#i’m romanticizing manual labor again i can’t help it

[wormsdyke]

it just occurred to me that people living in big cities probably don’t often experience if at all cutting firewood as a favor in exchange for a neighbor and in return getting to take enough home to last you all winter. that’s such a special experience i need my beloved city dwelling mutuals to let me chop firewood for them

[cherubcow]

“Wild Mountain Thyme” (2020) Movie Review

This was a beautiful one :)

The script moves very quickly with a lot of meaningful dialogue that doesn't really get center stage in the direction (like, for example, a character will say something poetic that you can easily miss if you're not paying attention; like, "I'm half-dying with living for you"), so it may get better with multiple viewings or better with the subtitles on. I suspect that this understating of dialogue was part of why this movie isn't doing well right now (current Rotten Tomatoes: 27% critics / 44% audience); people may just not have heard what the actors were saying.

Another factor may be that this movie rejects the cynicism that's become mandatory in America cinema. The central character, Rosemary (Emily Blunt), actually believes in love, which has become something rejected by the American (pseudo?)-intellectual class. This puts her character in contrast to NYC American Adam (Jon Hamm), who considers marriage in terms of beneficial contracts. Adam is, nevertheless, enchanted with the romanticism of Ireland, being drawn to Rosemary and to farming even though he has no rational reason to pursue business in Ireland (a "blood from a stone" situation). So it's both a matter of city versus country and of its underlying rationalism versus romanticism — a good bounding for a story, particularly in times when overzealous declarations of most "rational" practices can reduce one to imagination-stifling thoughts.

(( Spoilers ))

This overly self-absorbed thought pattern emerges through Anthony (Jamie Dornan), who, like Dostoevsky's "Notes from Underground" character, finds himself all too concerned with what is correct or whether or not he is right to even want the things that he wants. This is summed nicely in one particular exchange between Rosemary and Anthony:

[Anthony]: (Speaking of manual labor that Rosemary has been doing alone) "It's a two-man job." [Rosemary]: "Or one woman." [Anthony]: "Yup, that's the world now. Men are useless." [Rosemary]: "It's not so." [Anthony]: "What?" [Rosemary]: "Men aren't useless." [Anthony]: "What's a man for now? What's his place?" [Rosemary]: "That's for you to say." [Anthony]: "I'm not talking; maybe the quiet around the thing is as important as the thing itself."

This exchange points out the difficult position men (and people in general) have been put in by today's social conventions. Perhaps some would like to think that adherence to social convention ended in Jane Austen's time, yet here Anthony finds himself threading a needle. All the roads have been closed behind him, and he feels like he has no voice. People cannot even talk about the things that ail them, because pitfalls emerge at every step. Like the crows above them, no amount of answering to the mob will produce clarity of action. But Rosemary tries to guide him:

[Rosemary]: "Do you still hear the voice in the fields?" [Anthony]: "I dunno." [Rosemary]: "It's not a modern idea." [Anthony]: "I'm not a modern man." [Rosemary]: "You have the farm." [Anthony]: "I do?" [Rosemary]: "Are you happy?" [Anthony]: "No." [Rosemary]: "Why not go ahead, be happy?" [Anthony]: "I— I don't know how." [Rosemary]: "There is no one left to catch you laughing, Anthony." [Anthony]: "True." [Rosemary]: "How many days do we have while the sun shines?" [Anthony]: (Looking at the weather) "It's not shining." [Rosemary]: (Looking at Anthony) "I believe that it is."

The "voice in the fields" speaks of Anthony's romantic desire for freedom, and it is revealed near the end that the voice tells him not just, "Go," but, "Go to her." Meaning, Anthony knows that he loves Rosemary and wants to be with her despite the obstacles that others and he himself construct, but, like the fence was revealed to be in this particular scene, his "Notes from Underground" social conscience is the great barrier between himself and Rosemary. And he wants to be able to love her *not* because a marriage would be useful or to otherwise manage the practical considerations of a farm — he is instead *waiting* to clear his conscience of these worldly affairs so that he can look directly at her. Essentially, like many people trapped in Hamlet inaction, he is waiting to be forgotten and to die.

It later takes a concerted effort by Rosemary to break Anthony from this mental trap. Comedies have all the time in the world, but the timeline has to be compressed into tragic logic because Adam will be arriving to propose marriage. Rosemary hints that she cannot wait for Anthony forever. They've arrived at a Thanatos / Eros crossroads where Rosemary can either kill herself with a hidden shotgun (albeit not immediately), due to the burdens of isolation, or end up like Fiona — pulled away from Anthony by the world and another marriage opportunity. Rosemary has Anthony's ring, so she knows that he wants to marry her, so she wants to help him work through his conscience to find her. The metaphoric "fences" will remain, but it's not hopeless:

[Rosemary]: "We say what's meant. Life is here. We name it."

Like I mentioned with the cynicism above, American culture has attempted to crush this level of devotion. The very idea that someone could love someone this much for so long has been treated with general critical derision. But the story alleviates this perspective through Anthony's own incredulity, Emily Blunt's performance, and a charming Irish backdrop.

Even so, the movie has its issues. A lot of the scenes were directed like one might direct a theater play rather than a movie. Errors like the actors having to move in overly blocked (positioned) ways or the lines being too melodramatic for the moment occur. Of the blocking issue, one scene in particular was the near-end scene of Anthony and Rosemary in a home together. 

There was a little too much attention on standing and sitting here, with the object awareness being a little too simplistic — the sort of imagery which works on stage but not on film. Like, "[Oh, you sit now while I stand. Then I tell you to sit, and you sit. When you stand, I notice how tall you are.]" These make sense on stages where the script fell together with basic props like a table and chairs, but in a real home they end up feeling artificial. These sorts of scenes should have been re-worked when this story was brought to screenplay.

The background music was also often problematic. In many scenes it was just *too* responsive to the on-screen events, which speaks of low production value. This seems to fall on the musical direction of Amelia Warner, because much of the Irish folk music (which was good) was already incorporated into the script. Those organic moments made sense and worked, like Emily Blunt singing the movie's title song in probably the most emotional scene of the movie.

And casting issues cannot be ignored. This was not exactly a "Waking Ned Devine" (1998) Irish story that recruited mainly unknown or lesser known quirky actors from Ireland and Scotland. Christopher Walken, for instance, should not have been in this movie, though his performance did come together for the pub singing scene. Weirdly, Emily Blunt gave the best performance in this movie, and she's from Britain. Jamie Dornan is Irish, so that made sense, but while viewers could believe Emily Blunt's loving glances in his direction, whenever Blunt and Dornan actually touched each other there seemed to be no chemistry. Those scenes looked more like two actors not sure how real vs. respectful they should be and defaulting on the side of "[make just enough contact to get us to the cut]." This falls to both casting and (again) to direction. A better cast may have had chemistry, and a better director could get the actors to show that chemistry. Personally, I think they should have gone full local and hired only unknown actors and actresses from Ireland. Extra points if even the American character had been played by an Irishman pretending to be American ;D

Still! All said, despite these issues, it has a very strong script. *Reading* the words really shows how much was here. Long though this review may be, it doesn't show just how much material was in this script. And Emily Blunt's performance can't be ignored; it was really her movie. So I'd ignore the current rankings and recommend this for a good romantic movie with clever dialogue and a few moving moments :)

[acindra]

Sooo I’m gonna ramble about my ideas for coming up fics under the cut.

kingjoethecat- I love your michael with touch issues, I would love a fic that focused only on it, maybe it all boiling over and yelling at his friends? It would have to end in a happy note thou ~

Anon- I wish you would write a fic where jeremy comforts michael !

I’m gonna combine these two prompts into one fic. I think it’ll probably be about sensory overload in addition to the touch thing. I’m not sure if it’s going to be exactly like my touch thing where I can feel it if people touch me and it leaves behind a ghost feeling until I wipe it off or if it’s just gonna be that Michael doesn’t like people touching his bare skin. Possibly going to include my texture thing. No real solid ideas on it beyond that, yet. 

thisisnotveryspecial- 42.“I’m only here to establish an alibi.”

This is gonna be put into We Only Want To Have A Good Time but I’m not sure the situation it’s gonna be used in yet. My general idea for the fic so far is the next chapter involves them joining Christine and Rich in setting up their campsite/booth for the Relay for Life. “I don’t know how I feel about doing manual labor on our first date.” They’re gonna have problems setting up the tent/canopy because Jeremy is the only tall person there but luckily Jake shows up with a cooler full of drinks and height. 

The next chapter will involve the beginning ceremony for the event which will probably be glossed over because I don’t actually remember too much of it. Everyone in the squad will show up and they’ll do an initial lap or something to scope out some of the other booths. The booth they’re running is for the theatre club and they’re gonna do improv sketches for money, dramatic readings of bad literature (like my immortal or something), as well as selling fake-flower crowns that Brooke and Jenna helped Christine make the day before. Since they didn’t finish making all of them and people are buying them, people will be delegated to make some more in the camping tent so there’ll be some of that eventually.

The next chapter will involve actually going to booths and buying things as well as shenanigans probably. Like. One of the clubs has a ‘jail’ you can spend a dollar to get someone put in and then in order to get them out again you have to spend 5 dollars. The MC for the event will also hold like a soccer game in the middle of the field and like dancing stuff. There’s probably going to be a dress up contest.

anon-  Hello, do you still take prompts? If yes, then its not usual lovey dovey boyfs prompt. I was thinking that in this fandom is needed a fic where Michael has s crush on Jeremy and confesses it in 7th or 8th grade and Jeremy gently rejects him and Michael gets over the crush and they stay best friends and maybe way later they got curious and date each other when they are in college.

thisisnotveryspecial- 48.“You make me want things I can’t have.” 

anon- 42: “ I need a hug. ” and 43: “ You’re special to me. ”

These all will probably be combined. The fic (which I’m currently writing) is loosely based on the first prompt but I don’t think I’m gonna make Michael get over his crush. It’s going to be called Our Loneliness Will Keep Us Warm probably. Basically it starts off with Jeremy buying The Hoodie for Michael’s birthday the summer before they start freshman year. He buys patches of stuff he thinks Michael will enjoy and then gives it to him hoping it’ll be ok. Michael, of course, loves it and is overcome with emotion. Jeremy’s like ‘only the best for my best friend’ and Michael admits that he thinks he’s gay. Jeremy is like that’s cool it’s not like you have a crush on me. And Michael tries to hide it but fails and Jeremy’s just like. OH. UM. OK. But also sorry I don’t think I like you like that. Michael shrugs it off and is all I know, this is a me-problem, don’t worry about it.

Fast forward to year 3 of uni and they live together in an apartment. They’re all still friends with the squip squad but everyone has moved away probably. I’ll probably touch on Christine dumping Jeremy because she’s aro just so I can show that Jeremy still makes jokes about Michael having a crush on him (not in a cruel way but in a ‘i acknowledge this really awkward thing happened and it’s totally fine, we made it through it and are still hella close bffs) as well as the squip stuff but, at least on that front, i’ll try to not make it angsty.

Anyways so Michael has a late class that prevents him from going to clubs on tuesdays but he insists Jeremy goes to the GSA (gay-straight alliance) without him (Michael still participates in the club events for the GSA he just can’t go to the proper meetings) and IDK I might make Rich go to their school too so Jeremy has someone to go with cuz I don’t think he’d go by himself. Anyways, one of the students does a presentation on sexuality, romanticism, and gender identity which gets Jeremy thinking about his own identity. He texts Michael asking if he’s going to come to the Starbucks hangout after the club meeting (which is what we used to do after GSA at my uni) but Michael says he’s gonna head home because he didn’t get a chance to eat between classes. He comes back to the apartment with a drink for Michael and finds Michael finishing his dinner. He hands over the drink and pops the question ‘how did you know you liked boys?’ which has Michael doing a spittake. They discuss the presentation (Michael’s like Christine gave a very similar presentation when she came out as aro why are you questioning things now and Jeremy admits he hadn’t really been paying attention because he was upset over being dumped or something), specifically about romantic attraction and sexual attraction and how they’re two separate things. Michael admits that he knew he was gay because one day he was over and Jeremy was ranting about something and he really wanted to kiss him. And then he started noticing other boys. And wanting to do stuff with boys. But not girls. 

They settle down with their laptops to do homework or whatever  and Jeremy thinks about his relationship with Michael. He ends up googling things like ‘how do best friends act around each other’ and ‘signs of a crush’ and ‘am i gay?’. He gets increasingly concerned and anxious and Michael notices and is like what’s going on. Jeremy’s like uhhhh I think I’m bi. Or at least biromantic. Maybe. I’ve never really wanted to kiss people I just really want to hang with them? And then he stumblingly explains that he wants relationshippy things like holding hands (which he does with Michael) and cuddling (which he also does with Michael) and going on dates (they don’t go on dates, but they DO do a lot of things one-on-one). Michael is like well you haven’t had a lot of experience with kissing either. There was Brooke and Christine (and Chloe, Jeremy shudders) and that unnamed girl from the party last year. Plus not everyone likes kissing so it’s hard to tell. Jeremy’s getting this sinking feeling in his stomach that he has a crush on Michael which quickly switches to a fluttery feeling because Michael is, still, his favorite person and totally awesome.

Jeremy is like “I have an idea!” Michael is like “No.” because he sees that glint in Jeremy’s eyes and it’s never a good thing. Jeremy convinces him to hear him out and is like “Ok, so you’re a boy.” “I don’t like where this is going.” Jeremy suggests they kiss, for various reasons and Michael is reluctant but also hey he still has a crush on him this is his chance. They kiss for a while and then Jeremy is like sooo I’m definitely biromantic. Um. I might be bisexual? 

At this point it could go one of two ways, smut or not smut. I’ve only vaguely developed the smut idea cuz I wanted to be sure I could fit it in if I was going to write it. So Jeremy continues- But I’ve never really been in contact with anyone else’s dick before. To be fair I’ve never come in contact with anyone else’s genitals in general so I don’t even know if I’m sexually attracted to girls but that’s not the point. The point is right now we’re both here and you have a dick so. Then awkward handjobs. Michael makes an offhanded remark about how it’s funny Jeremy is his first time having sex; he had often dreamt about it but never thought it would happen because Jeremy was straight and haha see I told you you wouldn’t die a virgin. And then Jeremy realizes he just had sex with Michael and starts reeling but Michael calms him down. And then Michael awkwardly makes the ‘this doesn’t have to mean anything’ speech and Jeremy’s quietly like ‘but i want it to mean something?’

And that’s as far as I got with that idea.

anon-145: “ Go back to bed.”

I’ll probably put this into my possible vent fic about being mixed race raised american and not being in touch with your heritage which I kinda touched on here. I only have a vague idea about Michael’s cousin coming to visit and then shunning him because he doesn’t know any Filipino or Ecuadorian culture or maybe Christine talks about her Chinese heritage one day and starts asking Michael about his to try and be friends with him.

[finsterhunde]

Our humanity and our ability to show care and respect for other people is what makes us human. If we're going to be senselessly cruel then what's the point in living like a supposedly advanced species? Why don't we just kill each other and die?

If we don’t care for our sick and injured and not even give them the dignity of a humane death then what’s even the point of living? We should all just end our existence then. If we do not use our sapience for good then we might as well not have it to begin with. There’s no point existing and living life.

I refuse to be the suffering-porn for the ones cruel enough to bite their way to the top to pleasure themselves to. My value as a disabled person is inspiration porn for the healthy and I’m sick of it. If I fail I’m an “at least I don’t have it that bad” and if I succeed I’m a “cutesy inspirational story” to romanticize.

I did not chose this life for myself in any way. I just had the misfortune to have both mental and physical illnesses dumped on me. if I had only one or the other I would have had a better chance of finding my niche. I’m unhireable because jobs that I could have had in spite of my mental illnesses are impossible because of my physical ones and vice versa.

I had prospects. I had dreams. I’m trained in first aid, food safe, emergency response, and I know how to do small and large soldering jobs and can maintenance a small gasoline engine. I have rudimentary knowledge in electrical work and have college level English literacy. The only thing stopping me from a trades internship is that my PTSD has fried my brain. I’m slow and stupid and psychologically unstable too. I cannot work with people. I am TERRIFIED of adults. I can’t do manual physical labor because my bones and muscles have atrophied to the point that I’m only just barely able to do daily tasks myself.

I had plans to be a pilot but my head injury ruined my depth perception. It’s also why I can never drive and won’t be able to be a transport delivery driver either.

STEM is entirely closed off to me at this point and I realized that almost immediately after my first head injury.

I was training to be a lifeguard and was getting better at professional swimming on the side but I didn't grow up properly and I quit out of humiliation and fear.

My only “real job” I ever had was given to me simply because I was a disabled student. That’s it. I was the token minority disabled kid they were legally required to have as some collaboration with my school. They didn't like me much because I kept trancing when people approached me on the job and I’d freeze and be terrified. My speed at shelving books was slow because I disassociated often and my first medicine made me drowsy. I could never be hired at the same job now. I don’t have the school’s disability program to help me anymore and I don’t want to be the token disabled employee that gets blamed for everyone else’s mistakes again.

My friend seems to have faith in my art “career” he says I’m just starting to find my purpose and build a portfolio. He’s making it work as a freelance artist so maybe he can see potential in me, but so many people look down on that for not being a “real job.” I wanted to be an author and everyone in my life thought I was going to be the next “big thing” but after I had to stop taking my medicine that slowly died until I’m completely broken now.

I am rather proficient in video editing and composting. I imagine if I actually had decent equipment again and could build a portfolio I might be hired for that. But I mean, that relies on me getting my new computer. And not being physically in pain so much I can’t sit at the computer. That’s why I’m not a programmer.

I am a musical savant. FYI that’s the only instance where you should say “talent” instead of “skill” when talking about someone’s abilities. Everyone mis-attributed this as me being skilled at music but ultimately it’s just a hard-to-take-advantage-of quirk in my brain that only happened because my head got hit too hard. I tried to study music but nothing beyond the talent ever stuck.

And here’s the thing. Physically, a job is going to wear me down faster. I’m already not going to hit 50. Definitely not. 30 is still debatable and it was supposed to be 17 so idk maybe I just exceed expectations for living past when doctors say I won’t. I found my one defining trait. Making doctors look bad. I can physically feel when my body is pushed so far that it becomes irreparably damaged. Every time we move I get that much weaker and my joints get that much more inflamed. My knee is permanently junk now. I've resigned to that.

Everyone thinks that because you’re under 35 that you can’t possibly be sick, disabled, etc. But it’s disabled teens and young adults who need the most help. Because we have to fight tooth and nail to survive in this world. And obviously if enough stacks up against you, you can’t. I’m sick of people thinking that my legal age defines things about me that are not bound to it. Like mental health and physical health. I’m weaker than the average 60 year old, and I’m less self sufficient than the average 13 year old. People LOVE to point out that I’m not physically up to snuff with what a guy in his early 20s should be in order to be mean, but suddenly I’m expected to be physically and mentally when it suits them. What a joke.