MovieChat Forums > Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000) Discussion > good movie...BUT

good movie...BUT

posted 9 years ago by blazed_confused
1 reply | jump to latest

I really enjoyed the style of this movie, and I thought it was done well. However I had some major issues that I just couldn't get past:

1. The fact the director seemed to use minority groups as a sort of 'token' for unusualness, or as something to add an extra bit of quirk to the story. Eg: a dwarf, a blind person, a homeless person, a lesbian, a poc as a lover...and all used as elements to enhance the main storyline who were all standard white women (except for lesbian)

2. That the main characters WERE standard, thin, white, attractive women. And a couple of their love interests were pretty questionable...like attractiveness levels were just not matched when it came to their male partners

3. The main issue: that this was written and directed by a man about women. At least he addressed this in one of the film's lines "only a fool would speculate about the life of a woman"

Does anyone else agree? It just didn't sit right with me.

[–] outhouse-barista 9 years ago

I just watched the film and thought it was well done, too. The truth be known, I enjoyed it. I can understand your thoughts on 1. and 2. Point 3, though, I have to disagree.

Yes, it was directed by a man. Yes, it's a movie about women, dealing with some rather serious topics for women (divorce, new love, old love, lover dying of cancer). However, these are not experiences confined to women. While the perspectives and responses may vary in a life experience between women and men (the lesbian couple, for example), it isn't difficult for a man to gauge what a woman's response might be. Sure, the director cannot physically say, "I know what it's like for my lesbian partner to be dying of cancer." But with humanity, perspective, and a little sensitivity, he can certainly make a good and believable scene, this one being among my favorites.
I say all this because first, is it not worth seeing a male director's perspective on women's lives? It's certainly worth seeing a woman's perspective on men's lives. Katherine Bigelow, for instance, made two of the most kick-ass films ever with testosterone-infused subject matter (Point Break, The Hurt Locker). I'd just hate to see a good story get written off because a consensus says, "Hold up, sir...this subject is off limits because, well...you're a dude." Again, knowledge, respect, and sensitivity go a long way but I think the director did okay.
I'm a man, by the way, who loves to read and write romance.