My Watch list (Hollywood)

Here are a few movies I can watch over and over and over again, and the reasons why.

(1) Doubt

"Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. When you are lost, you are not alone."

These opening lines were enough to floor me! I knew I was in for a treat when I heard these lines and was in no way disappointed. 'Doubt' created so many doubts in my mind, that I unhesitatingly rate it a masterclass!

The movie tracks a moral struggle in a school attached to a Catholic Church in the 1960s in NY, and at the center of it are the stern and unflinchingly conservative Principal, Sister Aloysius (played by Meryl Streep), the progressive minded priest Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the naive and innocent nun who's new to the teaching profession Sister James (Amy Adams), a young black student of the school Donald Miller, and last but far from the least, his mother Mrs. Miller (Viola Davis).

Sister Aloysius takes Father Flynn's open mindedness to be rebellion, and her suspicions are aroused when he preaches about doubt. Asked to remain on a lookout for any suspicious behavior by Father Flynn, the young Sister James gets a call during a class for Donald Miller, asking him to meet the Father in the rectory. Donald comes back inebriated, and when Sister James narrates the incident to Sister Aloysius, the latter is sure the student had been molested by the priest.

What follows is a series of confrontations between the two nuns and the priest, in which Sister Aloysius is hell-bent in making Father Flynn accede to wrong doing on his part by having an illicit relationship with a minor, Father Flynn steadfastly denies the accusations and Sister James is caught up in between, not knowing what to believe and whose side to take. Undoubtedly, the best scenes of the movie are when Sister Aloysius tells about her suspicions to Donald's mother, expecting her to be equally, if not more, concerned but in turn is stunned to see Mrs. Miller shrug off the matter as being non consequential to her son's school career, even if true. She argues that the priest is the only person who supports her son, and though he might have reasons of his own for the same, she is not bothered about them as long her son completes the year at the catholic school and is thereby eligible for a good high school.

The school principal finally has her way and blackmails the priest into quitting, though afterwards, she accepts that the whole incident has shaken the foundation of her beliefs, and that she is having doubts, so many of them.

A word about the performances, a major reason why this movie should be every drama fan's delight. Meryl Streep, as the strict catholic nun, is so terrific, that she makes you, at times, genuinely loathe her character's stubborn, relentless pursuit of a seemingly trifle incident. And finally you feel sorry for her, when she accepts that she's lost her beliefs, and breaks down, revealing that she has such doubts. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams too completely deserve the Oscar nominations they had got for their renditions of Father Flynn and Sister James respectively but the person who walks away with most of the accolades is undoubtedly Viola Davis. Playing an unconventional mother ready to push known boundaries for her son's happiness, she plays her character with such authenticity, that the 5 minutes of her presence in the movie, become the most riveting, without a DOUBT!

Watch this one if you haven't already and I am certain you wont regret it! More movies to follow!

And when your mind plays tricks...(Part1/3)

Part 1

Last few days had been tough for Arjun. The reason was not the new Chemistry tuition he was having a difficult time at, or the assignments at school; neither the impending CBSE 12th standard exams which were just 7 months away nor the numerous competitive exams that followed them. He had handled stress related to academics earlier; no, that was not it. The reason was something he never had experienced earlier. It was a trick. A dangerous, ugly and dirty trick his mind was playing on him.

It was only last week when he had first experienced it. He was studying for a class test at school the next week in his room, when he felt the need of going out to the balcony to take a breath of fresh air. There was a big mass of stone in the balcony, used as a support for the door, and Arjun noticed his pet kitty right below where he stood. All of a sudden, he felt this sudden urge to crush the cat by dropping the boulder near his feet on it. Of how all of a sudden he got this bizarrely sinister impulse, he had absolutely no idea! It was just as if someone had banged an iron rod hard on his head, and made him devoid of the ability to think for a few seconds. As soon as he came back to his senses in sometime, he dashed inside, locked the balcony door, and rushed downstairs to hug his pet, not daring to spare a thought for what prompted the action.
At dinner time, the same day, Arjun thought what had happened was just a scare; perhaps he was tired with the previous night's lack of sleep, or perhaps he had just been hallucinating in the evening. He changed into his night robes and went upstairs to his bed. On the way, he knocked at his sister's room, to bid her goodnight. She didn't answer, and when Arjun entered her room, he found her fast asleep. He turned back to head out of the room, as he would normally do seeing his sister asleep, but stopped midway. He abruptly thought of how defenceless she was, deep in slumber. "What if someone came in and tried to hurt her? Worse, say, murder her? Would I be able to hear her screams from the adjoining room? Why doesn't she lock her room before sleeping? Do I wake her up and ask her to do the same now?" These thoughts echoed around in Arjun's mind. He couldn't understand what was happening. He knew their house was perfectly safe and well guarded, and that it was not uncommon of his sister to sleep with the door unlocked. Why did he feel this way today? Was he still reeling under the continued effect of the impulses he felt in the evening? Arjun knew he desparately wanted some sleep. Something was amiss, and he didn't know what. He then didn't waste a single second in climbing onto his bed, and that was where the strange day ended for him.
"Arjun! Breakfast is ready, get up now. You have to receive your dad at the station at 10, remember?", Mrs Seth screamed for the umpteenth time from downstairs. Arjun finally woke up and yawned. Sundays were the best. Even in 12th standard. He had loads to study but before that he had to receive daddy from the railway station. Mr. Seth had been away on an official trip for a week, and was returning that day. Arjun completed his daily chores, had breakfast and took off to the station on his Honda Activa. He had almost forgotten the strange thoughts that were bothering him the previous day, but remembered them just as he was about to leave, when he saw his sister coming downstairs for breakfast. He shrugged it off rather easily, the broad daylight making the events of the day before seem miles behind him.
Finally, the announcement was made for Rajdhani Express. It was an hour late, and was arriving on platform  number 4. Arjun made his way towards the platform, and as was his habit, peeped at the incoming train, which was pretty far away and was slowly chugging along, from the edge of the platform. However, quite unanticipatedly, the erratic thoughts he had been having the previous day returned to haunt him. "What if I fall down onto the tracks and get stuck? What if no one tries to help me? Would I die if I were run over by the train? What if I manage to survive but lose a hand?" The train which till a few moments ago seemed like leisurely making its way towards the platform now seemed to scream with pace, and he felt a sudden impulse to jump onto the tracks. Shaken, and scared out of his wits, Arjun dashed off in the direction opposite to the railway tracks, his whole body shivering. He didn't even bother looking in the direction of the train till he was sure it marched past him, and could no more mow him down, now that he couldn't fall onto the tracks anymore.
By then, Arjun was sure that he had lost it. Something terrible was happening to him. Why these dark thoughts? What was going on in his head? Why, he had never had impulses like these ever before. Was he turning mad? "Arjun! Where on earth have you been? I was searching all over the platform for you! And what happened son? Why do you look pale? You alright?", Mr Seth exclaimed, finally finding Arjun. Arjun quietly took hold of his dad's bag, and meekly murmuring a few niceties, led his dad out of the station. He knew something was terribly, terribly wrong with him, and unfortunately, he knew not what.

This post is the first of 3 parts, and is based on OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). I dedicate this entire piece of write up to a very cute dolphin I know, and adore! :)  

A Mountain's Whisper

Last few days have been damn eventful. Damn eventful, yes, and damn adventurous, damn arousing, damn funny, damn unforgettable and damn + any other related word in the dictionary. But this post is not meant for describing the details of the same. Naah! let's save that for another day. This post is for mentioning the nuances that could easily escape notice , and for the subtle lessons learnt from them.

Solitude. This particular word has interested me several times in the past. "Why do we prefer being alone sometimes? Is there an introvert in all of us, which wants to run away from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives into some wilderness, never to return back? When we want to be alone, are we actually relishing the pain of being lonely as well?"

Most of the questions still remain unanswered, but these past few days have surely thrown light upon some of them, at least.

I had, for a good 7 days, no connection whatsoever to the outside world: no internet, no telephone network - our abode, the high hilly area being the culprit for the same. For most part of it, being in the company of my oldest and best friends, that hardly mattered, with all the fun and frolic and travelling. But when I occasionally strayed away by myself, sometimes at dusk, sometimes at the darkest hours of night; sometimes outside our lodging and sometimes tucked inside my blanket on the bed in my room, I could feel how vulnerable I was.

"What if no one actually tried to contact me? What if not a single soul even felt my absence? Apart from mom and dad, did anyone actually remember that I was on a tour? Does the fact that I am not around actually matter to anyone? What if I were killed in an accident here? Would anyone shed a tear? How did it matter? Do I die for attention everyday? Why do I have to think so much about what others think about me? Why do I care?" It was like the hills around me were crying out these questions, commanding an answer to each one of them.

I then tried to reply to a few of these queries. I sincerely gauged the importance of most relationships in my life, and the value I gave to most people I know. "Do I give too much worth to some people who don't actually matter in the larger picture of things? How about people who deserve much more attention than what they get from me?" Most of the answers gave me heartaches; and a couple of answers, real serious ones. The solitary time I spent with myself made me realize the value of my existence - in my eyes, and more importantly, in others'.
It was as if the mountain nearby was whispering about my insignificance in the state of things into my ear, and that hurt. Nothing beats the hurt brought about by the feeling of insignificance. Nothing at all.