The Movie: Beyond the Forest, 1949 (Lenore J. Coffee, screenwriter; King Vidor, dir.)
Who says it: Bette Davis as Rosa Moline, Wisconsin's answer to Emma Bovary
The context: Rosa says this to her loving husband, Dr. Lewis Moline (Joseph Cotten) just to be hateful.
How to use it: It’s best used ironically, when you walk into a really fabulous place.
I could use this line literally, to describe the post-move condition of my apartment -- how could I have accumulated so much junk? -- or ironically, to describe the guest suite at my friend Gary's house. Gary lives in a sort of treehouse built into the side of Santa Monica Canyon. You can see and hear the Pacific Ocean from his deck.
It's especially nice to be here because this is where I stayed when I first moved to Los Angeles. I love that feeling of patterns repeating, as long as they're good patterns.
Yesterday was a crazy, emotional day, starting when the movers showed up two hours early. Attila, my nice Hungarian mover (I'm serious), was remarkably tolerant of my bad temper, and we wound up having an interesting conversation about history, the Magyars and bilingualism.
The best part of yesterday, though, was calling Mom's room and having her pick up the phone. I hadn't heard her voice for almost two weeks, and hearing it again made the whole day a lot easier.
No comments:
Post a Comment