Stepford Wives

I managed to watch this movie on Cinemax channel and some poignant thoughts struck me in the midst of watching it.

Compromise is the key to maintaining a relationship. By putting yourself in the shoes of your partner, you will understand why he reacts in certain situations and by meeting his needs, peace is attained. This was the result of the big quarrel Joanna and Walter had late in the night.

As she sacrificed her intellect out of love for him at the Men's Association, she asked Mike if the wives could tell their husbands that they love them. He proudly said that they could say it in various languages. She then asked the ultimate question as to whether they could say it and mean it. That was a heartfelt scene played out beautifully by Nicole Kidman. When you relate to people you care about, you must be sincere in how you communicate with them.

Close to the end, all is revealed when Walter confessed that he couldn't bring himself to change Joanna. That proved he truly loved her and her love was reciprocated. He wasn't selfish like the other husbands. The tragedy is played out when Claire revealed her hidden secret of having been betrayed by her husband and then plotting that devious plan to have a town of robots. It is further intensified when she committed suicide by kissing Mike after he was destroyed by Joanna. This is also another form of true love.

The movie scared me because humans in a relationship want the perfect partner for themselves and will do anything to attain that. In this movie, the essentiality of human nature is sacrificed for artificial flawlessness. This want is deemed as the definition of domestic happiness. The basic conclusion is that the dominance of self leads to the loss of the true self within.