Usually I post about one media item per week, almost always a book but once in awhile a film. I think the last film I wrote about was Poverty, Inc. And I’ve already done a book post this week. But I’ve been going around with a line from this film echoing in my head:
Which I would re-write to say,
“People will think anything.”
But the scene that kept coming to my mind has her teen boyfriend Matt, also mixed race, saying the line in the context of how the people who had the most to gain (or lose), in this case Lacey’s white family, were perfectly willing to ignore the fact that she just didn’t look like the rest of them. (He says that line in the trailer.) The explanation was that she looked like her dark-skinned Sicilian grandfather. She really didn’t, but that was the easiest explanation and so the people most involved, including her, believed it, or tried to.
It’s the old Emperor’s New Clothes syndrome and tied in with my recent post on thresholds. Even if the truth is staring everyone in the face, someone has to finally say, “Wait a minute . . . ” or, “But the emperor has no clothes on at all!” In this case the person who spoke out was Lacey herself, and she ultimately decided to make this film. Would her family (especially the man who raised her and who thought he was her father) have been spared some anguish if she hadn’t? Yes, in a way. He wouldn’t have had his (now ex-) wife’s betrayal splashed all over the place. I can’t imagine how he must have felt and how high the awkwardness factor must be at family gatherings. But really, this whole taking-the-secret-to-the-grave thing is vastly overrated. People almost always know that something is amiss. The unspoken agreement to keep the secret unspoken is very corrosive.
So if you’re a Netflix subscriber you can access the film, or you can buy the DVD. Or, as I just discovered, you can view it on YouTube for a small fee. It’s well worth your time!