Skip to main content

Another Life (2001)

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Another Life. Feature film. (2001, 101 mins) IMDB

...Even a story is based on real events, the writer must construct a proper narrative...

W

e've seen this story before even if this film is based on real events.

It's the early 1900s in England. A young, single woman is happy in her life with her family, middle class and all, but dreams of more. Fantasizes about adventure and glamour. She meets a man who seems to fit the bill, Percy. They get married, but married life is a bore. She meets another man and starts a passionate love affair. If only her husband were out of the picture, the two could live happily . But it's a time when divorce is out of the question. Scandal would erupt. She has a reputation to protect. Enter the notion of killing her husband.

The suggestion is she tries to poison her husband and it fails. Then one late autumn evening, her lover comes as the husband and she walk down the street. In a flash, he's slashed with a knife and killed.

Act III. Quickly they are arrested. Brought to court. Sentence passed. They are both executed.

I read an online account of the real events. The murder happened October 2nd, 1932 and by January 9, 1933, the two were executed. Just over three months.

I suppose it would help if you know something about Edith Thompson, but it shouldn't. Act I is slow to get going even though it starts with a flash forward to the murder. What's presented at the start is too confusing to be interesting.

The story gets darker as it progresses from happy and carefree to death. What's presented in Act I doesn't mesh with what follows. It's as if two stories are presented. One a comic period piece, the other a drama with life and death. I found it hard to stay interested, and even when the notion of murdering her husband entered the story, I perked up but felt there was nothing original about the story line and there wasn't.

The court scene and final execution were rushed.

She had to be drugged and carried to the scaffold. Even as she was hysterical, I wasn't moved by it. There was no sense of right or wrong about the execution. It just happened. Another note in history.

Given the material to work with, I think a much better story could have been told.

Posted 2009/03/03 at 21h08ET in Movie Commentary.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CRA & E-Filing

Tuesday, March 6, 2007 ... Online Tax Services Suspended by CRA ... I received an email press release from the Canada Revenue Agency late on Tuesday stating they were shutting down the computer that processed e-filed personal tax returns. For many tax preparers the announcement means they will have to file paper returns or wait for the system to come back on, but it could be a long wait. Until we can announce a business recovery date, the Agency will provide daily updates to the media on the steps we are taking. On the surface, e-filing a return makes sense because it is more efficient, but at present it only makes sense for simple returns. If you file a return beyond a T4 and an RRSP deduction, you can expect follow-up letters requesting original receipts. For accountants, this hassle means additional time—time that usually can't be recovered. As result, many accountants file paper returns for their benefit. What is required is a system that allows the recei...
Post a Comment
Read more

If Only We Could Agree

Monday, June 11, 2012 ... have you been accused of misspelling a word you know is correct ... S usanne O’Leary wrote an interesting article on her experience with the variations of the English language in different countries. You know the obvious ones like colour with or without a “u” but less obvious ones like travelled versus traveled. Growing up in Sweden she learnt English in school—the UK variation. In publishing her books, she read reviews where she was criticized for improper spelling. False accusations as it turns out. While I write tire and cozy, it’s not incorrect to write tyre or cosy. Same language. Both accepted. Just different. You can read her write-up here along with the numerous comments posted by readers. I found it interesting, but that’s me. As a Canadian I deal with this issue everyday. I feel her pain when she’s criticized for something based on ignorance. No fun. I was told by a boss that “data are” isn’t correct. It should be “data is.” Read...
2 comments
Read more

Day 109: Writing a Novel—The Deep Blue Hold

Sunday, March 6, 2017 Note: Unedited writings from my notebook for this novel. Square bracket items represent added comments. At 18:47 Office ... I barely remembered anything about this story ... H as it really been three months? I guess it has. I put it out of my mind [so much so] that I barely remembered anything about this story. Not even the title. [Unreal!!!!!!] I had the general premise and an ending—enough I thought for a novel. What I lacked was a determination and desire to want to write it. Why bother… I wasn’t enjoying the process and I had no reason to believe the result wouldn’t be anything more than what’s gone before—nothing. James Piper Kitchener, Ontario Post comments on facebook page. Follow me on twitter. Posted 2017/04/14 at 14h02ET in The Deep Blue Cage | Writing A Novel
Post a Comment
Read more