I have often been surprised "Leaving Normal" does not have a "cult following." Often compared to "Thelma and Louise," it may begin along similar lines, but it's ultimate destination is quite different. It is not a film about women's issues, but _human_ issues, more specifically, how we get to happiness, or how it gets to us. It addresses those issues unforgettably.
[some spoilers]
Marianne Johnson has been running to what she thinks are solutions, but which turn out to be bigger problems. Now in a marriage with an abusive husband in Normal, Wyoming, she runs again, not toward a new solution, but to a bus bench, where she meets Darly, a barmaid who is leaving to claim property in Alaska.
They head off together, and inspired by Marianne's disastrous choices, Darly makes Marianne take a vow to let their path be totally dictated by chance. Along the way, there are successes and more disasters, as well as revelations about Darly's past that reveal she, too, has chosen to run, with disastrous consequences.
They arrive in Palmer Valley, Alaska to far less than what Darly expected but which Marianne curiously feels she wants to live with because "it chose me." Darly, however, despite her talk of letting things just happen, must run away again. By throwing a dart at a map in a local bar, Darly picks a new place to run to, ironically named "Paradise." In the end, though, Darly's actions to get her the money to get her to Paradise only end up forcing her to confront what running away before did to her life.
The film is a fable, but one that teaches its lessons about life and the choices we make transparently. Often hysterically funny, it can also be deeply moving and intensely disturbing. Nonetheless, it generates forgiveness and understanding for even the most reprehensible characters in it, ultimately making us believe happy endings can happen, it's just that they may not be the happy endings we were looking for.
Credit the remarkable performances of just about the entire cast, but especially Christine Lahti as Darly and Meg Tilly and Marianne, as well as the perfect script by Ed Solomon (who also has a bit part as the man who rejects 66 at the dance club).
[some spoilers]
Marianne Johnson has been running to what she thinks are solutions, but which turn out to be bigger problems. Now in a marriage with an abusive husband in Normal, Wyoming, she runs again, not toward a new solution, but to a bus bench, where she meets Darly, a barmaid who is leaving to claim property in Alaska.
They head off together, and inspired by Marianne's disastrous choices, Darly makes Marianne take a vow to let their path be totally dictated by chance. Along the way, there are successes and more disasters, as well as revelations about Darly's past that reveal she, too, has chosen to run, with disastrous consequences.
They arrive in Palmer Valley, Alaska to far less than what Darly expected but which Marianne curiously feels she wants to live with because "it chose me." Darly, however, despite her talk of letting things just happen, must run away again. By throwing a dart at a map in a local bar, Darly picks a new place to run to, ironically named "Paradise." In the end, though, Darly's actions to get her the money to get her to Paradise only end up forcing her to confront what running away before did to her life.
The film is a fable, but one that teaches its lessons about life and the choices we make transparently. Often hysterically funny, it can also be deeply moving and intensely disturbing. Nonetheless, it generates forgiveness and understanding for even the most reprehensible characters in it, ultimately making us believe happy endings can happen, it's just that they may not be the happy endings we were looking for.
Credit the remarkable performances of just about the entire cast, but especially Christine Lahti as Darly and Meg Tilly and Marianne, as well as the perfect script by Ed Solomon (who also has a bit part as the man who rejects 66 at the dance club).