love is strange
- Rod Rushing
- Jul 22, 2020
- 2 min read
After nearly four decades together, Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) finally tie the knot in an idyllic wedding ceremony in lower Manhattan. But when George loses his job soon after, the couple must sell their apartment and – victims of the relentless New York City real estate market – temporarily live apart until they can find an affordable new home. While George moves in with two cops (Cheyenne Jackson and Manny Perez) who live down stairs, Ben lands in Brooklyn with his nephew (Darren Burrows), his wife (Marisa Tomei), and their temperamental teenage son (Charlie Tahan), with whom Ben shares a bunk bed. While struggling with the pain of separation, Ben and George are further challenged by the intergenerational tensions and capricious family dynamics of their new living arrangements. Written by Sony Pictures Classics
sometimes there are experiences that create a shift in perception. and other times there are underground tremors that shake up everything around me without noticeably jostling the earth. and sometimes a fog lifts revealing something in the landscape that has always been there but i have never seen previously.
today i had all three of these experiences all at once. i can’t tell you why and and i cannot really tell you how. i just know that as i sat in the dark theater as these brilliant performances slowly revealed themselves, i detached and reconnected in what might be a whole new way.
the simplicity of this small story is profound enough for me to relay with confidence that we will move beyond the appropriateness of same sex relationship to the inclusion of them as normal and everyday emotional baggage. it’s not the gayness of the characters that deliver the drama. it is the character’s relationship to the world that creates the storyline.
this small shift, apparently insignificant, actually holds a universe of meaning for me. i have said on many occasions that i don’t support gay marriage to emulate other culture’s marriages. but i do advocate for the inclusion of same sex relationships into our culture’s agreement field. “love is strange” illustrates this idea with effortless and inspring style. the writing is impeccable. simple and impeccable. and the performances are understated and filled with clarity.
run- don’t walk- to catch this film. it’s humanity has given me hope for the future.
and here is my other recent obsession- taylor swift’s newest offering to the pop music world. i saw her on the vma’s and found myself intoxicated with her bravada. way to go girl….
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