Two Reviews – “Fleabag” – Amazon Prime Video and “The Irishman” – Netflix

Fleabag – a 9 out of 10 on the jaywo scale

I first heard of this show after seeing its star Phoebe Waller-Bridge on Saturday Night Live as host. I thought it was one of the best openings I had seen in years, and so I decided to watch this show. I have had Amazon Prime but had never once watched its videos, mostly using it for free shipping of books. First I have to say this show has very raunchy language and talks explicitly about sex. If that does not turn you off, (or perhaps that turns you on) this is a funny poignant quirky series. Phoebe’s character uses the camera as a fourth wall very effectively. The show centers around the lives of two sisters. It has had two seasons. Season two comes to a neat conclusion as it is not guaranteed to return for a third season. The show deals with how the sisters and their father deal with (or don’t) with the death of their mother (wife).  Also it deals with the death of the lead characters friend. As I think about it, the lead character is never addressed by name in the series. That in and of itself is quirky about the show. I’ll have to think more about that. Clearly it was intentional.  The show deals with how humans deal with grief, love, loss, family relationships and our search for happiness. It shows our human frailties, and our ability to recover and rebound. At times particularly in season two, I found myself laughing out loud and cringing almost at the same time. The show often focus on Phoebe’s character’s romantic relationships and particularly in season 2 her attraction to and pursuit of a priest.  . I highly recommend it. I binge watched all of season two on vacation. It is really worth seeing.

“The Irishman” –A  6 out of 10

I just watched this on vacation. This movie has had a  lot of brouhaha due to its limited theatrical release (I guess to be eligible for the Oscars)  and then almost direct to Netflix. It was directed by Scorsese and it has a great cast of actors. Al Pacino overacts (as usual) as Jimmy Hoffa, and that works for the role as Hoffa was a larger then life character in real life. Robert Deniro underacts (as usual) as hitman for the mob whose life this movie is based on. Joe Pesci as well plays a great understated role as a mob boss.  The story is told from Deniro’s perspective, telling his life story in retrospect from some sort of retirement home. First I will have to say the movie is long… Almost three and 1/2 hours long. It seemed like a greatest hits of gangster films. It told in a very methodical fashion the rise and fall of this particular gangster and his long standing relationship with Hoffa and the union.  I guess my biggest complaint is that it was too methodical and not dramatic enough. I never get a sense of why he was the way he was or did the things he did. Its just the way he was, shaped by the violence of being in combat in war. But many people  went to war and did not end up living this kind of life. It did not romanticize the life, pointing out the violent deaths of many of the characters. In fact, there are no good characters here.  I liked the cinematography and period pieces of the film. Scorsese always is great at that.  The last half hour of the movie made up for more of its tedious moments. As he looks back on his life, he is talking to a young nurse who did not even know who Jimmy Hoffa was. It brought about a realization for the character (and thus for me) about how fleeting life can be. Things we think are important in the moment are trivialized and forgotten in history. Our motives and decisions which we believe may be good, really lead to much harm. It also talks about who we align ourselves with in life. Who we choose to protect and who we choose to sacrifice. In the end he is alone and he has spent little time building relationships with those who would love him. Perhaps that is the message. It is not what we do, but how we love in the world that matters. (I'm not saying that is the message of the movie, but the message I choose to take from it)  The movie gives answers to who killed Hoffa and hints at who killed JFK (Both of these are long held belief by those who follow these stories over the years) if you choose to believe it. It was worth seeing just to see Pacino and Deniro together in a movie and in general I enjoy gangster movies. But I do not think it is Oscar worthy.  

Meanderings while walking on the beach while on vacation during Thanksgiving

As I walked the beach, I thought about the waves rolling in and out. As the tide goes out it leaves some dead shells, and some that cling to the tide to head back out to the gulf. It is now illegal to take a live shell. But for years our family would take live shells and boil them (there is some sea creature living within it). We would create shell lamps and shell mirrors, and anything shells. Looking back, I wonder if these creatures suffered. If shell creatures have shell creature families. So I can rationalize killing a creature for sustenance for myself, but to kill just to create beauty seems hard to justify. Now we just scavenge for dead shells.                                                                         

With the incoming and outgoing tide, some shell creatures live, some die, some get washed away. The more adept shell creatures I imagine hides itself better so as not to be picked (they dig themselves down in the sand). Such it is in life. We live our lives. Some are more adept then others. We live for awhile, we die, some people get swept away by the tides of life. Some dig deep and fight like hell for life. And although each shell and its existence is unique, the tide coming in and out, does so like clockwork, every day, it has a pattern that affects the shells (and I imagine all sea life). Over time the waves have a discernible pattern that we can determine and predict. I wonder and imagine that sea life can as well and that helps them exist in their world. 

But also that pattern of tides  and gravity tells me of the interdependence of all things that were created and came to be. Even if there is a scientific explanation for it all, it is amazing. And if there are amazing things that create patterns in and of the waves I must wonder if our lives and our universe have similar patterns.  Certainly in my life I have sensed repeating patterns. With more experience and wisdom over time I have learned to better manage those down cycles and take advantage of the upcycles.  What patterns does the universe show us? 

It is true that patterns get disrupted, whether that be by an asteroid crashing, or climate crisis affecting migratory patterns of birds, (and many other patterns) or lights on beaches affecting patterns of baby sea turtles. So too in our life we have patterns interrupted through unexpected tragedies. I do note that I only to point to interrupted patterns due to the negative, not the positive. But I imagine, a pattern can be interrupted by an act of courage, an act of kindness or the sight of beauty. 

If I noticed anything on the beach, even with the pattern of the waves and the tide, is that even while that is predictable, everything in every moment is changing. What shells come in, what

Shells go out. My interaction with the waves and shells although might not affect the tide, but it affects that wave and those shells I interact with. (and of course there are things we can do to affect the direction of water). The weather beyond our control affects the pattern too. 

I admit it is a little depressing thought that there is a tide in our life and the universe, a constantly repeating direction that can be altered, often impacted, but without major intervention cannot be changed.  On the other hand I could be wrong. Or perhaps we as some scientists speculate are part of a simulation created by aliens (which would explain patterns), but I do not put much stock in that (because if we become aware of the simulation they will turn it off) 

Or perhaps it is enough to be the creature that digs deep and fights for survival to make a difference in the sea of life, even when it cant change the whole tide. Perhaps if enough creatures dig deep enough they can change the course of the tide. Perhaps it gives ours lives purpose. You can not count on an asteroid to change the world, so perhaps we should try an act of courage, acts of kindness and/or create something beautiful.   You just have to dig deep and survive and work to change the tide.  This is what I thought when I took a walk on the beach this Thanksgiving morning. I am not sure I even make sense of it all, but it is what I experienced.  What did you think about this morning.