Last night, my husband and I watched Before We Go, an indie romance movie billed as a comedy/drama. While not totally sure what we were getting into, my DH and I sank into our couch in Montana, and got caught up in an odd, but compelling story line set in New York City.
I love seeing places in movies where I’ve been. A little over 10 years ago, we met my sister and her husband for lunch in Grand Central. The middle of the day hustle was in full swing, but nothing like the commuting hours of morning and late afternoon.
And very unlike the opening of the movie–1:30 in the morning in a quiet, but cavernous marble edifice. Sounds echo like coins bouncing of the sides as they fall into a deep well. A low, mournful tune, played by our hero on a trumpet, doesn’t even make a dent in the silence.
The clacking of heels, loud and staccato against the stone, announce the entrance of the heroine, who misses her last train home to Boston. The two are bounced to the street by the station’s close, orders of Homeland Security. And there, their adventure beings.
What follows is an unfolding of their innermost feelings and desires, a truth-telling to themselves and to each other. It’s slow, but each moment moves you forward as the bits of integrity fall into place. There was never a temptation to turn it off.
This romance movie spoke to both of us. No, it’s not the traditional love story, but it is compelling, because it contains elements that all good relationships must eventually have–a slow reveal of our inner souls while encouraging each other to be the best people we can possibly be.
Although not a romance, To Kill a Mockingbird still stretches the heartstrings. It is a slow evolution of people revealing themselves, both good and bad. The people whose relationship needs to grow to help each other become the best people they can be, are Atticus Finch and his daughter.
To me the important part of these stories is the impact they have on the viewer and reader. Both encourage us, in their own unique ways, to dig a little deeper and discover what truths we are keeping from ourselves–truths that need to be acknowledged and brought into the open so we can live and love better than we ever have before.
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