Social Distance
Robert Redford. What word comes to your mind when you hear his name? Good looking? Well, yes. Famous? Of course. But this does not describe him well. Sir Robert Redford to be exact—knighted as a venerable actor and director, and widely-known for his iconic role as The Sundance Kid, has been a household name for families across the states. His is synonymous with the movie industry. Changing into athletic gear at the female locker room, female patrons still swoon when his name is mentioned, because they are still smitten. Years after Redford publicly had said, “My rugged good looks are gone,” young girls still take a moment to notice this man and say, “wait, Robert Redford was in this?” He is not any man. He is, after all, Robert Redford. Penned by his biographer as “ferociously ambitious,” Redford has a reputation in Hollywood. What makes Redford different? He is “ferociously ambitious” but is there when it comes to “important matters of the heart.” Ferociously driven man makes seldom time for things, but when it comes to important as this—pertaining to the matters of the heart—that makes a man stand out amongst the rest. Like any strong company that is there for clients—natural disasters, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes; furthermore through economic crises like the Great Depression, recessions, the company that stands apart from the rest is strong and is there. Strong companies follow through. Weak companies fall. You can count on the strong ones. Effeminate is not the word to describe this man. Most ambitious men have been humorously called cold, hard-nosed, predisposed to no- nonsense approach, and that is more the reason beyond his charisma— making him irresistible to female audiences. Respecting him are the young male movie goers. Coming out of movie theaters, you can hear young guys banter when his name comes up, comparing him to other young up-and-rising Hollywood leading stars, but somehow none measure up to a ferociously ambitious Robert Redford.
“You cannot compare (such and such actor) to Redford,” a young twenty-something year old yuppie said, while chatting with his friend, exiting the movie theater that starred another popular Hollywood actor. (The other actor’s name has been omitted) They fall short. Nor do they have his accolade. And this is why: Redford’s resume is solid with a long history in Hollywood and the movie business. As a movie buff, I’ve seen him in starring role in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, The Natural, All The President’s Men, and the lists goes on, to his directing roles— his 1979 Oscar winning directorial Ordinary People, Horse Whisperer, Up Close and Personal, to name a few.
Indecent Proposal stars Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson and Robert Redford. Moore had a good run in the 1990s with some blockbuster movies, roles coming in-and-out, and box-office hits came rolling in to this once busy starlet. The story of Indecent Proposal goes like this: An older, richer man, John comes between young married couple. Jetted off to Vegas for a quick, desperate sum of cash, there, Diana, the wife meets John, acted by Redford. Hit with the economic recession, the real estate market suffers a major blow and the couple is left broke. The young married couple needs cash and needs it fast. Then a man, not any man, but a billionaire comes into the picture, into their lives in Vegas. He offers an indecent proposal to Harrelson’s role of David —one night with his wife for 1 million dollars. One million dollars! Dang. What type of a man would make such a proposal? More importantly, who is fit to play his role and carry it with finesse? What audacity of a stranger to propose such indecent gesture! Who will American audiences respond to and be convinced that, yes, this man can sleep with my wife. Enter Sir Robert Redford. He has aged gracefully since the Sundance Kid, his lines put character in his face, and since he is Redford, American audiences adore him. They like him. They have been his fans.
Redford meets Moore at an upscale women’s designer boutique at the casino, where he sees her trying on formal evening attires —pricey, expensive dresses costing thousands, a hefty price for just one piece of fabric.
“Why don’t you try it on?” Redford said to Moore, his first pick up line. So begins their relationship. A pick up line you would not often hear. Taking time to help Diana in a game of craps, he tips her numbers to pick. And with his sound advice, she wins and wins big-time—betting all her chips. All-in and winning with the magic number seven. The movie goes on and Redford gifts the dress to Diana (so what’s couple of thousand dollars to a billionaire), and the married couple and the billionaire play a game of pool. Now he makes a power move. Sleep with his wife for $1 million. Almost immediately, the husband flat out rejects the indecency of his proposal. Or did he? As David and Diana lay in their hotel room that night, Moore turns to her husband and says, “I think you want me to do it.” She senses his need. It is his need, not hers. Houses are not selling. They need the money. They need to pay their bills. And so begins the spiraling down of their marriage. What can disrupt young love, more so, a marriage of two love birds? Money and the lack of it.
John takes Diana on a helicopter ride to his boat into the deep depths of the sea, far from the casino and David. A billionaire cannot simply drive his lady in a common vehicle; certainly he has to fly her out to a private, intimate spot out in the ocean. There begins their whirlwind romance. But it was just supposed to be for one night only. No, he was not done with her. He liked her the moment he saw her at the clothing boutique. This billionaire is different. (He reveals himself later on in the movie.) Moore does sleep with him out at sea on his boat. It is just sex. No feelings attached. She follows through. And he does also. He delivers the one million dollars. Harrelson is immediately left with angst and regret of his bad decision. He ran and rushed and chased after his wife too late —the helicopter has already taken off from its premise, leaving him standing and watching the helicopter veer out of sight into the ocean, far out of his reach. His wife will soon be taken by another man. He is left with the dark thought of what happened between them, how he was with her. He is left with the deep consequences of his own decision—sharing his wife. He shared his wife—and not with any man—but with a billionaire. That is a threat. A big threat to a man’s ego.
“Was he good?!” Harrelson exclaimed in anger after when they have returned to their home. He finds the billionaire’s business card in her bag, which Diana already has already forgotten. Their marriage suffers—they fight, argue, and ultimately separate. Their scenes become emotionally tumultuous, both Harrelson and Moore are effusive in their emotional range in the movie. Enter Robert Redford, again. Here he is, John, visiting her at school, where she teaches English as a Second Language to adult immigrant students. He takes a seat in class. He has joined the class, knowing she would be here. He even raises his hand in class (being cute like a student) to ask a question. She answers, as a teacher. And here is how she describes her—“Diana is an amazing woman,” announcing to the whole class for everyone else to hear. Convincing her to join him for a ride, they ride. They arrive at a mansion. His mansion. Not knowing it is his property, she shows it to him and then he tells her. Then he shares a story with her —a story of himself as a young boy who used to take a train ride—whereupon he sees a girl, a girl he has been taken in with. But he does not see her legs, or her cleavage, or her clothes. She is buttoned all the way up to her chin, covered up. He gets off the train and just then, she gives him the most incredible smile. A smile and only a smile. After that day, he returns to the same subway at the same time for a chance meeting to see her again. But he never sees her again. And he has thought of her to this day —thirty years since. What women would not be moved by his story? He just opened up to her he does not merely go after every girl . . . that comes along. He thinks of that one girl he missed in the train. Now that is romance. I would say so. Then John asks for a dance. They dance. Thus, begin their romance.
Taking Diana out to all the upscale, exclusive outings, John courts her —the best way. She rides in his limo. Later on, at a charity event outdoors, David finds Diana sitting at a table with John. David asks John to excuse him with his wife. They have been still married to each other. The young married couple talks. Rain falls as they do. Rain pours down hard, and attendees rush in a mayhem out of the rain under a canopy. The charity is left on hold. In the midst of all the noise—sudden change of weather, scattering of people—David and Diana do not have a care in the world amidst the mayhem, remaining lost in each other’s gaze. The rest of the world can be swallowed up by a meteorite and they would not care. They are so engaged with one another — entranced with one another. They are in love. John looks on from the distance and observes the young couple. He notices something important. Diana does not look at him like the way he looks at David. Diana looks at David —really look at him. Diana would never love John the way she loves her husband. And it dawns on John that he cannot have what they have. He has to let her go . . . let Diana go back to David. Meanwhile back at the table, David signs the divorce papers and admits his mistake in Vegas, but said that couples stay with each other because they forgive one another. And he has more to add: John is not a better man than he is, he just has more money. On their limo ride back from the event, John slips in front of Diana, “You were the best of them,” while looking up at the driver, which cues him to engage with him in his playful conversation. Best of what? “The Million Dollar Club,” he said, implying he proposes a million dollar to every women that comes along—as a hobby in his spare time—no significance to his and Diana’s relationship. And so Diana takes his cue. She parts with John and on good terms. But she leaves with class.
Diana takes a bus and returns to the pier —the pier once David had first proposed to her . . . seven years ago. A mist of fog hovers over the pier, setting a gloomy tone to the scene. She goes to the pier to— remember and start all over. Because hers and David’s were a thing to remember, for sure. The saying goes: “If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it was yours to keep. If it doesn’t, it wasn’t yours to begin with.” Looking on as she gets closer to the spot where David proposed to her, she sees that David is . . . already there. He is there —sitting, hovering over —and lost in his thoughts of regret. But they have been in sync. John Barry’s musical score plays in the movie background, setting the emotional overtone of the final scene. This has been an emotional movie. The musical score plays in emotive scenes. Remaining seated on his spot at the bench, Diana takes a seat opposite of David’s. Diana finds a seat parallel to David, with their backs facing each other, and only a wooden divide separates them. She whispers to David, “Have I ever told you I loved you?” Harrelson responds, “Still?” “Always,” Diana replies. Reaching for their hands over the divide, their fingers interlace. Their bond is intact. And their marriage is intact. They have been in David’s words, “invincible.” And they have found their way back to each other once again. That makes their dance effortless. So they do stay together.
Social Distance
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