Fifi Leigh
Thursday, 2.20.20
This evening, I went to the UTC Edwards theatre for a movie meetup. I arrived early, and noticed the parking lot was full, but I found a couple of empty spaces. The inside of the theatre was undergoing remodeling to modernize the old, small theatre. I miss the old one because I used to come to this theatre, since my college years, which was the 80s. I used to walk across the street for a matinee, usually during the holidays in the 90s. There is a lot of construction inside of the theatre now. When I entered the auditorium 5, I notice the seats are all new. They were all cushioned lounge chairs, where the bottom goes up and the back goes down, similar to the ones in IMAX and Regency theatres.
We watched Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It is a French period movie about 3 women. Heloise just left the convent, and she is preparing her wedding with a man. Apparently, it is an arranged marriage. (It takes place in the 1700s). Marianne is a painter, hired to draw Heloise’s wedding portrait, but she has to do it secretly because Heloise doesn’t like to pose. Sofie is a young maid. She becomes pregnant, and she doesn’t want the baby. So, a woman comes in to perform the abortion. But the story is between Marianne and Heloise, as they work on the portrait. There is light conversation between them, as they slowly become closer, working up to a lesbian romance. It is very subtle, mostly kissing and looking deeply into each other’s eyes. But it eventually leads to sleeping together.
The movie kind of reminds me of what men do before their wedding. Groom has a last fling with a woman, usually a hired stripper, at a bachelor’s party. I guess these 3 women were liberated for their time. One got an abortion, and the other two had a lesbian romance, before they each went their separate way and moved on toward their future.
