The first time I saw "Junebug", I found the story somewhat baffling, in a
good way. A film can baffle because it lacks inner coherence, and
because the writers and directors cheat in order to increase the suspense,
or try to make something more shocking than it really is. That is a
weakness. But a strong film can baffle because it presents characters
and situations that echo real life characters and situations that also
baffle us. When Johnny hurls his wrench at his brother near the end of
"Junebug", we are baffled even though the film has prepared us for this
scene-- it makes perfect sense given the character of Johnny and his
uncomfortable, acutely disturbing accommodation with his family. But
we're baffled as to why it comes out in that impulsive gesture, just as we
would be in real life. We're baffled with the characters, not at
the characters.
If you look closely at your own family, you wouldn't be shocked to realize
that it also has a lot of secret accommodations.
My own take on the wrench? He resents
I forget who it was, but one reviewer (maybe
Ebert) of "Junebug"
noted that all of the major characters in this film had made some kind of
secret accommodation with the rest of the family, and that accommodation was
the key to understanding the characters' motivations, reactions and
behaviours.
Most Hollywood movies never reveal these hidden arrangements.
A movie like "The Blind Side" presents each character as if they exist only
at face value. Leah Ann Tuohy just wants to do good for this poor boy,
Michael Oher. Oher shows his gratitude by plowing his opponents,
especially when, we are given to understand, he imagines them threatening
his saintly benefactor.
In real life, the hidden arrangement here is with the Tuohy family, and
Michael Oher, all of whom know better, but accept the distortions of the
movie because they flatter, and the movie makers, who distort the reality of
Michael Oher's relationship with the Tuohys because it makes a better story.
Nobody, it seems, cares. A lot of people will tell you openly that
they would rather have the good story.
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© Bill Van Dyk
2010 All Rights Reserved
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