The Other Half: The Crying Game

Photo of "Wilson" from Cast Away (2000), from Wikipedia

Posted by NevadaJoe

Hey, I feel I need to clarify a few things after reading Jamie's post on television watching (Boys Don't Cry: A Heartless Man's Confession). Yeah, I do get into the dramas and enjoy the emotions they engender. I do not reach the point of Kleenex very often, and do not want to be thought of as a weepy basket-case. You won't catch me crying after seeing a Hallmark commercial, quite the opposite actually. A well-crafted drama can pull me in, and if it is sorrow they're peddling, well, I'm in. Here is a list of some of the moments that "reached me" so to speak:

Love Actually (2003) - Quite a few moments here, but the scenes of people reuniting at the arrivals area at Heathrow while Hugh Grant narrates is well done.

Castaway (2000) - The reunion of Helen Hunt and Tom Hanks is so nicely executed by two amazing actors that you truly feel their pain. And when "Wilson" is being lost. . .again, amazing. Tying into that is the sheeer beauty of the musical score. Simple and lovely, and perfect for the movie.

Sense and Sensibility (1995) - Yeah I know, very few guys will willingly watch a Jane Austen movie, but you gotta admit that emotions behind a lost/denied love can be gut-wrenching. And the joy of a positive resolution to that situation is so elating.

Saving Private Ryan (1998) - This movie gave us all a chance to see war up close; to feel the impact of artillery, to see death come at us fast and horrible, and to somehow get it knocked into our heads how damn awful it is. And from that opening of the movie we see the secretary in Washington D.C. start to realize that Mrs. Ryan has lost 3 sons. And the scene where Mrs. Ryan is at her kitchen sink in her farm house and she sees the dust of a car on the gravel road, then starts to realize what it might be, and it is. She walks to the porch and collapses when the preached gets out of the army staff car. That is gut-wrenching.

Now, it would seem that Jamie's mom explained reality versus acting almost too well. Well, it is what it is and I enjoy my sad scenes along with the others. Jamie loves the gory death and or dismemberment scenes, along with scary stuff. So he has his movies and I have mine. But just between you and me, I think I got the better end of the deal.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Hey, I didn't say you were the Kleenex-grabber! That's the roommate. But, I've seen that strangled, clenched-jaw look on your face more than once or twice. . . And usually during a movie! I don't think I got a raw deal though. I've got the "suspension of disbelief" thing when it comes to scary, funny and sexy. . .I just missed out on sad and ooey-gooey romantic. I'll take that bargain!