There may be spoilers ...
I watched Modern Love 2.6: In the Waiting Room of Estranged Spouses. It started off well, with strange flashbacks of army life intruding into suburban life and I thought, hello! But they didn't do it often enough or well enough, so it really felt to me like a bit of an afterthought to the main, sedate piece about recovery after a break up. There's understated performances, and there's Anna Paquin and Garrett Hedlund in this, who seem determined to be devoid of any passion whatsoever, the only times you think they might be in danger are when they're unblocking a sink and in the very last scene, but it's no surprise when nothing happens - they both seem so tired.
The short story is better ... told from Spence's POV and more explicit about his mental health journey. It's not any happier, though, but I like the fluff-free ending more.
Later, Catherine and I went to a breezy cafe and talked about our estranged spouses, the circumstances that brought us here. Catherine’s son bumped away on her knee. She asked if I’d like to hold him; I reached my hands out.
He smelled clean and abundant and wonderful, and he didn’t care who I was or what started happening when or why it all began. For a time, my questions and fear and anger resolved into this child sitting on my lap.
(In the Waiting Room of Estranged Spouses by Benjamin Hertwig)
"Abundant" is a wonderful word to use about a baby. 😘
In the Waiting Room of Estranged Spouses: Directed by John Crowley. With Garrett Hedlund, Anna Paquin, Ben Rappaport, Jeena Yi. After a chan
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