MovieChat Forums > The English Patient (1996) Discussion > I am disgusted

I am disgusted

posted 9 years ago by luzi_825
23 replies | jump to latest

I'm very sorry, but I just watched this today and, while my boyfriend who's not really a fan of romance loved the movie, I didn't - and I do love romance, when it's well done, epic, crazy and a little violent/ obsessive. This was exactly the case, except there was a moral implication which to me just can't be excused. I had to read basically all the answers on the message board to see if I'd change my mind or even give the movie a second shot in a couple of months. But no. This is one movie I'll never see again because I am disgusted by it.
I really, really wanted to like it. I like the theme, the epic quality of it, the dialogues, the way the story connects, all the secondary characters (I love Hannah and Caravaggio!), I liked how it started, I like the WWII background...everything about it. Except the most important part: the love story. And that's such a big part of the movie, I just can't stand the whole thing now. While I love Ralph Fiennes and I love the character (I'd even go as far as to say I love somewhat narcissistic and controlling characters, so I'd really enjoy the scene in which he throws Katherine against the wall a little forcefully), the love affair is unforgivable.
I've seen people defending them, saying they were super intelligent and that they tried to resist the temptation. Well, they may have tried, but they ultimately failed. So yeah, they are disgusting, dirty cheaters. Katherine took her marriage too lightly, like it meant nothing, so it's even worse. That also makes me hate her character no matter how good the actress' performance was. And while he was wrong, she was the married one, so she had even more at stake and more responsibility. They were both adults who could've thought before they acted.
You know how this would've been a great movie? If instead of actually having an affair, they'd be resisting each other the entire movie and there would only be delicious sexual tension. And then Colin Firth's characters (can't recall the name) would have THOUGHT they had an affair and done the thing with the plane. And then, AFTER he was dead, they'd finally be lovers in that cave and she would die. Or maybe she'd break up with the husband before taking on a new lover and then the husband would be pissed and crash the plane. I don't know, just SOMETHING other than what it was.

I just rally wanted to register my fury here. I don't expect anyone to agree with me, I just really didn't like this.

[–] jmrex 8 years ago

Can't humans be fallible?

[–] AndrewGS 8 years ago

've seen people defending them, saying they were super intelligent and that they tried to resist the temptation. Well, they may have tried, but they ultimately failed. So yeah, they are disgusting, dirty cheaters. Katherine took her marriage too lightly, like it meant nothing, so it's even worse.

How seriously or lightly did Geoffrey take the marriage? While he didn't cheat I thought it was implied that she had been pretty reluctant to marry him from the start.

And then Colin Firth's characters (can't recall the name) would have THOUGHT they had an affair and done the thing with the plane. And then, AFTER he was dead, they'd finally be lovers in that cave and she would die.

That would have felt more contrived and pretentious and probably wouldn't have fit with Fiennes's character.

Or maybe she'd break up with the husband before taking on a new lover and then the husband would be pissed and crash the plane.

That would be better, if Katherine was at least honest, and it's not really clear why she isn't willing to break up and leave him (maybe she thought a brief affair would be less hurtful to him, which suggests she didn't know him well).

[–] Swashbucklist 8 years ago

You know what would be nice? If people could understand that human beings are more complicated than they give themselves credit for, and could accept that the likelihood of finding someone who is perfect for you is just as astronomically unlikely as there being only one person in the whole world who would be good for you.

I would love to see a world where people accept that their partner might want to have sex with somebody else once in a while. And when they do cheat, but don't want to hurt their loved one and end up feeling guilty about it, she--or he--should have a chance to be forgiven. It's only the cheaters who treat their partners feelings' like a toy who really deserve the crap that comes their way.

That kind of lifestyle obviously wouldn't be for everyone, but it really is stupid that any couple ever is pressured into believing their relationship must be perfect or else. Then, when they experience very real emotional evidence that they're only human, they act like it's the end of the freakin' world when all they have to do is, A) accept that there will be sex outside the marriage, or B) find somebody else.

...

Requiescat in pace Pete Postlethwaite.

[–] Melton (4451) 3 months ago

I hope that in the decade since you wrote that post you’ve grown up. Good stories are filled with morally dubious characters (Michael Corleone?) and it’s not like Katherine and Almasy are rewarded for their infidelity - the fucked around and found out.

As with most Minghella films, this is a dark tragedy, not some sappy love story to feed the fantasies of starry-eyed fangirls.