So, this is on showtime now.

I'd never seen it before. These are my thoughts.

It's a good movie, with a few weak plot points. At the bottom will be a question I pose, if you wanna skip down that'd be okay by me too.

I thought it was great to see Patricia Clarkson playing a viable romantic lead--even though her character was mostly flat. She is a gorgeous woman with huge presence and talent and needs more romantic leads--heck she needs more leads period!

The film was full of little nuances that practically made the whole film for me. One, was the flirtatious yet awkward dialogue between Syd and the receptionist at the beginning of the film. Another was the fact that Greta had gone out (on her own) to get a box of cereal while Lucy was away.

I did find a few things distracting. Lucy's second trip "upstate" seemed a little vague--maybe this is just me. And *****this is the spoiler******I thought the way they presented her death was very sub par. It seems to me that they set themselves up for an anti-climactic reveal. Yes, it *was* predictible already which is all the more reason to reach way down and make it a memorable scene. It failed miserably on that count IMHO. And while, I have no arguments on the ending, I did like it, I thought it would have been more poingnant had the death reveal been better.

And here's the question. I see Lucy as killing herself in the end because through all of her life, all she had were empty relationships. Even her own mother could not connect with her in her most naked and vulnerable time of need. Yes, Greta, and Syd did love her, but in a needy and suffocating way. So this is the question--did Lucy (if you subscribe to the belief that she killed herself) kill herself intentionally by overdosing, or did she do it accidentally due to real depression and despair?


Overall, I liked the movie quite a bit.

I think it was mostly accidental and underscores the danger of living your life in a mostly drugged-out haze ... and the undeniable power of heroin. However, I do believe Lucy felt some estranged sense of commitment to Greta (yes, Patricia Clarkson was amazing in this role), which is why she was compelled to join Greta in one final going-away high; plus, Lucy also is an addict ... though I'm not quite sure if she is addicted to heroin so much as she is to being needed by someone.

As for her death, or rather the scene of her death, not being dramatic: I disagree. I think the sight of Syd, happily knowing that Lucy loves her, but finding that guy friend (I forget his name; Arnie?) in Lucy's car, learning that Lucy is dead -- wow. I was devastated. For Lucy AND Syd.

How would you have made it more dramatic, Mark? Or what, exactly, is missing? I don't think the film could have possibly crammed in another dramatic O.D. scene!

: )

I adore this movie. I think I'll go watch it again! Thanks for the thread.

Well, when I saw Lucy do a second line--after having never seen her doing a second line before--I just had this feeling that this was it for her. Then, we cut to Syd and the friend (guy) in the car and it's just so ominous. I knew what was coming. So maybe that was why, but the way he just blurted it out like that was anti-climactic for me.

Now, granted, the initial response by Syd --the look on her face in the split second before she goes into denial was a little flash of brilliance and I really could have cried had she sustained that. But, unfortunately, it all went down hill after that. I liked the fact that she went to work anyway--kind of like she didn't know what else to do--and I liked how all the mindless corporate-types isolated her further from the reality of what had just happened. But overall, I felt the delivery of the news by the guy was flat, and then her reaction (after the initial one) felt fake.

I think if I were to change the scene, I wouldn't have the guy in the car deliver the news at all. He's a leach really, sucking what life there is out of Lucy and doesn't deserve to be the one to tell Syd. And if I were to have him deliver the news, I would make him even colder to the point of being hurtful to Syd--All he cares about is the drug connection to Lucy--He is angry that his free ride is over--resentful even. I think this would have hurt Syd even more and made for a more emotional response out of her--more shock--you know?

Does that even make any sense?

And it's interesting that you see Lucy as co-dependent. I see her as one of the only non-codependent characters in the film.

Syd is dependent on her boyfriend and her career, and what they can do for her and then Lucy for both reasons combined.

Her bosses are total whores to the industry--therefore co-dependent to it

Greta and the junkies are dependent on Lucy for love and drugs--I see Lucy as the source of money for their addictions.

Lucy's mom is dependent on Lucy for emotional support.

It really seems like so many people are looking to Lucy for emotional and financial support, that she just can't cope any more, and O.D's. It seems reasonable. She admits that she can't make good decisions in her life and is suffering for it.

Could it be her character's strong personality that I'm taking for independence? Now I'm confusing myself...

I don't think I said Lucy is co-dependent ... unless co-dependency and addiction are the same thing? I'm not sure she's addicted to drugs, but obviously she can't break out of the lifestyle, for whatever reason(s).

(What's the difference between "dependent" and "co-dependent"? That might be the terminology that's tripping me up at the moment!)

: )

I think that maybe Lucy couldn't handle the fact that Syd actually maybe really truly did love her, without heroin, and that maybe she herself could be a brilliant photographer once again ... again, without drug-enhancement.

Sometimes the idea of actually having who/what you want is overwhelming.

Still, I think her OD'ing was mostly accidental.