THE PLOT THUS FAR
A middle-school math teacher Olive and her relationships with Henry which spans 25 years.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Olive Kitteridge” is a film about interpersonal dynamics and mental illness. Olive has been the debate of whether or not she’s depressed since Elizabeth Strout’s novel first hit shelves. At first, I just thought it was a tale of a cantankerous woman watching her small town through her bias. However, there’s something meaner and sadder to her opinions. Olive really believes that the world is crap and nothing is ever going to change. To be willing to force us to identify with such a depressing central figure is mesmerizing.
Frances McDormand, Richard Jenkins and Bill Murray make this film come to life. While Murray and McDormand balance each other out, the bulk of the film’s reward belongs to Richard Jenkins. Casual viewers couldn’t understand why Jenkins would put up with a woman like Olive. But, his portrayal of Henry shows a man that is willing to look past the obvious for love. Even though, this means getting verbally abused and watching as his son is treated like garbage by his mother during most of his life. People grow and they grow apart, even though Olive has legitimate issues. Henry wants to love Olive so much and you can see his frustrated attempts to push past her illness at ever turn. Eventually, it does get to be too much, but it happens in the real world too. No matter how noble you think you’re being with a difficult person, eventually you want no more.
The DVD comes with no special features. But, it’s a four hour mini-series that tackles a ton of material. The A/V Quality holds up for standard definition. But, the transfer can be a bit muddy at times. It’s worth a rental or stream to the curious.
RELEASE DATE: 02/10/2015