steadily skipping stones

Movie Quote Monday – Enchanted April

If I could only use one word to describe this movie, it would be “lovely”.

It is a movie full of nooks and crannies, with the story gently bubbling up to fill all those spaces.

Every now and then, it fills in a spot I hadn’t realized was there. And I am surprised and delighted. And I am also filled.

It’s the story of four women, strangers living in a cold and rainy and dreary London. They come together through newspaper advertisements to rent a castle in Italy for the month of April. Each lady is looking for a temporary escape from her London life, and in one way or another, they are running from their loneliness and unhappiness.

In one of my favorite little scenes, it’s raining when two of the women get off the train in Italy. Rose asks, “How is this different?” Lottie answers, “Well…this is Italian rain.”

On the one hand, wherever you go, there you are.

On the other, sometimes we do need the illusion of distance between ourselves and our problems in order to get a better perspective on both.

But there’s one scene that stops me in my tracks every single time. It’s a moment in which Lottie and her husband Mellersh have finally come together as a couple. Mellersh brushes Lottie’s hair as he talks to her, a loving gesture that conveys the intimacy bourgenouing between them.

Mellersh:  In my profession…a man is always helped by having a clever and attractive wife. Lady Caroline thinks you’re attractive…so do I.
—Lottie:  Do you think I’m attractive, Mellersh?
Mellersh:  Yes I do. One thing puzzles me though…why weren’t you attractive sooner?

Why?

This always makes me think about the relationships in my life and how I value and nurture them.

And how I don’t.

Am I seeing the beauty that’s right in front of my eyes? Or do I need to adjust my perspective?

♦