some annoying absurdities... *spoilers*

the "artsy" mood of this movie tricks you into thinking that this is actually a good movie with insightful dialogue, deep characters, and a meaningful plot. but in reality this movie is ridiculous in countless ways:

for one thing, its is impossible to feel sorry for Maribelle and hate Ray. the movie-makers obviously want you to think that Maribelle is this poor, shy, naive small town girl who is used and abused by a rich older man who lies and cheats his way into her heart.

well here's the thing- Maribelle is not shy. on her second date with ray, she strips naked while he leaves the room to answer the phone and basically presents herself to him like an animal when he returns. then the morning after they have sex, he gently tells her up-front that he does NOT want a relationship with her, claiming the excuse of him traveling too much, etc; basically its the classic morning-after talk- "yea i had sex with you but i didn't/don't/will not have feelings for you so please don't get the wrong idea"... so she goes home and tells her girlfriends "yea he has feelings for me and thinks he may stop traveling and settle down with me"

their subsequent relationship is a long period of "bootie-calls" all initiated at Ray's convenience whenever he is in town and wants sex. all Maribelle gets is a lot of expensive gifts, so their whole arrangement is actually closer to prostitution than anything real. then when ray tells her that he slept with someone else, Maribelle is DEVASTATED and cries and cries, but any audience member with half a brain is thinking "he told you directly that he doesn't want you and he only calls u for sex, so what were you expecting?" but its obvious that the film makers wanted you to sympathize with Maribelle and hate ray, which you cant do because ray was nothing but honest with her about his intentions, he never mislead or manipulated her and didn't even try to lie to her about his ONE encounter with another woman...

also, Maribelle had been taking antidepressants for years, but after she meets ray, she stops taking them very abruptly, which makes her sick, dizzy, sad, and unable to work or even get out of bed. one day ray calls and she tells him that she stopped taking her antidepressants and now she is no longer physically functional. ray says "go to the doctor and get the pills" and only THEN does it register in her head that maybe thats a possible remedy. but shouldn't someone who's been taking antidepressants for years know that you should never stop taking them abruptly, especially when you've been on them for so long? and when u become unable to get out of bed after u stop taking your meds, don't u think "hey... maybe i should take them again.." ... Maribelle's stupidity is absurd.

there are more bad things about this movie but i think thats enough for one day. the point is- the film-makers failed on every level to evoke the feelings from the audience that were originally intended because the characters and plot are utterly ridiculous