Evening

I watched the movie, Evening this past weekend. I thought I would throw in my two cents as a movie review for anyone who has not seen it. (A caution: it is PG-13 for a reason.) It is a drama about love, life, death, mothers, daughters, and dying. I thought the acting was superb on virtually all counts (Claire Danes, Vanessa Redgrave, Toni Colette, Natasha Richardson, Glenn Close, Meryl Streep). Although I thought the "incredibly handsome" love interest only looked "incredibly handsome" when he smiled (which was rare).

One of the more memorable lines of the film is: "There's no such thing as a mistake. You get nervous, but you sing anyways." While I disagree with the sentiment of mistakes not existing, the point was that life is simply a mix of experiences, both positive and negative; and we make of them what we will by our subsequent attitudes and choices.

Perhaps my firm belief in "mistakes" is part of my problem. Maybe I need a paradigm shift. Maybe if I saw my life as a series of experiences, and stopped judging them as successes or failures, but simply experiences, things wouldn't be such a big deal. And I wouldn't be so hard on myself.

The film moves in and out of times and places and reality with great fluidity and focus. It was touching without being sentimental. This movie spoke to me about what it means to be human and to be alive. What it means to be a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend. What it means to be in love. That life is full and rich with so much to experience . . . and so many songs to sing.