Little Fires Everywhere by Reese Witherspoon
Little Fires Everywhere: An ode to motherhood or a miscast wreck?
Never have I ever started to write a review and not actually know where to start from. I really don’t. One thing for sure though — I really wanna become Reese Witherspoon when I grow up. I know I won’t. I don’t have the stamina, determination, and strength of character like her but I still do want to. She’s a phenomenal filmmaker. Yes, filmmaker.
Little Fires Everywhere is about motherhood above all else. I don’t know what that is but I have opinions. Had.
As is the case with Gone Girl, Wild, Big Little Lies and The Morning Show — I think everyone should see this. It’s short — 7 episodes. It’s a mini-series based on a book, so won’t have a second season. Definitely have a sip.
Who’s a mother? How to be the best mother you can be? Is it the person who carries the child? Is it the person who didn’t carry but took care and raised? Maybe the one who gives the child everything in forms of “things”? Money? Education? I’m literally brainfucked.
In some sense, I think this was a little miscast as far as Kerry Washington goes but at the end I’m not even sure about that. I was annoyed with her over-the-top acting at first but maybe that was what was needed to create a conflict.
There’s not a single GOOD character here. And neither is there a BAD one. They all did fucked up things but somehow you grow to understand the reasons behind. Every perspective. What I like about the movies Reese produces is that what was traditionally a male thing — she makes universal. In her movies women are fucked up, conflicting, hard, complicated and have double standards. They are not these simple, cute, good ones anymore. They have never been.
I love how they touched the premise of being a perfect child for your parent — attending Ivy-League school, having the perfect boyfriend, helping with chores against the artsy, gay, tomboy, conflicting one. And how they touch that both those children do some stuff right and some wrong. Love how they touch the premise of pressure. Love how they touched the premise of leaving behind a career and a guy you love to have the PERFECT family with 4 kids, 4th of which you didn’t want. Love how they touch the premise of the good guy vs the bad guy and where good guys are usually bitter, self-absorbed bad guys in disguise who think that if they are not “cool” but smart, other smart girls should pick them. The premise of getting an abortion when you’re a teenager and not being able to tell your parents. The stress of getting into an Ivy-League school where they want you to have smth extraordinary done or done to you by the time you’re 17. The premise of love as conflicting as it may be. And motherhood. There are very few topics they didn’t touch here.
The only few issues I might have with LFE is the acting of Kerry Washington and some over-the-top things the characters do. Sometimes they go too far. I don’t know that in real life people cross that line that easily.
— — — SPOILERS — — —
My personal take was that I got Elena’s point of view and the reasons behind her actions most. I actually liked her the most. Yeah, she’s conflicted and all but still. They make a monster out of her in the end. I really didn’t like the fact they tried to make her the bad guy. I didn’t like Mia and her romanticization of being poor and artsy. She did a lot of bad things in the past. Hated that Bebe stole her child, I mean wtf? Moody was the worst to me, he acted as if Pearl belonged to him as they are both misfits. Izzy got on my nerves the most, she was really acting out. But in the end, I think, they all just wanted to be loved and understood. They are all human.
Check out this amazing intro. Really captivating.