So, I have yet to watch the movie, as I don't have Netflix (my parents and brother do, so I have the chance). But with all of these gifs giving me feels, I have to do some analyzing. Thanks in advance to @phantom-threaded for allowing me to use these gifs!
Okay...**cracks and rolls neck**. Let's do this.
There have been so many wonderful meta and posts covering Elizabeth and Adam's relationship. It's almost impossible to 'like' them all, ahaha. Many of them discuss the symbolism, or what certain actions display. What I'd like to discuss is the cave scene. I know...it's tragic and heart-crushing, but there is some beauty in there that I think is worth noting.
So, Elizabeth is laying there, mortally wounded, and she's sort of confessing her love. Adam is clearly distraught; his eyes scanning her body up and down. His one hand on her chest (surprised no one has brought this up!), he has the other resting on hers.
However, he then slides that hand across her body, up to her shoulder, before spreading his fingers along the side of her face. This is significant for his journey to living life.
Because it's an action that any other man would do were he facing this.
I mean, think about it. I'm not sure how much time has passed, yet here he is, stroking her hair/cheek as if he has been doing it for years; like it's the most natural thing in the world. It's so humanly male.
One has to wonder, where did he pick this up? Could he have read it in a book? Witness it between a village couple? Or did his body unlock his innate male instincts, because he has lived for however long now...? I'd like to believe it was the third option. In any case, a part of Adam recognized what this woman meant to him, and was pulled to comfort her and touch her lovingly.
What would have made this even more impactful was if he had spoken, as well.
In the majority of the scene you can see his face. He's constantly making little movements with his head; it's frantic. His eyes are never off of her, and it appears he's pleading with her. In several other movies with this scenario, you hear the worried party say, "shh, try not to speak", "don't say that", or even confess their love if they haven't already. But, maybe that's the point of this relationship; they don't need to say anything. It's all about the body language, which, in a story about building a body, makes sense. Still, it would have been nice to hear him say something warm and gentle. And I know he had it in him, if his words after she died are any indication.
At the end of the day, this has to be one of the more beautifully tragic death scenes in a love story that I've seen in a movie in a while. And it's in a gothic time period, too, which I love. We need more romantic, dark, period pieces out there.
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