dual personalities

DP #2 here for a Wednesday rant. Last night, having finished season 12 of NYPD Blue, I decided to search Netflix for something to watch. Although my sons had warned me that I would hate the film Hostiles, I decided to give it a try. I did not make it through the first scene, and now I’ll tell you why. I promise to be brief.

The film opens in a bucolic setting, the farmstead where Wesley Quaid, his wife (Rosamund Pike), and children live. We see Rosamund teaching her daughters about adverbs while her husband is outside cutting wood.  Indians appear on horseback and the husband grabs his gun, warning his wife and kids to flee to the hills. Okay, it’s not original — I sigh and think of The Searchers — but thirty seconds into the movie I’m still on board. Then I give up in disgust, because, in what is perhaps the most unrealistic attack-reaction I’ve ever seen in a movie, the husband walks slowly toward the mounted Indians ineffectually shooting his rifle as they ride him down. Tragedy ensues.

Who wrote that script, a thirteen year old? Did someone think that a brave but inexperienced settler would do something so suicidally stupid?  Or did they just think it would look good? Well, life is too short to waste time on such historical perversions. I just thought I’d warn you. And the moral of the story? When your children warn you that you won’t like something, believe them!

I promise to be cheerier next time I post. It’s just that the gutted kitchen is threatening to overwhelm my otherwise sunny disposition. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Have a great mid-week, and make good Netflix choices!