Lazy Eyes and Marathon Men

I had a rather long conversation with my mother last night on the way to rehearsal. My mother doesn't talk on the phone ever, so it was an achievement just on that front, really. But I communicated to her how I feel about Michael and Deborah and everything that happened on Sunday that made me leave their house so early. I was having second thoughts about telling her all of that stuff, but she seemed genuinely glad that I was at sharing it with her. Her suggestions were helpful and kind and she is in pretty much the same boat as I, although she responds in a different way (i.e. getting angry as opposed to getting sad.)

I was invited to Jeremy's party last night, but at the last minute I decided not to go. It's just so far, and after driving miles and miles to Long Beach, driving miles and miles out of my way before driving miles and miles home just seemed so tiring. Directing exhausts me anyway, and last night seemed to be more exhausting than usual. (When I'm saying, "You should move right of him instead of left when you do that cross," and then the stage manager says, "That's actually the blocking," I know we have a problem. Don't actors write these things down?)

I did something out of the ordinary when I got home. I opened my mail and Marathon Man had just come from Netflix. Eddie was in his room when I opened my front door, so the main room was empty and beckoning. I reheated some pizza, put my phone in my room, switched on the movie, and sat there for a little over two hours, engrossed in the film. Normally I would go straight to my room, kick off my shoes and surf the web, but because the room was free...

Marathon Man was great. I guess its only Oscar nomination was Laurence Olivier's performance, but I'm not sure why. What a great movie! The screenplay was tight and clever, the direction sure-footed, and Dustin Hoffman's performance was excellent. For that matter, I much preferred Roy Scheider's performance to Olivier's (though, of course, I tend to hate on Olivier more than I ought to.) Thanks for the recommendation, Justin. Sometimes you know how to pick 'em.

I was glad I came home and watched a film. I haven't done that in a while and I needed it. It felt good: like I was taking back something that was mine.