A Cooler Climate

"A Cooler Climate" isn't exactly a film of great brilliance. It's adequate in its execution, not really outstanding in any way. Susan Seidelman is clearly interested in the actors, but doesn't offer much regard to the technical aspects. I watched it for Judy Davis and Sally Field (why else would anyone bother, really?), and they're good enough. But it's possibly two of the least challenging performances I've ever seen from them, all shallow and out on the surface. The music by Patrick Williams is pure cheese, derivative of at least a dozen other similar films. The secondary characters are all cartoons, unconvincing and poorly acted.

This is made-for-TV film at it's least impressive. Normally, it's a low quality I'd never even encounter, but it's the acting talent involved that makes it so disappointing. Never mind with this one.

I've read all the reviews of this film and wonder at some of them. I wonder why people think women's films are somehow exclusive to women, that men would not understand them. I wonder why others think a chick flick is somehow inferior to so called male films.

Women's films represent the most critical event in human relationships. We need to understand dreams, broken dreams, promises, broken promises, aspirations, reduced aspirations, truth between people, lies we tell, moral paths followed, moral paths abandoned, elation, depression, acceptance, rejection, power and pain. That's quite a list to get into about 90 minutes.

This film centers around 2 women who have endured a prickly relationship. Iris (Sally Field) divorced her husband after 26 years of marriage because she was bored with him and had an affair. The film makes clear that she made a mistake in not accepting 1/2 his net worth and alimony. Because she was "stupid", she took job housekeeping for a woman (Paula -- Judy Davis) who was brittle, unfeeling, arrogant, bossy and hopelessly unsympathetic to what Field might be going through (which included debt that would make most of us think of bankruptcy). Iris will endure almost anything except intrusion into her life.

That is the beginning of her introduction to the problems of humanity. Field cares enough about her to become angry and correct her (Paula). The film gently shifts as Iris declares her own needs. Iris begins to distance herself from Paula by developing outside interests, and in so doing strengthens herself to deal with Paula's collapse when her husband leaves her.

Paula must at last face herself, and what she sees is devastatingly destructive in its thoroughness. Her pain consumes her. Iris treats her with compassion, though Paula does not think so. She forces by constant nagging to get Paula out and their friendship such as it is, develops through anger to a deep honesty.

In the end, this film is about failure, about betrayed trust, about ignoring the reality of current circumstances, about getting up off the floor and breathing in and breathing out (as Tom Hanks said), about making the best of what is near us. It does not take divorce and pain to reach that conclusion. It takes only recognition of our own humanity.

I saw this last spring ('02) when I rented it from Blockbuster and really thought it a good film. It's a film from Showtime television so it just goes to show how much better pay TV is than basic. Sally & Judy (both nominees at the Emmys and Screen Actors Guild awards for best actress in a TV movie or a miniseries) turn in the best performances as Iris Prue (Field) and Paula Tanner (Davis), two women who you'd think would be the most unlikely pair of girlfriends. Iris is a middle-aged woman who ends up broke after filing for divorce and gets burned after a failed relationship with a man she's too good for and takes a position as housekeeper for Paula at her vacation house in up-state New York. Paula's a frigid, short-fused, frustrated-with-herself socialite who's going through a marriage that's heading down hill... FAST!!! and has a rebellious pre-20s daughter, Beth, who's heading for heartbreak and serious self-destruction. Iris and Beth at first are at odds but then become good friends. Meanwhile, Iris meets and falls in love with Jack (Winston Rekert), the first real man she's met in her life, possibly and things go well until she and Paula come to terms with their relationship. This was a very good film (8/10) that may just become one of those "women films" (I HATE that stereotype) that even us guys will end up liking. I want my mom and grandma to see it, too.

When I cut on Lifetime, I said, "Oh, well, just a Sally Field movie on." However, as I became involved in the movie, I realized that the story was captivating--as was Sally Field. She remains very attractive, and she can stimulate a range of emotions in viewers.

The movie was not predictable, because there were several times I thought I knew the next step--but each time I was wrong. So the film moved well past soap opera status.

My only criticism: Her professional advancement seemed a bit too rapid. Other than that, I rate the story very highly, and rank her acting A plus.

I hadn't intended to watch it, but from the beginning I was engrossed. It moved along at a rapid pace with no long gaps in action. I found the characters to be well defined and enchanting. I highly recommend viewing this movie.