Two movies, womanhood and singleness

I was a little extravagant this past weekend and went and saw two films. Months can go by without me going to the movies, then it’s pouring films. First I saw Made in Dagenham at the open air cinema with some girls from church on Friday night. I was pretty ho-hum about seeing that movie, it was more an occasion to hang out with church friends. But the movie was quite good, with a smattering of British wit, about the industrial action by the women machinists at the Ford factory in the UK, which led to the introduction of the Equal Pay Act in 1970 (yes, it was only 1970, isn’t that extraordinary?). I couldn’t help but think the film was constructed through the eyes of modern feminism, which I guess was inevitable, but in it were three different scenarios that set up a tension between supporting your husband and family and supporting and fighting for the cause, with varied outcomes. They did make some attempt to show that sometimes life is complicated and the choices facing these women were made more complex by the fact that they were mostly out working already, and only wanted higher rates of pay to contribute to their families, they just got very involved in fighting for it. So it was an interesting look at this time in history, even though we all know that the economic outcomes since haven’t been that straightforward. (I’ve written more of my comments on such things while blogging through the book Radical Womanhood over at EQUIP book club go there and start at the bottom if it takes your fancy.)

But it was the second film that really left an impression somewhere inside me. When I saw The King’s Speech I saw the trailer for Another Year and thought it looked nice. I mentioned wanting to see it at work and a friend said she really wanted to see it too. She is something of a film buff, who goes off to NIDA and does screen-writing courses etc, and Mike Leigh is her favourite director. So, I thought I might learn something, we made a date and walked to the local Dendy on Saturday, in about 42 degrees, her swearing like the Scot that she is and me exclaiming in disbelief about every 30 seconds (the weather here has been something else!). This is a simply beautiful film – that is, it’s simple and it’s beautiful. Don’t go and see it if action is your thing, because slow is one word you could use for it. But it really is exquisite and I loved it. And yet it has to be the saddest comment on growing older in singleness that I have ever seen in cinema. (Essentially I felt like I watched a movie on how not to be single – though I'd say it was a film about loneliness, and envy.) The story revolves around an older, happy, well-adjusted couple (most of the film takes place in their house and yard), almost too perfect, who got married in their youth and have a very pleasantly ordinary life. And then there are their single friends: one male and one female, neither of them coping well with their situation. And it’s tragic to watch. I felt simultaneous compassion and revulsion for Mary in particular, and a deep sadness at both her loneliness and her failure to come to terms with her own life. She’s a little extremely caricatured, and a certain condescension towards her manifests as the film progresses, but, we all heed the warning. (This film also got me thinking about things I wrote in the posts for Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? on the EQUIP book club – it was like revision weekend!) I'm currently of the opinion that the entire human race should be made to sit down and watch this film.