One Seat at the Movies

Dear You,

It's Friday night of my Week of Living Alone. With no company, I decided to go to a matinee, seeing a film I'd heard about recently. "Evening" has Vanessa Redgrave, Clare Danes, Natasha Richardson, Meryl Streep . . . others I can't think of as I write this. I love going to the movies with you, but I don't really mind when I have to go by myself. A good movie is a wonderful experience all by itself . . . but it is always enriched when it can be shared.

Sharing this one would have been a particular treat. It's about relationships -- those that we have and those we perhaps wish we had. And it's a movie that might be wasted on someone young.

I've enjoyed many kinds of movies -- thrillers, animations, historical fiction, biographies, documentaries, foreign language . . . I can't think of a film I wouldn't mind seeing. My favorites now, however, are those that explore relationships. And I think that in the end, it's what we come to understand is the most important aspect of our lives.

What I would have enjoyed, had you been there with me, is a conversation about whether or not anything we do because of our hearts is ever a mistake . . . no matter how it turns out.