It's Christmas! And Bloomington ♥!
Happy holidays, everyone!
Because there will be no present opening until the herd of family gets here in... five hours, I filled up my morning watching Bloomington. I don't think I have enough words to describe how much I just fell in fucking love with this movie.
Poster:
Summary (taken from http://www.bloomingtonthemovie.com):
Bloomington is a coming-of-age drama about a former child actress attending college in search of independence and who ends up becoming romantically involved with a female professor. Their relationship thrives until an opportunity to return to acting forces her to make life-altering decisions.
Less Spoilery Trailer:
Reaction:
First off, when it comes to LGBT movies, I can't help but worry that it's going to try and be awesome, and then clothesline me with fail. So, I'm watching this movie, worrying that either:
a) one of the women ends up being CRZZY and is obviously unfit for a relationship
b) one of them commits suicide
c) either of them goes back to men and treats their past relationship with a woman as unimportant or anything else that paints the picture that queer relationships aren't legitimate
d) rape (askdasfhkjdasfhkjANGRY!KEYBOARD!SMASHING!)
e) one of the women is portrayed as super creepy (especially in regards to this student/teacher movie)
f) all of the above actually occurring in the same movie (turn it off, turn it off quick!)
I'm sure there's more, but those were off the top of my head. So, I went into the movie constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop... BUT FLIST, IT DIDN'T. I'VE GOT BOTH OF THE SHOES IN MY HAND or whatever other metaphor you can think of.
Usually, teacher/student relationships squick me on some level despite the fact that I believe that some of these relationships are completely and utterly legitimate. I have an especially hard time with these relationships in a high school setting. But that's usually because either the student or the teacher comes off as a creepy stalker or something. Besides Bloomington taking place at the college level, both characters were played maturely and, thank goodness, completely sane. There was a moment where I did worry, in the beginning, but my fears were soon allayed.
The relationship between Jackie and Catherine (played by Sarah Stouffer and Allison McAtee, respectively) came across so genuine and loving and all around awesome. They were playful, they laughed, they cried, they grew, and sometimes didn't.
Jackie's character arc was fucking awesome.
I've gotta bow down to Fernanda Cardoso (writer/director/editor, YOU GO GURL) for hitting a bunch of my story kinks. To name a few... purposefully executed motifs, character-driven plot, and role-reversals, and growth vs. regression. Okay, that last one isn't a particular kink, but I loved it in this movie.
Despite being miffed that the characters were rarely naked in bed together (clothes on, all the time, making me feel like Sarah Stouffer must've been underage or something), I thought this movie was pretty fucking steamy. There was just something about the actresses' chemistry with each other, and the way the characters were written with such an easy, trusting intimacy. I don't need nudity, but it seemed kind of silly that one character would wake up with their clothes on, and the other didn't. But I'm probably just being nit-picky.
Also, I'm a little bit in love with Sarah Stouffer because according to an interview, she actually made a pass at her co-star Allison McAtee (though I think it was more of a joke than anything else, considering they're both straight), but got shot down. Not that I blame her... Allison McAtee is a blonde amazonian goddess (oh, how I love thee ridiculously tall women) with heart-piercing dimples.
This movie tore my heart apart, then put it back together. You'll have to see it for yourself. ;)
Because there will be no present opening until the herd of family gets here in... five hours, I filled up my morning watching Bloomington. I don't think I have enough words to describe how much I just fell in fucking love with this movie.
Poster:
Summary (taken from http://www.bloomingtonthemovie.com):
Bloomington is a coming-of-age drama about a former child actress attending college in search of independence and who ends up becoming romantically involved with a female professor. Their relationship thrives until an opportunity to return to acting forces her to make life-altering decisions.
Less Spoilery Trailer:
Click to viewReaction:
First off, when it comes to LGBT movies, I can't help but worry that it's going to try and be awesome, and then clothesline me with fail. So, I'm watching this movie, worrying that either:
a) one of the women ends up being CRZZY and is obviously unfit for a relationship
b) one of them commits suicide
c) either of them goes back to men and treats their past relationship with a woman as unimportant or anything else that paints the picture that queer relationships aren't legitimate
d) rape (askdasfhkjdasfhkjANGRY!KEYBOARD!SMASHING!)
e) one of the women is portrayed as super creepy (especially in regards to this student/teacher movie)
f) all of the above actually occurring in the same movie (turn it off, turn it off quick!)
I'm sure there's more, but those were off the top of my head. So, I went into the movie constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop... BUT FLIST, IT DIDN'T. I'VE GOT BOTH OF THE SHOES IN MY HAND or whatever other metaphor you can think of.
Usually, teacher/student relationships squick me on some level despite the fact that I believe that some of these relationships are completely and utterly legitimate. I have an especially hard time with these relationships in a high school setting. But that's usually because either the student or the teacher comes off as a creepy stalker or something. Besides Bloomington taking place at the college level, both characters were played maturely and, thank goodness, completely sane. There was a moment where I did worry, in the beginning, but my fears were soon allayed.
The relationship between Jackie and Catherine (played by Sarah Stouffer and Allison McAtee, respectively) came across so genuine and loving and all around awesome. They were playful, they laughed, they cried, they grew, and sometimes didn't.
Jackie's character arc was fucking awesome.
I've gotta bow down to Fernanda Cardoso (writer/director/editor, YOU GO GURL) for hitting a bunch of my story kinks. To name a few... purposefully executed motifs, character-driven plot, and role-reversals, and growth vs. regression. Okay, that last one isn't a particular kink, but I loved it in this movie.
Despite being miffed that the characters were rarely naked in bed together (clothes on, all the time, making me feel like Sarah Stouffer must've been underage or something), I thought this movie was pretty fucking steamy. There was just something about the actresses' chemistry with each other, and the way the characters were written with such an easy, trusting intimacy. I don't need nudity, but it seemed kind of silly that one character would wake up with their clothes on, and the other didn't. But I'm probably just being nit-picky.
Also, I'm a little bit in love with Sarah Stouffer because according to an interview, she actually made a pass at her co-star Allison McAtee (though I think it was more of a joke than anything else, considering they're both straight), but got shot down. Not that I blame her... Allison McAtee is a blonde amazonian goddess (oh, how I love thee ridiculously tall women) with heart-piercing dimples.
This movie tore my heart apart, then put it back together. You'll have to see it for yourself. ;)