Question About When Lisa Tells Lewis About Stanley - Bed of Roses (1996) Discussion

[–] issalambert 20 years ago

HI Sharon,

I too just adore this movie. I never really liked Christian Slater much until I saw this movie. Some people say that he didn't fit this role well but I have to disagree. I loved his deep broodiness. I know the part that you were talking about and yes, I do believe that Lisa was molested by her adoptee father, all signs point to this.

Thanks!
Melissa

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[–] aliensbuff 20 years ago

I agree with the post above that it was implied molestation, but at the same time I also agree that it doesn't fit in with the movie. It's such an intense issue, and it's almost discarded as quickly as it was implied. The notion that she didn't feel it possible for Lewis to love her like he did because she didn't have a loving family background was well presented, but this whole other element doesn't jive. You'd think they'd have presented other issues such as her having problems with intimacy, which she doesn't seem to have considering she had sexual relationships with both Lewis and Josh Brolin's character.

The only other situation I though she might have been implying was that Stanley beat her. Maybe she was just physically abused, but again, it doesn't quite fit in since she is a pretty physically affectionate character...

"Look at earth from outer space...everyone must find a place"

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[–] playerpage 20 years ago

The question whether this issue of abuse belongs in the film remaining open, I will say this--

Just because she is so "open" with her body does not mean she was not abused. People with abuse in their past are actually very likely to become promiscuous, because they are psychologically searching for the "love" they feel they missed.

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[–] fsujen201 20 years ago

Ok so, this is my FAVORITE movie of all time, however, im gettin a little annoyed.. I have been searching for well over 2 days now for the script to the movie and it is no where to be found. If anyone knows where i can find it, please feel free to IM me at fsujen201 or email me at [email protected].. thank you SO much.. Jen

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[–] deskjettison 20 years ago

I agree, not everyone who is molested as a child ends up having intimacy problems, at least not in the sense that they can't have fulfilling relationships with others--including sexual relationships.

(I'd like to see the statistics on how many abused people become very promiscuous, though.)

I disagree with the assertion that the implication of abuse doesn't "fit" with the movie... the idea that her background would make her unlovable, in my mind, COMPLETELY fits with the notion of having been abused as a child. This experience is devastating, especially in regards to self-esteem. It often creates feelings of impurity, dirtiness, or unworthiness.

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[–] aliensbuff 20 years ago

I'm not saying that everyone that has been abused as a child can't have fulfilling relationships, but I do think it was a little lacking in the way it was presented in the film. If all her termoil is attributed to this extremely brief reference to "abuse", I just thought it wasn't explained that well since it wasn't completely evident what she was referring to.

I'm not a psychologist or psychiatrist, so I'm not claiming to know how people act after going through something like that. Throughout the movie, they imply and show in one scene that she just didn't feel loved or nurtured as a child. Then when they bust out this new completely different element of physical abuse or molestation, I just didn't see that extreme coming since all fingers pointed to a mentally abused childhood and not more. I just don't think you can drop a bomb like that in a movie that isn't centered around that topic and have it "fit" with the rest of the plot. It's too serious an issue for a casual reference... IMHO

It didn't detract from the movie, since this is one of my all time favorites, but it did make cause for a little head scratching...

"Look at earth from outer space...everyone must find a place"

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[–] Steven Reynolds 20 years ago

It's obviously implied that Lisa was sexually abused, and the fact that it doesn't quite fit with the rest of the story shows that it's simply an example of bad writing. Goldenberg probably thought the script needed, at that moment, a shorthand way of quickly explaining why Lisa has such an obsessive resistance to the idea of family. "Sexual abuse" is the explanation he chose. He just made a poor choice. And it wasn't even necessary - being the foster child of an alcoholic father was probably already enough. Actually, it's perfectly possible for you to have had an idyllic upbringing and still not want to spend Christmas with your in-laws!

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[–] suganspice70 18 years ago

i agree with that!

my parents were great but xmas with family still sends shivers down my spine! the prospect of the whole family coming round and all the nosey questions they will ask and all the excuses i have to make up....darn i could have a better time with a yule log and some muleld wine in front of a few DVDs!

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[–] trpdean 18 years ago

Aren;t you being a little quick in judgment on the screenwrier - he didn't actually SAY what the issue was - and you write that he "probaly thought the script needed .. .a short-hand way of quickly explaining ... 'sexual abuse' is the explanation he chose. He just made a poor choice ..."

Wait! I think the silence was deliberatley ambiguous - one can read into it what one feels - sure, maybe sexual abuse - or maybe violence - ormaybe neglect - or maybe just anything else at all. Her inability to describe it - doesn't necessarily imply any particular thing - but it does eloquently describe in its silence, the effect whatever it was - had on her - which is all that's important for her relationships with others.

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[–] sigrros 18 years ago

Perhaps instead of that eloquent little pause meaning sexual abuse, it was about drunkeness and all that implies. We collect a lot of garbage living with a drunk. There can be emotional distance. A person, a child, can be made to feel belittled and worthless, that, on top of being an orphan in Lisa case.
It was a lovely movie, delightful in courtship and complex in personalities. Neither charecter was predictable.

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[–] adamfuehrer 18 years ago

I haven't seen the movie in a while but I always thought it meant he hit her. I remember her moving her hand in a way to imply that but I could just be remembering it wrong. I liked it being open cuz it shows that she's so distant as an adult that even when she finally opens up she can only open up so much. I also like what sigrros says about it..just means she lived w/ a drunk as her only role model in life. That has to bring about some issues as an adult.

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[–] ohmandylicious 18 years ago

My question is about the part of the movie where Lisa is telling Lewis about Stanley and she said he drank and he..... and she stops and has this hurt expression and it seems to me as if she's trying to imply that Stanley molested her but that doesn't seem to quite fit. Is she trying to imply that Stanley molested her and if not, what is she trying to imply?

I realize this is an old thread, but I thought that was exactly what she couldn't say to him, that her adopted father had molested her. I can't think of anything else to be concluded from that scene. It's perfectly normal behavior to avoid discussing the topic, which they both did, apparently to one another's satisfaction because neither of them wanted to go there.

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[–] always_keep_fighting 17 years ago

I took it to mean exactly that...that he had sexually abused her. They show her saying that, "...he drank, and he...." at which point she lowers her eyes and moves her hand across her body, and the camera cuts to Lewis' face. He closes his eyes in what I can only imagine would be flash of sympathy, pain, that the woman he loves had to endure something that a man who comes from a loving family has never had to go through. To me, that was one of the most heartbreaking moments of the whole movie. It was the final puzzle piece as to why she kept herself so separate from Lewis, not physically, but mentally. It also helps to show why she has "no idea what she would do with a child." She's never known anything but neglect and abuse. How can she pass that legacy on?
Even though I love LOVE this movie, every time I hear that little girl say, "Stanely?" it breaks my heart.
Whoooo...Going hug my grandbabies!!!!

How's this gonna work if you don't do what I say?

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[–] historiclincoln 13 years ago

But why did Stanley tell Lisa that she doesn't have a birthday? WTF? I didn't get that. Was he just a twisted *beep*

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[–] tani_banani 11 years ago

She does say during that scene that Stanley fought the state to keep her in his custody - then in the early flashback scene it is evident that he is not emotionally invested in her. Not confirmation but it could explain why he was adamant about keeping her around...

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[–] spifflog 9 years ago

[I know this is a zombie thread]

I thought it was another sign that she was adopted, and possibly a foundling (is that a way antiquated term?) meaning that no one really knew when she was born.

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[–] glean7 9 years ago

I'm thinking instead of molestation, Stanley hit her when he got drunk.

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[–] crispy_comments 9 years ago

She does say during that scene that Stanley fought the state to keep her in his custody - then in the early flashback scene it is evident that he is not emotionally invested in her. Not confirmation but it could explain why he was adamant about keeping her around...

Exactly what I thought...if it weren't for that it would be pretty ambiguous, and I guess it's still open to interpretation, but logically speaking, I can't think of any other reason that man who was so distant, uncaring and downright cruel with the birthday comment...would want to keep her after his wife died... she was too young to help out much around the house, if he just wanted an unpaid housekeeper.

Whoa, this just made me realize a rather creepy (unintentional?) parallel... Stanley possibly using Lisa to "replace" his dead wife... and then when she grows up, Lisa ends up with Lewis who, you could argue, was also looking for a replacement for *his* dead wife. :/ I know her relationship with Lewis was more loving and not sick and twisted, but still... it's interesting and kinda sad.

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