Vicky Christina love and linen

I do my best writing while I am walking to work and about to fall asleep. Of course, I never actually write it so maybe it isn’t good. I can just think it is without having to read it later and feel embarrassed and wonder why I inappropriately use commas,like, always.

BUT I AM GOING TO WRITE THIS ONE OUT. RIGHT NOW. Vicky Christina, let’s go.

I know that it really isn’t fair to bring an artists personal life to their work. To use it to discredit them, or to celebrate them. And of course Woody Allen has repeatedly said his movies have nothing to do with his private life whatsoever.

But

Husbands and Wives* was produced and released at the peak of Woody and Mia’s breakup. It was made while he was boning Soon-Yi. It mirrors their life so much that he really can’t say that one has nothing to do with his life. But he does. Mia Farrow’s character wanting kids, Woody smooching 19 year olds, being excited by the prospect of being with them. The fights. The divorce. Come on. So I feel I can hold WA’s life up to the light with Vicky Christina. SO basically, Woody wasn’t happy with Mia, He isn’t happy with Soon-Yi(I’m just guessing!) . He is never happy. It's existential- got it! What now?

I will unfairly say this; to me, Vicky Christina Barcelona is Woody kind of giving up. He wants it all but he is admitting that the exciting 16 year olds, get old, the talented, stable, caring partners( I am talking about Mia here, not the Rebecca Hall character she just came off kind of predicable and depressing) get boring and nothing works. There is always the “what if..” the uncertainty. “Love is only romantic if it cannot be” or whatever. Which is fine. A point worthy of exploration.

But, I feel like he just used his power as Woody Allen to explore his fantasies of “love” he wishes he could pursue. It leaves all of the relationships in the movie feeling kind of empty. Totally contrived, giving no one any credit and using stereotypes all along the way. Love never works, Scarlett, Penelope, please make out now.

Scarlet Johansson’s performance was horrible. Penelope Cruz owned the screen. She is beautiful.

Too much linen.

Woody seems to really hate the USA.

And a bunch of other things.

This really does not make as much sense as it does when I write it before falling asleep.



* Husbands and Wives, I thought was a really good movie about some of the same things. Just saying.