Last night, I saw the film, Two Lovers, the last movie Joaquin Phoenix says he will make, opting instead to become insane and pursue a career as a rapper. Spoiler alert: Stop reading here if you don't want to know how the movie ends. In the film, Joaquin Phoenix's character, Leonard, is in love with Gwyneth Paltrow's character, Michele. But she doesn't really love him and rejects him for another guy after the smitten Leonard has ACL reconstruction surgery. No, not really. I was just trying to somehow make this knee-related. She rejects Leonard after he buys her a diamond ring. He falls to pieces. Briefly. Then he quickly collects himself and --apparently adhering to the philosophy "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" -- gives the ring to another girl he's been seeing but whom he doesn't really love. It's sad and discomforting, but understandable from Leonard's point of view because previously in his life, his fiancee had called off the marriage and he was so distressed he tried to commit suicide and was institutionalized. A cynical, pessimistic ending, or an uncomfortable dose of realism? It reminded me of the late David Foster Wallace's (shown below) two paragraph story A Radically Condensed History of Postindustrial Life:
When they were introduced, he made a witticism, hoping to be liked. She laughed extremely hard, hoping to be liked. Then each drove home alone, staring straight ahead, with the very same twist to their faces.
The man who'd introduced them didn't much like either of them, though he acted as if he did, anxious as he was to preserve good relations at all times. One never knew, after all, now did one now did one now did one.
Oh and there is a knee angle here. I walked to the theater --about a 15 minute stroll each way-- and my knee felt pretty good coming and going, about as good as its felt since the surgery. It's a little stiff today though. And so it goes.
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