Sideways
HJ Links
—Overview
—Review by Benn Becker
—Review by Darrel Manson
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film pdf file
—Spiritual Connections
I'm not as much of a wine snob as Miles in Sideways (at least I hope I'm not), but I have often enjoyed the ritual wine tasting that is portrayed in the film. I've been to the Santa Ynez Valley and visited many of the same wineries and the wonderful restaurants, so in some ways, Sideways is very familiar. But it's not really about wine tasting and travel.
In Sideways we see Miles and his friend Jack as they head up to Santa Barbara County to have a guys’ week of fun. Miles is a middle school English teacher who wants to write. He has a manuscript for a novel that is being rejected by publishers. He is still trying to bounce back after a divorce. Jack is an aging actor, once a regular (but not a star) on TV, now limited to voice-overs in commercials. Jack is to be married in a week (which is the reason for their trip?a sort of prolonged bachelor party).
It’s not long before we see that these two guys are both struggling in their lives. Miles is depressed and needy. He needs to see himself as a step above the average person. He’s dissatisfied with his life, so he writes unpublishable novels and enjoys being a wine connoisseur. He is in his element while teaching Jack the right way to taste wine. Then he can feel superior.
Jack has his own set of needs. He needs to be recognized. He needs to know that the fame he once had hasn’t passed. He trades off that fame, thinking that those who think that it makes him special actually love him.
While on their trip, they connect with Maya and Stephanie, two local women, one a waitress, the other who works in a wine tasting room. The four of them begin friendships that are wrongly based in Miles’ and Jack’s neediness. The relationships begin to grow?Jack and Stephanie sexually, Miles and Maya more intellectually. But because the men are both essentially selfish (and dishonest), the relationships are doomed.
It should be noted that Jack and Miles behave very badly. As we watch, it doesn’t take long to label both of them as losers (so much so, that it raises a question as to why Stephanie and Maya would be attracted to them), but underneath that, we get a glimpse of vulnerable people who deeply need (as we all do) to be loved.
Getting back to wine tasting. One of the things that I enjoy when visiting wineries is the chance to discover something new and wonderful. Maybe a new winery. Maybe a great bargain. Maybe a special wine? and I’m a sucker for a well-done wine. In Sideways as we visit a few wineries, we discover a wonderful set of metaphors?and I’m also a sucker for a well-done metaphor.
The whole experience of wine tasting can be compared to the building of a relationship. At first we may judge things by their outward appearance as we would consider a wine’s color and clarity. We begin a relationship tentatively as we do with the first experience of breathing in the wine. Then we start looking deeper as when we swirl the wine and smell again. Finally we are ready to drink of the full relationship and discover what is there.
There is a brilliant scene in the film where Miles and Maya are sitting on a porch in what should be developing into a romantic moment. They begin to talk about wine and share a pair of beautiful soliloquies. Miles, when asked why he is so attracted to Pinot Noir, speaks of how frail the grape is and about the care and nurture that it needs before it can become good wine. Maya, when asked what she likes about wine, rhapsodizes about the life of wine and the way it continues to live and change moment by moment. The things they say are true about wine. But as we listen to them, we also know that the things they are saying is not so much about wine as it is about themselves. More, it is also true about the relationship that both of them crave.
As much as I enjoyed this film for the memories it stirred in me of past trips to the same wineries, I enjoy it much more for the way it speaks to our need to enter into life and into relationships in such a way to experience the fullness of our lives.
At their first winery, after Miles has led Jack through all the preliminaries, Jack, growing impatient asks, “When do we drink?� Then Miles says, “Now.�
Drink up.
—Overview
—Review by Benn Becker
—Review by Darrel Manson
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film pdf file
—Spiritual Connections
I'm not as much of a wine snob as Miles in Sideways (at least I hope I'm not), but I have often enjoyed the ritual wine tasting that is portrayed in the film. I've been to the Santa Ynez Valley and visited many of the same wineries and the wonderful restaurants, so in some ways, Sideways is very familiar. But it's not really about wine tasting and travel.
In Sideways we see Miles and his friend Jack as they head up to Santa Barbara County to have a guys’ week of fun. Miles is a middle school English teacher who wants to write. He has a manuscript for a novel that is being rejected by publishers. He is still trying to bounce back after a divorce. Jack is an aging actor, once a regular (but not a star) on TV, now limited to voice-overs in commercials. Jack is to be married in a week (which is the reason for their trip?a sort of prolonged bachelor party).
It’s not long before we see that these two guys are both struggling in their lives. Miles is depressed and needy. He needs to see himself as a step above the average person. He’s dissatisfied with his life, so he writes unpublishable novels and enjoys being a wine connoisseur. He is in his element while teaching Jack the right way to taste wine. Then he can feel superior.Jack has his own set of needs. He needs to be recognized. He needs to know that the fame he once had hasn’t passed. He trades off that fame, thinking that those who think that it makes him special actually love him.
While on their trip, they connect with Maya and Stephanie, two local women, one a waitress, the other who works in a wine tasting room. The four of them begin friendships that are wrongly based in Miles’ and Jack’s neediness. The relationships begin to grow?Jack and Stephanie sexually, Miles and Maya more intellectually. But because the men are both essentially selfish (and dishonest), the relationships are doomed.
It should be noted that Jack and Miles behave very badly. As we watch, it doesn’t take long to label both of them as losers (so much so, that it raises a question as to why Stephanie and Maya would be attracted to them), but underneath that, we get a glimpse of vulnerable people who deeply need (as we all do) to be loved.Getting back to wine tasting. One of the things that I enjoy when visiting wineries is the chance to discover something new and wonderful. Maybe a new winery. Maybe a great bargain. Maybe a special wine? and I’m a sucker for a well-done wine. In Sideways as we visit a few wineries, we discover a wonderful set of metaphors?and I’m also a sucker for a well-done metaphor.
The whole experience of wine tasting can be compared to the building of a relationship. At first we may judge things by their outward appearance as we would consider a wine’s color and clarity. We begin a relationship tentatively as we do with the first experience of breathing in the wine. Then we start looking deeper as when we swirl the wine and smell again. Finally we are ready to drink of the full relationship and discover what is there.
There is a brilliant scene in the film where Miles and Maya are sitting on a porch in what should be developing into a romantic moment. They begin to talk about wine and share a pair of beautiful soliloquies. Miles, when asked why he is so attracted to Pinot Noir, speaks of how frail the grape is and about the care and nurture that it needs before it can become good wine. Maya, when asked what she likes about wine, rhapsodizes about the life of wine and the way it continues to live and change moment by moment. The things they say are true about wine. But as we listen to them, we also know that the things they are saying is not so much about wine as it is about themselves. More, it is also true about the relationship that both of them crave. As much as I enjoyed this film for the memories it stirred in me of past trips to the same wineries, I enjoy it much more for the way it speaks to our need to enter into life and into relationships in such a way to experience the fullness of our lives.
At their first winery, after Miles has led Jack through all the preliminaries, Jack, growing impatient asks, “When do we drink?� Then Miles says, “Now.�
Drink up.
1 Comments:
The Scripture that leapt off the page for me when I think about this film is Philippians 3: 13--But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.... Miles is basically stuck in the mud of his life because he refuses to press forward toward what is ahead. His attraction to Maya...and her reciprocation of those feelings...is a clear road that is ahead. One could easily see Miles packing up and moving to the CA wine country to be with her. But he's stuck in a life of regret. Regret about his unpublished novel. Regret about his divorce and his ex-wife's new happy life. Just plain regret.
I see so much of myself in Miles. I wrestled with insecurity and hopelessness and regret. I even had a best friend in junior high & high school who behaved just like Jack. He had a beautiful girlfriend and everytime he got away from her, he was on the prowl finding some other girl to mess around with. I, like Miles, was left to clean up his messes and cover up for him. I looked at his life as thriving and alive while looking at my own as hopelessly near death. Had our friendship lasted longer to see his wedding day, I would've ditched his reception just like Miles did!
One of my favorite love songs from the 1970's is entitled “A Lonely Man� by The Chi-Lites (their hits include “Oh Girl� and “Have You Seen Her�). The song is a 6 ½ minute lamentation juxtaposing the life of a heartbroken man against the life of the one whose love he lost. The singer waxes poetic about the promises he made towards his loved one; then faces the fact that he let her get away. Ultimately, he realizes that this love is forever lost. Instead of throwing in the towel or making an impassioned plea to win back her love, he makes a bold declaration:
“I’ve got to travel on…down life’s highway…yeah, I’m searching for someone who’s the closest thing to you. Gotta go on….I’m so lonely, but I’ve got to go on…�
My life...as well Miles in this film...hinged upon the understanding of this message. The sooner we can get the nerve to forget those things which are behind and go on with our lives, the sooner our worlds will turn around.
Post a Comment
<< Home