About Betrayal, Human Behavior, Mike Nichols and Me

In one of Mike Nichols' films there is this character called Betty, played by Catherine O'Hara. Betty is this short talkative woman, no... talkative would be an understatement her mouth is like a motor and her favorite subject is other people's marriages, better saying other people's marriages' failures. Someone's always having an affair and her main goal is to find out with whom, oh and of course tell her friends, who happen to be most of Washington D.C.'s population. Betty is friend of the couple Rachel Samstat and Mark Forman [played by G-ds Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson]. Rachel was pregnant of their second baby when she finds out in a very silly way that Mark has been having a romantic affair with another woman. She flies back to her dad's home in NY with their baby girl Annie. Now here's where things get juicy.

Like everyone, especially women, who is not sure of what they're speeching, Rachel talks too emphatically to a long-time friend how her marriage is definitely over, therefore she must be at home in case her husband calls. The thing is, it's obvious Rachel still loves her husband, they got maried in a fever and despite the recent cold shower the temperature was still high. While she waits for him to call she does what every other human being who doesn't have an artichoke where should be the heart, she cries. We modern kids all cool and hip about things and [I must vehemently add] outsiders, probably can't understand why's she letting that motherfucker hurt her that way. If you [stupidly, I must add again] keep that thought you'd be angry with the fact that she does return to him, even though it's clear she can't trust him ever again.

That is the particular thing that amazes me the most; I'll quote a song now: "I know nothing stays the same, but if you're willing to play the game, it's coming around again." The screenplay of Heartburn was written by Nora Ephron based on her novel, but it was Mike Nichols who directed it. And that makes the film even more special, because Nichols' films tend to have a mouthdroping and shocking accuracy about human behavior. I doubt that any of the readers of this blog failed to see a little [euphemism] movie called Closer. It's not only the fact that both were directed by Nichols that makes these two mentioned films like brothers; in both of them we feel dazed and confused by the characters' choices and actions. Worst! We reluctantly see ourselves in them. But what Nichols majestically does, with a humbleness that all those Eastwoods, Spielbergs and Haggises should watch and learn, is to show us how we've been leading our lives and dealing with people close to us and mainly with ourselves. How we thoughtlessly go from one thing to another and for a second seem to consider that our actions might affect, not always in a good way, the person living with us. But we keep playing the game don't we?

The song I quoted above is "Coming Around Again" by Carly Simon. The song wasn't written for the movie Heartburn but it's not only part of the soundtrack how it is the fundament of the film's score. By the end of the film Rachel is with her kids and she's singing with her older daughter that children's song "Itsy Bitsy Spider". Please I'm no lecturing here but try to think the spider as us human beings, I'm not much fan of that thought since I despize spiders but there we are crawling up the water spout. We know it's bigger than us, we know it'll wash us out but we're always willing to play the game, especially because the sun will always come out and it will be coming around again.

You don't feel angry with any of Heartburn's characters; maybe poor Rachel for going back to her unfaithful husband, but you kind of understand her. That is because Nichols is not worried in judging his personages, so you never feel like it either; and probably because you're not wasting time judging their actions you feel you can relate to them easily [after all we shiver with the idea of being judged even by ourselves]. So here comes the confessional part of the text: I don't say I will never betray a person whether a friend or a boyfriend but I will always work myself not to. For only one reason: I, in my great comfort sometimes [another euphemism] horny zone can never approach, even if I become the best of statisticians [never gonna happen], how much of my actions can affect other people.

[Song: Coming Around Again/Itsy Bitsy Spider - Carly Simon]