Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.

The time is always right to do what is right.

- Martin Luther King Jr.

Adulterers (2015) - free will ... and its consequences:

Adulterers (2015) - free will ... and its consequences:

Review by Jack Kost

Adulterers is a cautionary tale, a powerful drama inspired by true events, and far more compelling than the contrived Fatal Attraction (1987) and Unfaithful (2002).

How you feel at the end of Adulterers may depend on your personal experience of the subject it deals with.

It’s right there in the title.

If you’ve ever been cheated on by your significant other – then this movie might sting.

If you have cheated on your significant other – then this movie should rightly sting if you have any conscience and sense of guilt about the choice you made.

Consequences for making the wrong choice is the theme unflinchingly examined in this movie, released in the United States on January 5, 2016, written, produced and directed by H.M. Coakley.

Lead actor, Sean Farris threw himself into this role of a betrayed husband.

We see the anguish of his character, his pain, regret, broken heart, broken life, and ultimately broken mind.

Sean Farris is Samuel, a store assistant, working extra hours during a sweltering New Orleans afternoon.

It’s his first wedding anniversary; a special day in any marriage.

Samuel is a proud and happy man, deeply in love with his wife, Ashley (Danielle Savre).

He regrets having to work so many hours and laments at their lack of money, but he plans on making it up to Ashley.

He swings by his home halfway through his day, carrying his wife’s favorite flowers and chocolates.

Besides their money troubles, all seems right with Samuel’s world until he catches Ashley and her lover, Damien (Mehcad Brooks), naked, having sex in the bedroom.

Devastated, Samuel shoots them both.

This is not a spoiler; it happens within the first twelve minutes.

Downstairs, he sits on the couch, and drinks whiskey straight from the bottle.

Suffering a psychological break, he rethinks the situation.

This time, in his imagination, he doesn’t pull the trigger.

What if I’d waited instead of acting on impulse?

What would I say to them?

How far would I go to punish them?

What would they say to justify their sin, or lie their way out of the situation?

These questions are the basis for the imagined trial and torture he puts his wife and her lover through in that stifling room.

As Samuel struggles with the pain of betrayal and infidelity, the wedding ring, crucifix and Bible often the focus of the camera, he struggles with his faith.

Finally, as Samuel himself points out:

"You ain't sorry. You're just sorry that you got caught. It's time that you dealt with the consequences of your actions."

In forcing them to face the consequences of their actions, Samuel is then left to face the consequences of his own.

There are no winners in this story; everyone is destroyed.

Adultery … it’s all fun and games ... until you get caught!

George R. R. Martin, on reading:

I was born in Bayonne, New Jersey.

I grew up in the projects.

I never went anywhere.

But I have lived a thousand lives and I've loved a thousand loves.

I've walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time.

Because I read. 

- George R. R. Martin.

Happy Kwanzaa:

Merry Christmas:

 

Wishing family and friends far and near

a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Lena Dunham, on reading:

Let's be reasonable and add an eighth day to the week that is devoted exclusively to reading.

- Lena Dunham. 

On this day in movie history - Open Your Eyes (1997)

Open Your Eyes

Spanish title: Abre los ojos,

directed by Alejandro Amenábar,

written by Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil,

was released in Spain on December 19, 1997.

Music by Alejandro Amenábar and Mariano Marín.

Cast:

Eduardo Noriega, Penelope Cruz, Chete Lera, Fele Martinez, Najwa Nimri, Gerard Barray, Jorge de Juan, Miguel Palenzuela, Pedro Miguel Martinez, Ion Gabella, Joserra Cadiñanos, Tristan Ulloa, Pepe Navarro, Jaro, Walter Prieto, Carola Angulo, Fanny Gautier, Luis Garcia, Javier Martin, Jose Angel Egido, Ricardo Cruz, Raul Otegui, Pepe (cat), Alejandro Amenábar, Luis Fernandez de Eribe, Isabel Serrano.