Chapter fifty-one: Dancing at Lughnasa

Hello and Happy New Year! When trying to think of an introduction, the only interesting thing I could think to write was that I watched When Harry Met Sally... for the first time. Before, I had seen parts of it, but never all the way through. The one thing I knew from the movie was that they kissed on New Years', so I was purposefully saving the film until then and hoping to time the kiss. The plan fell through because I was too excited and couldn't wait that late to watch it. In short, it was really, really good! Did you know that Nora Ephron almost never wrote that movie, and yet it went on to become her possibly greatest hit? I think that's so cool. Other than that, it has been an extremely chill start to the new year. Anyway, to start it off, today's movie is about five sisters living under one roof 1930's Ireland:

• Kate Mundy (Meryl) is the eldest and the only one with a steady job as a schoolteacher, so she takes it upon herself to be the matriarch of the household and feels the brunt of responsibility for the family. Of all the sisters, Kate is best at hiding her femininity because she knows there are more important things to attend to.

• Maggie (Kathy Burke) is the comical one of the house and often acts as the peacemaker between the sisters.

• Agnes (Brid Brennan) is very protective of and often paired with the youngest sister, Rose.

• Christina (Catherine McCormack) has a young son, Michael, whose father, Gerry Evans, comes over periodically on his motorcycle to take Michael for visitation. These visits tide over Christina's romanticism. The story depicts Michael's perspective as a young boy watching his aunts try and find love.

• Rose (Sophie Thompson) is the naively sweet youngest of the bunch, longing for married life, and mentally challenged.

Though none of the sisters are married, their only brother Jack (Michael Gambon), is coming home after a trip to Africa where he became a priest. He's returned somewhat ill, and his practices don't quite mesh with the sisters' catholic beliefs. Nonetheless, they take care of him, and as you can imagine, when you add men to a household of all women, there are some significant shake ups in terms of what roles the sisters play. Kate loses her job, and with it, she feels like she has lost control of the family she's supposed to be protecting. Simultaneously, Rose's fixation with marriage gets her into a troubling scenario that Jack rescues her out of.

A significant portion of the movie is about struggling to make ends meet in the '30s. However, it's not all hardships. Kate learns that her ways of keeping everybody together may actually be what's causing division among the household. When she begins to let loose and finds a portion of her confidence, the sisters go dancing. It's a humble scene that I personally get so much meaning from; it looks like such fun and is so genuine, and with all the stress of the era, it's long overdue. I thought the scene represented a new beginning in the movie's plot, but unfortunately, the sisters don't stay that happy and cheerful.

In the end, Anges and Rose leave one evening on a whim with each other and never come back. Not too long after, Jack dies of his dementia, leaving the few remaining sisters distraught. When Michael reaches adult age, he's relieved to have his freedom away from such a dismal house.

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So, here's what I get from the movie: it looks old-timey, I'll give you that, and before watching it, I knew nothing about the movie other than Meryl's Irish accent, which I couldn't wait to see. What I didn't know was how the film has more sadness in it than what the trailers lead you to believe. Yet above all, this movie is about life. While sadness is a part of that package, the film centers around the personalities of five women and the love that binds them, whether it be through dancing or housework. It's lovely; I enjoy it.

Until next week!

As always, thank you for the entertainment, Meryl.