The Upside of Anger - 5

This film had a good amount of potential, but didn't fully take advantage of the story in order to give insight into the nature of anger. The film follows a mother and her four daughters who are dealing with a disappearing father, suspected to have run off with his secretary. It takes quite a bit of suspended belief, to enjoy the film, but the thematic payoffs are worth it. The film is good at pointing to some of the family dynamics that connect and disconnect relationships, without the hyperbole of American Beauty. One of the ways the film fails is that the narrator is the youngest daughter, at least in the beginning of the film and the end. But the story revolves around the mother dealing with her anger, and trying to love and be loved. In the middle of the film there are a few imaginary sequences from the mothers point of few. Maybe that is the magic of film as a medium, but in this case it made the narration with the theme and insights a little disconnected from the story. I think the valuable thing to take away from the film is that really seeing reality for what it is can be painful, but ultimately we are not alone with it, rather we can choose to relate to others through it and in spite of it. That is the redemptive process that this story is trying to tell.