Big Little Lies: the banalization of violence against women

There comes my second article and I am already late on the deadline … let’s say it was a tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, shall we? As promised, I am going to write about a TV-Show, and, sorry to disappoint you guys, but this is not going to be another article or theory about ’13 Reasons Why’. Mostly because I haven’t binge-watched it yet, but also because I’m tired of hearing about it.

Today’s article is going to be about the mini-series ‘Big Little Lies’. If you are a native English-speaker, you might have heard about it more than I did. In fact, if I hadn’t read the book last Christmas, I’d probably never have watched it.

As I did last time with ‘Beauty and the Beast’, I am going to address the adaptation of the story, not the story itself, which was already amazing. In my opinion, a movie based on a book should not be judged by its story, because the real work is about how it tells it, and what it makes about it. As I am going to write about the style and not the content, there will not be any spoilers this time.

Just like last time, I was looking forward to discover the adaptation. I enjoyed reading Big Little Lies (written by the Australian author Liane Moriarty and released in 2014) so much that I finished it in less than 48 hours, and when I learned that it was to be adapted into a 7-episodes series, with Shailene Woodley, Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman in the leading roles, I literally jumped all around the house!

Though I am going to spoil, I think I need to give a few elements about the intrigue so that people who haven’t seen it yet can still understand this article. In short, Big Little Lies tells the story of three mothers: Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Celeste (Nicole Kidman) and Jane (Shailene Woodley) with different personalities and problems. The first scene tells us that someone was murdered at Otter Bay Elementary school’s PTA fund-raiser. The series alternates between the police investigation and the events of the preceding months, with the objective to make us wonder who got killed and why.

Apart from the plot and the suspense, this series distinguishes itself in many ways and is worth watching, if only to appreciate its innovative aspect.

I won’t comment the casting choice. Much has already been said about the three actresses sharing the bill, so there’s no need to linger on it. I however would like to welcome the choice of Alexander Skarsgård for the role of Perry (Celeste’s husband). This is probably due to his typically Scandinavian looks, but he successfully gave an impression of strength, coldness, even bestiality to his character and serves an amazing performance.

There’s no other way to put it, BLL is an aesthetical gem. I already said last time that I was stunned by the decors and costumes of Beauty and the Beast, because it was spectacular and blockbuster-worthy. But this time, the stakes were very different, because the series takes place in our age and -above all- in the daily life. Where many could have satisfied themselves with a pure and simple copy/paste of the book, this adaptation managed to give it more intensity. Story-telling is punctuated by peaceful shots of sea landscapes as well as an interesting choice of music (Fleetwood mac, Janis Joplin, Agnes Obel …) - the credits itself is a masterpiece (Cold Little Heart – Michael Kiwanuka). One of BLL’s biggest assesses is also its ability to know when music is needed, and when not. The place given to silence allows to truly feel the passing of time, therefore giving more realism to the show. This contrast between calm, peaceful shots and the brutality, the harshness of some scenes also contributes to make us slightly uncomfortable.

This show confirms the tendency/wish of the recent years to depict women’s everyday life as honestly as possible. Much has been made since Desperate Housewives (which was already a step forward back in 2004), but Big Little Lies somehow takes it to the next level, with little details (the time mother characters spend driving, when Abby wards off her mother’s hand, who tried to clear her forehead from hairs …) as well as aspects of the story. I notably appreciated the fact that, unlike the book, the series chose to show us Renata’s (in conflict with Madeline and Jane) point of view. Without justifying nor judging her attitude, this allows us to understand her behaviour as well as humanize her character. The attempt to give Madeline’s character more relief by inventing her an affair, however, wasn’t accurate nor necessary.

But BLL’s most valuable quality is the way it addresses the banalization of violence in women’s life. I found it very interesting to see how Celeste’s perception of her couple evolves throughout the show – from a simple dysfunction in her marriage and her sexuality to, little by little, marital rape and domestic violence – but also what consequences it has on their children’s behaviour. In addition, the fact that it is set in a rich and educated environment shows that violence against women not only happens to poor people. The issue of violence perception is also tackled through Jane’s character, who thinks she has her own share of responsibility in the fact that she was raped. Because we live in a society where violence against women is still considered normal or justified by some people, and makes that kind of show necessary to make us realize that some things need to be changed. 

We deserve better. 

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Photo credits: TuneFind, WeHeartIt, HBO. 

Beauty and the Beast: reinterpreting Disney’s very first modern princess

It took me some time to figure out what my very first article would be about. Then, when I was bringing my diary (or should I say “Bullet Journal”-Attempt?) up-to-date this morning, I realized that the most obvious way to start would be with one of my favorite Disney Movies ever.

Unless you live in a cave, you more than probably are aware that Disney recently adapted its 90s-version of Beauty and the Beast into an actual movie. Many of you might also have already seen it up to this point, and, like me, entered the cinema with high expectations.

Although I never established an actual classification, Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my favorite Disney (and that means something considering how much I love Disney), if not my favorite princess one. Having been a bookworm and a feminist from the cradle (thanks, mom), Belle was the princess I considered I resemble the most. I also loved it because there was no love nor attraction at first sight, but that’s another debate.

So, when they announced that they were going to remake it with two actors that I love in the leading roles … let’s just say I was more than excited. To me, even before the release of the first images and trailers, the project had a fantastic potential, which also made me very critical about it.

Let’s move on to my opinion about the movie. To sum up, I am quite mixed. I was stunned by visual and technical aspects, as well as acting performances in general, but was also a bit disappointed by some choices that were made, mostly regarding the songs and some parts of the scenario. I also felt (and was very glad) that some efforts had been made to modernize and develop characters and the intrigue, but, in my opinion, they could have been more intensive and advanced.

(If you haven’t seen the film and do not want to be spoiled, now’s the point where you should stop reading)

As I just said, I really enjoyed everything that is visual in this movie. The decors and costumes are just amazing. The choice to exploit more deeply a 18th century setting is very interesting and allows impressive and detailed shots. I was notably impressed by the prologue scene, that was told through stained-glass windows in the original Disney and explains how the Prince turned into a Beast. Referring explicitly to the 18th century way of life and habits such as experienced in Versailles gives more relief to the character of the Beast. It gives its cruelty and superficiality a context of emergence: the emptiness and pedantry of courtiers. It’s as if the curse was an interpretation of the French Revolution, and I love this.

But I guess the most important problem of the movie is THE SONGS. I personally enjoy songs in movies when they are well done or at least when they are relevant in the presented situation. Beauty and the Beast isn’t my favorite Disney cartoon in terms of songs, but I consider that most of them were useful and brought something to the story. I knew that there would be songs in this version, even the fact that they would be exact same ones as in the 90s-version did not disturbed me. The problem, to me, comes when there are too much of them. The opening scene/song, “Belle” is a delight for the eyes, and I liked the Neville Longbottom-reference, but seriously, it is way too long! Though there are some dialogues and breaks in between, the song lasts at least ten minutes, and it tends to be boring by the end. The point of doing an actual movie with real actors, partly aimed at adults and teenagers who grew up with the cartoon, should be, I guess, to replace some songs (or at least some parts in case of “Belle”) with dialogues, and I do not think it will make a longer movie. What really pissed me off was the fact that, besides the already existing songs, they added new ones! I am not opposed to the idea, but in this case, I found them useless. There was no need of a song to explain that the Beast had issues with his father, that Belle’s mother died of the Plague (the whole scene in Paris is not useful either, not to mention that there has been no plague epidemy in Paris during the whole 18th century), and that the Beast is desperate after Belle goes back to her village. I feel like they added and dragged on some songs only to demonstrate technical (visual) capabilities. I however enjoyed some of them, notably “Gaston”, which is beautifully shot and hilarious.

Putting aside the whole “songs problem”, I was very glad so see that many efforts had been made to complexify and modernize characters as well as the plot, but it left me with the feeling of something unfinished. As I said earlier, I was very thrilled about the choice of the two main actors. I knew Dan Stevens would be amazing portraying the Beast, given his performance in Downton Abbey. It was interesting to find some of Matthew Crawley’s features and attitude in the character of the Beast, and I guess it enriched the relationship development with Belle. Likewise, Emma Watson seemed to be a perfect choice for Belle, not only for the quality of her acting, but also her personality and her feminist commitment. And I wasn’t disappointed on that aspect: both are amazing. To me, Emma Watson managed to play an even more independent and modern Belle. I guess it lies in small details that improve the plot, such as her escape attempt while the Beast is inviting her to dinner behind the door or the fact that she built a washing mashing so that she could have time to teach a little girl to read. I also appreciated the efforts of intellectualization of her relationship with the Beast, which shows she not only is charmed by her personality, but that they do have things to say to each other, as well as a potential attempt to address the harassment issue – no one does it like Gaston.

These efforts definitely made an even better movie than the previous one, but I guess there could have been more. The choice to set it more explicitly in the 18th century can also be a disadvantage, especially when it becomes a pretext to keep coming out with the same old clichés about France. I know it’s part of its charm and spirit, especially in the song “Be our guest”, but it tends to become too much. Some of those efforts to make it more historical are also sometimes pointless, notably when they made a point out of precising that Belle’s mother died because of a Plague epidemic in Paris. Not only is this false from an historical point of view, but also does not bring anything to the story. Was it a reference to the fact Emma Watson was born in Paris? Or the fact that a movie about France HAS to have at least a scene in Paris? Well, at least they did not put an Eiffel Tower in 18th century Paris … almost expected it when I saw the scene. (Sorry guys, being french myself kinda gives me the right to judge this)

If I forget about the songs (after all, I might be the only one to have that feeling about them), I have to admit the movie was pretty good. Saying the contrary would be a lie. I spent a good moment, and Beauty and the Beast is by far the best modern adaptation of a Disney cartoon that I have seen up to this point. But, given my expectations and the potential the whole project had, I think it could have been even better. This film gives an overview of what it could have been. I guess this reflects a bigger problem with big productions: it gives the potential and the means to do something amazing and spectacular, the occasion to make something impacting, but the more money there is, the more is at stake. And the more formatted the movie is, in order to reach the larger public, and this results in a gap between the intentions of the creators and the pressure of the industry.

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I hope you guys enjoyed this very first article, feel free to share and comment, I would be more than happy to discuss the movie in further details, as I obviously couldn’t cover the whole subject and would be very interesting in knowing your opinion :) I will try to post an article every week or at least every two weeks. I guess I will talk about *drum roll* tv series next time ... stay tuned!

Photo Credits: allocine.fr / beautyandthebeastmovienews.blogspot.de / liberation.fr

What I live on.

The lights at the windows at Nights. Futuristic 90’s Design. Jasmine Tea. Sky Colours on enening. Butterfly Flights. Hitchcock Movies’ dark atmosphere. Paint projections. Look at stars. Skater’s skirts. Peonies. The electric atmosphere of a Party end. The Violet’s perfume. Go where nobody goes. Falling Snow. Golden tint. The Candle light in the Twilight. Pears. Platform Shoes. American Universities Spirit. Cold Drinks. Petrol Blue. The curve of legs on heels. Victorian Houses. The Ciammon Smell. Industrial Decoration. The decline of roaring twenties. The embarrassed smile of Hugh Grant. Speed and Height Sensations. Citrus Fruits. The sun on my skin. Fireworks. Walk in the forest. Falling Leaves. Alice Cooper’s songs. 90s teen movies. Cats purring. Hide. The noise of the rain against the window. When the boy and the girl finally kiss in Movies. Harry Potter World. Be under Blankets watching a movie eatiing marshmallow and drinking hot chocolate.