The movie starts with politicians preparing for a primary within their party. Of course they are discussing things that would be popular to gain them votes. The movie tries to throw in a dash of controversy, and spice. It also tries to showcase a politician who will hold fast to his principles, at least until his own misadventures force him to make a choice between full disclosure or a path of deceit and misleading behavior to attain his goal.
Before long a few subplots are introduced into the film. Two inappropriate sexual encounters that a young and disconnected female intern engages in with two political candidates. One of the encounters is with a married governor, and a presidential candidate. The second encounter is with a political advisor for whom “politics” is literally his life.
While the movie tries to hint at the idealism of some who enter politics it quickly degenerates into an egotistical trip of self-absorption leading to betrayal, intentionally damaging others (intention cloaked by misinformation spread by each of the main characters) and a death. The film illustrates negative behavior of people seeking power, presumably to either entertain an audience or reflect what we could observe with less detail in most news broadcasts. It offers no creative or uplifting possibilities in the drama that unfolds.
Characteristics that the leading characters have in common reflect a disconnect from the true nature of people, from source energy. I believe the true nature of each individual possesses unique talents and abilities that when aligned with source energy, would enable the person to make the world a better place.
Each of the characters embrace multiple fatal flaws. Each of the political characters (governor, advisors) have a tendency toward prose that would make you think they were the most positive force in the universe, yet each cannot focus beyond their own ego and self-absorbed desires. When crisis develops each of these characters show their self-absorption by misleading the other characters and choosing a path that would serve only their own ends.
The female intern adds another dimension to a disconnection with life. She has a sexual encounter with a married governor and instead of embracing her own choice, she pushes off personal choice and responsibility and ascribes the encounter to “… he just closed the door.” This explanation did not sit well with her second lover. Her lack of attunement to her inner voice and not being in touch with her own power to chose, led to her becoming involved in casual sex, becoming pregnant, undergoing an abortion without the support of either man, alienating the man she was interested in, despairing and making a choice to exit the movie. Words are potentially powerful tools but they can so easily detour a person and become a layer of camouflage to cover over both what is experiential and what is becoming for that person. Once a person accepts the detour, they neglect their own emotional guidance system[1] and continue on a path that becomes insulated from others and more importantly from themselves.
While the talent of the actors is apparent once you get past the opening scenes (other reviewers have commented on their talents), the ideational content of the film leaves little to be desired. It is a superficial exercise in intellectual masturbation with little significance beyond the portraits of the isolated characters and their misadventures.
As a person dedicated to helping people achieve their positive and creative potentials, I find this film problematic in that it calls attention to and highlights the negative behavior of individuals. It offers nothing that would inspire anyone to do anything positive or creative. It leaves the viewer within the swamp of negative power hungry behavior. The pregnant pause at the end of the film where the actor Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is asked for clarification for the sudden changes in the political machine leaves little doubt that he will follow in the footsteps of those whose negative behavior he seemed to be against at the beginning of the film.
I would not recommend this film.
No comments:
Post a Comment