I Dreamed a Dream [of Savages]

[krickets]

Do I really have to wait until Christmas for this?
Until I saw the promo I was kind of "meh" on the whole idea of this movie. But last weekend when I saw it in the theaters it pretty much brought me to tears right then and there. Not to mention reminding me how much I enjoy the music from this show. Can it be Christmas now?


"They'll never love you as much as they love each other."

I have been wanting to see this film for a while now. After reading the book, it's become the movie I've most been looking forward to this summer. And while I did have issues with a few notable things, I am still in love with Ben, Chon, and O's story. Because I have no real coherent way to explain my love of these characters, I'm just going to list notable moments:

1) O working in the grow house with Ben and Chon and the three of them exchanging looks and just generally being adorable without words.
2) Ben and Chon. (Basically this.)
3) The total lack of jealousy between all three of them. (SO MUCH.)
4) Elena fucking with Chon and Ben freaking out.
5) Chon talking about how every man in O's life has let her down so far. (Basically Chon being Chon.)
6) O's face when she had to watch Ben basically give up all of his beliefs for her. (I had real issues with the gore in this scene, especially before Lado gives the torch to Ben. Just seemed ridiculous for the sake of being ridiculous, but other than that, it was a good scene.)
7) Chon being all mother-hen with Ben after the fact. (D'awww. Another one of my weaknesses) This especially hit home to me after reading The Kings of Cool because of how much I know Chon is willing to give up for Ben and how much they really love each other. The two of them together was just so wonderful. They got their dynamic exactly right.
8)
Ben: Have I told you that I love you?
Chon: Yeah. This morning.
Ben: Well... I do.
9) Ben with O after she is returned to them, and Chon taking the lead and making sure to keep them behind him.
10) I think my favorite scene in this entire thing is the scene after the threesome and they're all just laying there together talking and being affectionate.

Basically:
Dear Savages,
Congratulations on hitting all of KC's buttons.
- The Universe

I was fine with the ending, especially because it jives with the ending lines of the book, them being on a remote island, climbing trees, and making love like savages. I talked with Dayl and apparently it wasn't entirely clear that at the end of the movie, they were all together there. To me, it definitely seemed like they were. Did anybody else read it any other way? Basically, because I love the three of them, this makes me happy. Is it the tragic, suicide ending of the book? Not exactly. But in this way we were given both.






Trigger Warnings for extreme violence/gore description & mention of rape:






All that said, there were a few things that I really hated. One I already mentioned, and that was the "hanging eyeball" scene. Just no. It seems childish to complain about gratuity in a movie that seems to be made for it, but I think I would have been OK with it had the scene not stretched on for several minutes. That's where it goes from an "Oh, ew, gross!" moment to a "Can we please get on with this scene!?" moment.

The other thing that is worth mentioning as being 100% terrible is that they felt the need to have O victimized by Lado in that way, especially when this was not in the book. I understand that he's equally as loathsome in the novel, but why add a rape that didn't happen when it's not necessary? I just found this a reprehensible choice by the filmmakers. I am pretty upset, not only that it happened, but the way that it happened and the scene afterward with Lado and the cell phone.

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[crickets.livejournal.com]

It looks lovely doesn't it? (Taylor Swift? Really?)