It was a weekend of mixed outcomes. It was my birthday on Friday but I had yet another battling Friday at work, right up to a few minutes past 5pm. So the little footy party Tress and I had organised took on a different complexion. I felt sombre and tired, stressed and stretched. Even when we drove to the pizza shop to pick up the pizzas I was quiet for the most part.
Our friends came around 7pm, and we started dinner soon after. Jason and Mel brought a great salad and a cake, Tim and Kenji brought a delicious cheese platter and Auntie Hooi and Marloney brought a magnificent spread of fruits. There were sweet white wines for the ladies, Guinness from Mel and Japanese dry beer which we had bought. After dinner we had the cheeses washed down with a very nice red I took out from my “cellar”.
Then it was Hawks v Cats and we all settled down to a very exciting see-saw game which saw Hawks going into the fourth quarter 20 points behind. Somehow we kicked a few and when Burgoyne booted us ahead even the non-footy fans in our home cheered on. It was great to see. Everyone was so excited they all wanted another party on Grand Final day. So I guess this Sat arvo is now agreed.
Sat Tress and I went to the Boroondara market near the corner of Toorak and Monash. The organic stuff was all over the place. We picked up some veg, fruits, some cakes and I also bought a bottle of Pinot. We then got home, and I waited for the buyer of our old TV to pick it up and then we went to Madam Kwong’s as usual. After that we picked up a few videos, went home and took the little fellow for a walk.
Tress then went to catch up with some friends over coffee and I stayed home and mowed the lawn and tidied up the garden. Just on 4pm I put the tools and everything else into the shed, got a shower and settled into the couch. I put on a DVD and was just watching it when I got a phone call from someone from the old church. Strangely he accused me of something I knew nothing about so it got a bit heated. I told him to stay away and continued watching Brando, Duvall, Pacino, Cann et al, only to receive an email later on from the same person accusing me of the same thing. David Chiang, stop being a pest. Go away and stop being a fool.
That night Tress and I watched one of the DVD’s we picked up. Di Caprio and Winslet teamed up again for Revolutionary Road – a story about a couple dreaming of an exciting life but trapped by reality and the mundane daily grind. They seem to deal with the grind like many – they’re lighting up every other minute and the grog was constantly flowing. No one talked about it – they were just smoking and drinking all the time while talking about getting away to live in Paris, dealing with a job he hated (since he was a kid when he saw his father in the same job with the same company) but stuck to because he was promoted and had more money. Their neighbours too were constantly turning to the stimulants. These habits caused all sorts of issues, Leonardo’s character (Frank) started an affair in the office and his wife slept with a neighbour. All this while, Kate’s character desperately wanted to leave the suburban trap. When Frank finally decided not to leave, things erupted. A visit by the deranged son of another neighbour brought out these ugly truths into the fore. In a nasty fight, Leonardo said to Kate that he wished she had aborted their child she was carrying. The next day a very calm Kate prepared breakfast for Leonardo – one he said was the best breakfast he ever had. After he left for work she did a self-administered abortion. It went badly, she went to the hospital and later died. The house on Revolutionary Road was sold and the deranged man’s mother (Kathy Bates) who was the estate agent who sold Leonardo and Kate the house in the first place, started to sing the praises of the new owners and derided the previous owner. Kathy’s husband turned off his hearing aid when she carried on. Leonardo in the meantime, moved to the city. His life continued apparently – he has moved on from Revolutionary Road and someone else is there now.
The credits showed it was a Sam Mendes film. I had watched and was so disturbed (moved) by American Beauty and this was not as piercing but it brought out deep hidden aspirations and frustrations of daily living all the same. I really enjoyed it.
On Sunday after church we chatted to a few more people and got to know more new faces. We’re slowly rebuilding. Then it was lunch at M Kwong again. We then had a really relaxing afternoon – gave the little fellow a treat: lamb neck which he gave back out a half hour later, all over an old rug and on the lawn…
We chatted with Kiddo later than evening and then went to bed early. Another weekend gone and back to face another week at work…
Related articles
- Revolutionary Road (empressmag.wordpress.com)
- Revolutionary Road (filmaddictedcritic.wordpress.com)
- Top 10 Break-Up Movies (popinsomniacs.com)
- (Review) Revolutionary Road (maskedmoviemarauder.wordpress.com)
- (Review) Revolutionary Road (moviesrule.wordpress.com)
Ante 