Am I the bad guy? (Those of you who have watched The Love Witch)
I was feeling sick and couldn’t sleep last night so I ended up putting on “the love witch.” I didn’t know what to expect, and at first I couldn’t decide if I was watching a bad art film or soft core porn or what. I noticed a few things while I watched that felt like a punch in the gut, the trauma history, the resentment when she said “nobody came when I was crying my heart out.” The repulsion with emotional intimacy, the way she loses interest when men return her affection, the way her ex’s face was transposed over Wayne’s face, her entire relationship with sex, love, and self- the institutional authority asking for perfect love and perfect trust who left her feeling violated. The way the cop looks at her at the end, the dream sequence. Even the religious zeal as a coping mechanism. I couldn’t sleep that night, scenes and phrases from the movie kept playing in my head, the whole movie could have been written and directed by my own subconscious. I am Elaine, it practically told my whole life story up to now, and she is a villain. The way he looks at her at the end, knowing who she is, was deserved. If that’s me, what am I?