pomonok

My family is going through the misery and stress that the 8 families followed in the movie are/we're going through. They say exactly what I say, every day: "We worked hard..played by the rules..how did this happen?" The best answer came from a not-financially struggling gentleman well-versed in middle-class financial destruction. He observed that for the middle class in this country, "One strike and you're out". I did not take comfort watching these 8 families suffer. I took comfort that they expressed my thoughts and feelings. I felt less alone, that my feelings of pain and misery were valid, and that I wasn't crazy. The movie takes place in Portland, OR during the winter. It was bleak, cold, wet, and overcast. It mirrored the families' misery perfectly. At the end, they showed what happened to each family. I was happy to see that most of them were either back on their feet or making progress to get there. I was sad that the other families were still struggling. The middle class is definitely one strike and you're out. Layoffs, illnesses, accidents, including work-related ones, divorce, unexpected pregnancies, etc. can happen to anyone at any time. The families in "American Winter" believed in The American Dream and worked hard to make it happen for them. They thought, like I thought, that being solidly middle class protected us from depending on this country's shrinking social services safety net. And from food stamps, food pantries, homeless shelters, foreclosure, eviction, car repo, going w/o electricity, heat, and water from falling behind, going w/o health and car insurance, donating plasma as a source of regular income. And from moving back in with your parents. Or living out of a friend's unheated garage w/no electricity or running water. The worst worst part was the effect on the children in these families. They were depressed, angry, frightened, and ashamed. One 12 year old blamed herself for her family's situation, because she became ill and there were medical bills. They ate and showered at friends' houses. Or went to friends' houses to escape the constant stress from hearing their parents fight from constant stress. You don't have to be middle class and in financial crisis for "American Winter" to resonate with you. One strike and you're out.

I saw "Love On The Run" when it came out over 30 years ago. I fell in love with it. I recorded it from t.v., own the VHS tape, and had it converted to a DVD. Yes, the movie has many flaws. It's choppy. It's sloppy. Its disclaimer is disingenuous, since it was based on the Mary Evans/Tim Kirk case in 1983. Yet I rated it an 8. Here's why: 1) As a social worker and a psychologist, I have treated many attractive, intelligent, and seductive patients. As a frequently lonely single woman who met lots of "normal" guys, the "not-normal" guys were indeed tempting. Plus often cuter, smarter, and cooler than my acceptable gene pool. The mind wanders..Fortunately, I married my soul mate. 2) Convicts make it their business to read people. Whatever his motives were, he read Diana very well and at least acted like she was important. No one else gave a damn. 3) Was it love? To Diana, yes. She felt understood, sexy, and got the courage to get real. Sean? As much as a sociopath can, he cared for her. He felt loved, and intrigued by her. 4) Stephanie Zimbalist and Alec Baldwin were poignant, authentic, and had great chemistry. I wish there was more time spent pre-breakout on how Diana, a repressed, insecure, vulnerable doormat decided to choose such a counter-intuitive choice. In particular, she just lost her dad, whose death gave her a lot of free time. Get past the 1980's production, the mediocre directing, and focus on Sean and Diana, especially Diana. Pomonok