Diane has a love hate relationship with men. She likes how they can make her feel, but she dislikes a lot about them. Not long after her mother gets her out of jail, she finds out that years before here mother was raped. Her mom wants to forget and continue living her life, which involves going back to school. As Diane tries to deal with her feelings about life her mom tries to find her place.
I’ve seen this film a couple of times now and to be honest, I have no clue. Yes, it has some great lines and some great emotional moments and some deep truths, but at the same time it’s all over the freaking place. The tone doesn’t feel modulated it simply shifts from moment to moment. I never had a clue what I was supposed to feel, even on the repeated viewings. There didn’t seem to be a rhythm. I say this because some films require you to go through it once to get the ah ha moment and you understand I never go that.
Another problem is who is this film about? Diane, yes but the mom is there too. And that creates a big problem. Diane is a one-of-a-kind character. Truly unconventional on some many levels, you can’t help but like her but at the same time you want to kick her. You understand why she keeps getting arrested. She has a personality you want to punch. It doesn’t help that for all she is all you remember is her quirks. She didn’t feel whole but more a collection of pieces. At the same time, her mother is a much more welcoming character. You can feel the lives she lived and survived in her words and in her silences. We don’t get that from Diane who feels less than real.
After what amounts to three go throughs I still don’t know what I feel. There are some great bits here, but the off kilter title character keeps the film the wrong sort of off kilter
I would recommend it for the adventurous, but advise everyone else to read on it before seeing it.
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