Winslet is Ginny a flawed woman who keeps sabotaging her life. Her story unfolds in the 50's, but not in the cozy and warm environment of Radio Days.
This is a tragedy of almost epic proportions, as hinted by mentions of O'Neil and Shakespeare. The tragedy of a woman, pushed by the circumstances to act in a despicable way.
Surely we always have a choice to behave fairly, but given our flaws, would we really take it?
Ginny feels trapped: she is married with drunkard Humpty, has a sh***y job and a pyromanica son from the previous, failed marriage. The only ray of sunshine is her affair with the younger Mickey.
She dreams of moving in with Mickey, although it is not clear what would happen to her job and her son - but we gather that at least dumping the husband for more pleasant company would be welcomed.
Enters Carolina, Humpty's daughter, and all of Ginny's dreams are shattered. Carolina was married to a gangster and is now a marked woman seeking an hiding place. Inevitably, Caro falls for Mickey setting Ginny's jealousy in motion.
The story does not work well from the gangster's angle. Real gangsters would have checked Humpty's house more carefully and, once discovered the lies, would have eliminated the whole family.
But the focus here is Ginny's story and Winslet delivers. Excellent photography and soundtrack, too.
This is a tragedy of almost epic proportions, as hinted by mentions of O'Neil and Shakespeare. The tragedy of a woman, pushed by the circumstances to act in a despicable way.
Surely we always have a choice to behave fairly, but given our flaws, would we really take it?
Ginny feels trapped: she is married with drunkard Humpty, has a sh***y job and a pyromanica son from the previous, failed marriage. The only ray of sunshine is her affair with the younger Mickey.
She dreams of moving in with Mickey, although it is not clear what would happen to her job and her son - but we gather that at least dumping the husband for more pleasant company would be welcomed.
Enters Carolina, Humpty's daughter, and all of Ginny's dreams are shattered. Carolina was married to a gangster and is now a marked woman seeking an hiding place. Inevitably, Caro falls for Mickey setting Ginny's jealousy in motion.
The story does not work well from the gangster's angle. Real gangsters would have checked Humpty's house more carefully and, once discovered the lies, would have eliminated the whole family.
But the focus here is Ginny's story and Winslet delivers. Excellent photography and soundtrack, too.