The Stepford Wives, American Beauty, Desperate Housewives: if we didn’t before, we should all know by now that suburbia isn’t necessarily a moral utopia… or really a utopia of any kind, for that matter.
Yesterday I watched Little Children, a film about a housewife (Kate Winslet) and househusband (Patrick Wilson) who meet at the neighborhood park and begin a poolside friendship while their children swim. The loneliness created by each of their unhappy marriages is palpable, and naturally they begin a torrid affair, finally finding what they feel they’ve been missing, in almost every sense: companionship, understanding, help with the kids, sex.
It’s tragic, but mostly because it’s completely believable. Watching this film, one can’t wonder how many times derivatives of this plot have played out in suburbs across our country.
I’ve been married for four years on June 28. I’ve come to believe that this one relationship is more complex than anything I have, or probably ever will, experience. Feelings, too, are infinitely complicated, and communication and honesty in marriages are, obviously, crucial.
This isn’t a lecture; I don’t have anything figured out. But I do think that, besides being a beautifully shot film, this movie is also a brilliant signal fire.
Completely brilliant, Josh!! Love it!!