes this clear "You can't stand it, can you, that someone would choose a different life to yours. What was it that you gave up? A love? A career? A whole life?"
This must have upset some who live a life like this, because some of the most critical reviews see Elena as some sort of perfect angel, doing (almost) everything right, yet who seems punished by the ending in both the book and the film. Perhaps the book would give them some insight.
Sitter Cam (2014)
Predictable, corny and poorly acted
I didn't expect great depth from this film, but thought it might be entertaining. Instead, it was annoying because of the corny lines and ham acting, totally unbelievable and largely predictable. I've seen better acting school plays than than this film. It starts, predictably enough from the title, with a working mum who wants to spy on her nanny after an accident the old one. Along comes a girl in the nick of time making cow eyes at her husband and being the new bf of her 5 year-old. Of course she's a psycho with a dark past, who tries to frame the wife, seduce the husband & abduct the daughter. The whole thing comes to a sticky, if predictable, end, although the last scene, the "twist", I hadn't guessed, although I don't think it added anything to the film. It was the lack of depth to the characters, the weak dialogues and wooden acting which make the whole thing rather risible and tedious. Unfortunately, my mother-in-law wanted to watch it to the end, along with gasps of "oh, what a bad girl" which was more amusing than the film itself. I'm glad she enjoyed it.