The mirror has two faces - Movie Review Example

?The theme of the film: The Mirror Has Two Faces is about different views people hold about love, sex, relationships and marriage. The represents how different insights are seen on the same topic, with the “mirror” being the topic of love and relationships and the “two faces” being the different views held by the characters of the movie, mainly Rose and Gregory. A mirror is supposed to be a reflection of the person standing in front of it, and the title of the movie mentions that it has two faces, most probably the person and its reflection, but these faces are not necessarily one and the same person thinking the same thoughts. Hence, the title makes one curious as to what it truly means. The characters’ ideas about sex, love, and marriage: The characters of the movie hold various perspectives on sex, love and marriage. Alex holds romantic views and showers Claire with affection to the point that it suffocates her. To him, he is like a romantic hero. Claire is so bent on using her beauty to attract men but when she gets them, she easily gets tired of them and is searching for another pursuit to keep her excited and interested. Hannah is kind of self-obsessed that to her, love should center on her own happiness and should boost her self-esteem. Henry is more down to earth and is a sounding board to Gregory’s ideas on love and sex and has a more grounded belief that a balance should be struck in order for a relationship to work, although he himself dates younger women not for their intelligence but mostly for their physical appeal. The central characters of Rose and Gregory provide the conflict in the story. For Rose, a romantic relationship should be fueled by passion and romance to support the deep love that the couple has for each other. They should know each other very well, including seemingly insignificant details and should be able to respond to each other’s needs even if help is not solicited. Gregory, on the other hand, burned several times from his previous romantic relationships, believe that sex complicates matters. He believes that relationships based on romantic love and physical attraction are worthless because it creates illusions that eventually end up disappointing people because they cannot keep up to the expectations of each other. Where the chief characters are on their relationship journey. The Whiteheads describe marriage both as an institution and as a journey. In the movie, marriage as an institution was not clearly agreed upon by the characters and was not depicted in such a way that it is a solid, immovable establishment. Instead, it would be more appropriate to describe the main characters’ marriage as a journey of friendship gone backwards. Theirs was founded on a deep friendship without the physical affection most man-woman relationships share even before marriage. Gregory claims that they are lucky to have reached their level of relationship to have skipped sexual tension and have gone straight to a meeting of minds and hearts. On the other hand, Rose thought differently. For her, the journey was just beginning and sexual intimacy is a necessary part of the journey towards the marital union, in the truest sense of the word. After they have cleared things with each other of what to expect from their marriage and are now looking at the same road and destination, they anticipate a smoother journey together with all the necessary ingredients to make their marriage stronger. The styles of communication & conflict used by the couples. It has always been known that communication is a key to successful relationships. In the movie, there were various communication styles that reflected the views of the characters. There were scenes wherein Gregory would voice out his passionate beliefs in his theories about a sexless relationship because it does not complicate matters and elevates the relationship to a higher level of respect, trust, admiration. Rose cannot put one word in. Because Rose was in love with Gregory, she tried to accept his beliefs, shunning aside her own about passion and romance and sexual intimacy in a marriage. Initially, she did not confront the conflicting ideas he had. All the while, Gregory was clueless about her dissatisfaction until she acted on it. Gregory did not give in to her advances and she felt rejected, bringing to end her acceptance of their agreement of a sexless marriage. He was not empathetic to his wife’s needs and feelings, hence they could not achieve true intimacy in their marriage. After Rose felt she had the upper hand, it was time for her to communicate her own theories. She was able to express her own beliefs with Gregory realizing her points and that all the while, he also subscribed to the same beliefs deep down inside. This last scene of confrontation and open communication was the beginning of their journey to intimacy in their marriage. The role of family and friends: The characters in the movie are highly opinionated that all that the other characters can do is to play as sounding board. They may play as the devil’s advocate in order for the person they are advising to be more clear about his or her views on love and marriage. They do not necessarily influence the other, knowing they share different views, but when they do discuss, things get clearer to the other person just because it may strengthen his or her own position. Rose’s friend, Doris, for instance, cannot believe that the relationship her friend is in does not involve any physical contact. Rose tries to defend her position, justifying it the way Gregory does, but deep inside, she knows that it is not something she really wants for herself even if she projects that she is one with Gregory in this. Alex and Claire do not seem to care for anyone’s views, so they may unwittingly refuse any advise to make their relationship work. The advisability of getting married. Living together before marriage does not necessarily guarantee that they will be ready for marriage when the time comes. What is essential is knowing each other deeply and accepting each other fully regardless of some conflicting beliefs. It is still advisable to have a longer engagement, as this provides more opportunities to get to know each other more before marriage. Changes in the characters and how they occur. In the end, the characters who showed a shift in their characters are Gregory and Hannah. Gregory had to lose his wife, Rose, to realize that the theories he concocted about taking out sex from marriage will make the relationship stronger was damaging. He was not aware that it was a selfish rule that he put in his marriage without considering his wife’s real feelings about it. While it was obvious that he was smitten with Rose, he refused to see her as someone being capable of attractiveness. Rose, on the other hand, realized that she had to love herself more by taking care of herself, keeping fit and being beautiful not for anyone else but for herself. Her change is more physical than personality-wise. Hannah, showed more change in terms of being less egocentric and became more concerned with the welfare of her children instead of always stealing their thunder. Whether the marriages in the film are real marriages. I believe real marriages take many forms and the ones in the film may represent some forms. Not all marriages come up to expectations. Alex and Claire’s marriage may be based on shallow foundation, which is a common cause of failed marriages. On the other hand, Rose and Gregory’s marriage, based on common interests, respect, admiration and affection for each other may more likely succeed because it is based on more solid foundation. Of course, sex enhances it, being an expression of the couple’s love for each other in more concrete form. Rose and Gregory try to prove that their marriage can survive without physicality, however, they have human sexual needs to fulfill too, and meeting these only makes their marriage more complete. What strikes me about this film is the very interesting conflict about taking sex out of the equation in order to elevate the relationship to a more spiritual, intellectual level. In a sense, Gregory takes out a basic animalistic need and attempts to make his marriage work by intellectualizing everything, thinking sex complicates things. He becomes blind to the needs of his wife, who hungers for affection to keep her secure in her own attractiveness as a woman. I have learned that what makes a marriage work is being sensitive to each other’s needs and compromising in order to keep each other happy. Read More