7/3/07

Of Mice and Men


"I'll break that god damned cat's neck!"

4 Stars

What are the odds? I just said in my Places in the Heart review that I wanted to revisit Of Mice and Men, and it was added to my On Demand this weekend! Cool.
I remember seeing this film with my mom in the theater. My mom was a big John Malkovich fan, still is too, and was really excited to see this when it came out.

Most folks know the story but just in case you missed class that day here's quick summary.
The classic John Steinbeck tale of two friends - George (Gary Senise) and Lennie (Malkovich) - who wonder the country during the Depression. Lennie is mentally retarded and doesn't know his own strength causing frequent problems for his companion George.

Gary Senise not only stars but directs. Sherilyn Fenn (who will always be Audrey Horne from Twin Peaks to me) is in this as well. And for the record, she is quite simply one of the most stunning women I have ever seen. Gorgeous! Also Casey Siemaszko stars. He has been in so many movies Biloxi Blues (one of my favorites), Back to the Future, and Stand By Me just to name a few. Not too well known, but he always stands out to me for some reason. Great face on that kid.

Recalling the movie, I was always more sympathetic for Lennie. Killing animals by mistake, and not quite understanding his strength, but the facts of life as well. I'm pretty sure because I was a kid watching or reading the story I was able to identify with a guy who was as mentally developed as I was.
But this time around being a little older, I really felt for George being Lennie's caretaker. Much how I've seen my mom take care of her parents, it can be at times a physical and emotional burden. But as so many people do, they put that aside to care for someone they love.
George was sick of not being able to work on his own, to go out on the town with out making sure Lennie stays out of trouble while he's gone. He has given up a part of himself.

Honestly I had forgotten the ending. My mouth was genuinely agape!
He had to do it.

Here's to tending the rabbits.


Plot summary courtesy of iMDb.com

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok Tava i saw the black & white movie version of this with Lon Chaney & Burgess Meredith and yes the were quite younger back then. Have you seen THAT version i have seen 2 versions of it and that one still sticks in my mind ( can't duplicate some movies you know ) Adolf