Day 198: The Upside of Anger (September, 23)

People don't know how to love. They bite rather than kiss. They slap rather than stroke. Maybe it's because they recognize how easy it is for love to go bad, to become suddenly impossible... unworkable, an exercide of futility. So they avoid it and seek solace in angst, and fear, and aggression, which are always there and reaily available. Or maybe sometimes... they just don't have all the facts. 

For me, The Upside of Anger is a genius story. For real. Its take on the futility of some kind of anger, that one that we create from nothing, is fundamental for present time. I was so chocked when I saw it the first time, that I keep recommending it.

I'm slowly realizing how many patterns are being built on this dare. One of them is that on a busy day I try to reach a film that I've seen before and want watch again. I began my morning with a cup of coffee and the first hour and so of this movie. Knowing the unexpected ending do not spoil the witty dialogue and good performances here for me. The dynamics between Joan Allen, her four daughters and Kevin Costner keeps us hooked on the screen. Allen's character is so damaged after her husband sudden disappearance, everyone around her are affected. Her whole world revolves around her anger.

Rachel Evan Wood's character Popeye is the narrator here, and her views about what is happening in her family are precious. They are the writer's point of view about the subject, I guess. But they are not a thesis, and for me this is important to noting. A strong view about something built through good characters and story is beautifull to see, and very different from the coldness of merely defending a point of view.

For me, The Upside of Anger is a genius story. For real. Its take on the futility of some kind of anger, that one that we create from nothing, is fundamental for present time. I was so chocked when I saw it the first time, that I keep recommending it.

I slowly realize how many patterns are being built on this dare. One of them is that on a busy day I try to reach a film that I've seen before and want watch again. I began my morning with a cup of coffee and the first hour and so of this movie. Knowing the unexpected ending do not spoil the witty dialogue and good performances here for me. The dynamics between Joan Allen, her four daughters and Kevin Costner keeps us hooked on the screen. Allen's character is so damaged after her husband sudden disappearance, everyone around her are affected. Her whole world revolves around her anger.

Rachel Evan Wood's character Popeye is the narrator here, and her views about what is happening in her family are precious. They are the writer's point of view about the subject, I guess. But they are not a thesis, and for me this is important to noting. A strong view about something built through good characters and story is beautifull to see, and very different from the coldness of merely defending a point of view.

Anger and resentment can stop you in your tracks. That's what I know now. It needs nothing to burn but the air and the life that is swallows and smothers. It's real, though - the fury, even when it isn't. It can change you... turn you... mold you and shape you into something you're not. The only upside of anger, then... is the person you become. Hopefully someone that wakes up one day and realizes they're not afraid to take the journey, someone that knows that the truth is, at best, a partially told story. That anger, like growth, comes in spurts and fits, and in its wake, leaves a new chance at acceptance, and the pomise of calm. 

The Upside of Anger. Directed and written by Mike Binder (He is good here
as an actortoo). With: Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Rachel Evan Wood, Keri Russel.
USA/Germany/UK, 2005,  118 min., DTS/Dolby Digital/SDDS, Color (Netflix).