I've said neither of them was perfect.
You are correct. You said neither was perfect. But you reserve all your criticism for April. And you have nothing but sympathy and explanation for Frank.
One can't assume anything that is written or shown. We saw them during their first meeting, then laters as a young couple with dreams and without responsibilities, and then as they were being shown the house. April seemed more excited about the house than Frank did. It may have been a role she was playing that day, the housewife finding a new home.
Of course we can. I never saw any indication of April not being loving and supportive of Frank
He slept with a woman at the company a few times and April had sex with Shep. Neither was right or an affair.
Frank's affair started when things were still good at home. April spent one evening with Shep after it was obvious they weren't going to Europe. After she realized Frank decided one his own without April they weren't moving to Paris.
Many feel everyday life is dull. It's often the same ol', same ol' but one does what they have to do.
During those days, it seemed that actors' lives were all glitz and fortune. They had the same everyday happenings as those now do such as needing groceries, using the bathroom, etc. It's just more accepted/expected to show celebs during their downtime today than then. April wanting to be an actress is telling.
April made it clear to Frank from the very beginning she wanted to be an actress. If Frank didn't want to have an actress for a wife, he shouldn't have married April.
She was then pregnant so the Paris move had to be off. She was planning to be the one working when they moved. It isn't easy for a pregnant woman, especially then, to find work. They children to support. They had a home, insurance, stability, and more. The world seemed like a much larger and scarier place in their era so that move had to be nixed.
I agree, the move to Paris seemed highly irresponsible. But, that doesn't give Frank the right to decide on his own without April they weren't going. He should have talked it out with his wife and they should have decided together.
He wasn't selfish. He put his desires aside and provided for his family. Nothing may have made her happy. He didn't ignore her. He didn't take her for granted. He wanted her to accept what they had.
He was selfish. He had the affair because he felt no responsibility to his wife or his family. Did you see the way he treated his secretary after their first rendezvous? He didn't care about her either. She was just a female he used for his own selfish desires.
He wanted April at home playing the Stepford Wife. And he wanted his secretary on the side. Everything was great as long as April supported his desires. But as soon as she complained or expressed ideas of her own, he got mad and threatened violence.
You don't know whether or not she would have married him "if" or the opposite. Young people often talk about big dreams. They though have to sometimes put those dreams aside and be happy with what they do have. It's part of maturing.
Nothing gives a man the right to take his wife for granted, make family decisions without her, cheat on his wife and kids via an ongoing affair, and ignore the request and dreams of his wife as if they were silly and not important.
Hollywood, for one, is full of people who wanted to be actors but didn't make it. They then had to find something else to do, especially if they wanted any life at all.
April found something else. She was a great wife and mother. She never complained about not being a successful actress. She was unhappy because her husband, who she loved and supported for years, was taking her for granted and treating her as silly and unimportant.
The end with Shep and his wife is also telling. They'd earlier thought they were hum drum but then realized what all they did have. It's great to want to be on a never ending balloon ride but responsibilities then occur so that balloon must land or bust.
That is the way you saw it. I just saw a man who was sad his friend had died and whose family had suffered a tragedy, and had moved away.
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IcingOnTheCake
9 years ago
I'm not one of those who enjoys the tit for tat and back and forth on these boards.
April chose to get married as much as Frank did. April chose to have children as much as Frank did. Frank went to work. The children went to school and was watched some by Millie. April could have done things with her day. Acting didn't work out. That wasn't Frank's fault. It doesn't work out for many. She could have tried something else. Many women prior to the 1950s made their mark on the world.
April wanted more than being a wife and mother. She wasn't shown to be great at either.
Millie had cried earlier. Shep had looked bewildered. Both were smiling at the end. it was acceptance.
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movieliker1
9 years ago
I'm not one of those who enjoys the tit for tat and back and forth on these boards.
Is that because you like feeling like you are always correct and you don't like it when anybody challenges you?
April chose to get married as much as Frank did. April chose to have children as much as Frank did. Frank went to work. The children went to school and was watched some by Millie. April could have done things with her day. Acting didn't work out. That wasn't Frank's fault. It doesn't work out for many. She could have tried something else. Many women prior to the 1950s made their mark on the world.
She wanted to try something else. She wanted to move to Paris and become a secretary at the U.N. And support Frank's lazy butt while he "lived life".
April wanted more than being a wife and mother. She wasn't shown to be great at either.
In spite of all Frank's complaints he never complained about April's wife and mother skills. What he complained about was her having different ideas than he did.
Millie had cried earlier. Shep had looked bewildered. Both were smiling at the end. it was acceptance.
So what? What does that have to do with this discussion?
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