Nick Cassavetes' "She's so Lovely" (1997): A Superbly Acted, Unconventional Love Story

"She's So Lovely" is the 1997 film from director Nick Cassavetes, written by John Cassavetes and starring Sean Penn as Eddie, Robin Wright as Maureen and John Travolta as Joey. Harry Dean Stanton, Debi Mazar and James Gandolfini co-star.

SPOILERS!

"She's So Lovely" begins with the introduction of Maureen, a seemingly flighty but wild girl who is loyally married to Eddie. Eddie is the husband who keeps disappearing for days on end, but no one knows why. After what felt like 1/4 of the film, we are introduced to Eddie, and witnessing Eddie and Maureen together, we see why their relationship works (Eddie calls her a queen, whereas most men- like Gandolfini's character- treat her like trash).

Not knowing exactly what the film was about pre-viewing, I was shocked during the scene when Eddie shoots the hospital-officer and jumps through the window- I didn't catch on that he was mentally ill; I just thought he had really interesting things to say ("What the f*ck is hair?"...) This disappointed me, as it probably made most viewers completely dismiss his character as a nut for the rest of the film (when without the "crazy" label he was truly charming and sweet, albeit a bit eccentric). Anyway, in hindsight I realize why that scene was needed- to portray to the audience Eddie's mental fragility and build the rest of the story. (Also take note that Eddie didn't start acting "odd" until Gandolfini's character hit him over the head).

On the movie boards, I've read several expectant complaints about the film, namely what moral choices the characters made (Maureen leaving her kids behind so quickly; Joey giving his kid a beer). Yet we watch movies to experience a new perspective on stories that have been told for ages; we watch them (or at least I do) in hopes of being surprised and witnessing something unpredictable.

In this case, we saw a film about love, but not conventional love. Both of these characters were screwed up in their own ways, but they didn't intentionally screw up or abuse each other, which made them a uniquely good couple. A typical Hollywood ending would have been Joey and Eddie fighting it out, then Maureen eventually coming to her senses and staying with Joey and the kids. But she didn't. Maybe after spending time with Eddie she did go back or at least kept in contact with her kids; the audience is left with an open-ended conclusion if you see it from this angle. We also don't see the extent of how Maureen did or didn't change during the time Eddie was institutionalized, but we do see her cutting her wrists, which suggests she is still unhappy and this new life of hers is illusion. Joey claims he found Maureen when she was at her lowest, and he cleaned her up, so perhaps Maureen felt indebted to him but didn't really love him. Or maybe, like Eddie, Maureen just wants to be who she really is, no matter how much chaos results from this.

I loved the ending when the two characters look at each other lovingly, as it reflects what true love can be- not settling down for the person who buys you a new life, and not breaking away from a true love because of ties to children, work, etc.

As mentioned previously, I also enjoyed how Sean Penn's character didn't show up on camera right away- Robin Wright was the star here, and her acting was excellent.

Overall, a semi-short but interesting film. Now all I need is the official recipe for a Siberian Mist.