rather i think a friendship arc was introduced at the beginning, through the children. where the other girl lived--was it Wonder Land? the washing of the car! then when the boy was forced to leave from the friendship--his face gazing out the window. these mechanisms exist outside the adult world mechanisms, which are integrated alongside later, toward the the film's narrative crescendo. as every crescendo, this movie's had to reach its point, and i don't think it exposed itself as a story which would culminate so much as a life with increasing complexities. the magic wristband sidestory was well-crafted, i believe, along with the encounter at the hotel which wouldn't accept them, and the honeymoon visit which was a disaster for the newly married and a typical day for this hotel. it's such a hard question--what really were the types of lives that were being observed here? i can't quite think of another American director who has so well crafted anew the concept of Italian Neorealism (The Children Are Watching Us). the friendship arc that was introduced at the beginning, what a different form it took with the other mother's black eye, and Dafoe standing outside. what was on Dafoe's mind? what could he do? to end the movie with the question of What Could Anyone Do? is really a monumental task, in my opinion. the Fuck You was the highest point of the crescendo and it's the best Fuck You i've ever heard. there was never not a feeling in the movie, there was only sometimes the wonder of what would happen. which i think is very much what that place and context would feel like, and sometimes in fact it's all you hear from narratives about people in this type of life.
