I read somewhere that the actor, Paul Dano (he always seems to play the bad guy, or misunderstood guy, like in Prisoners and 12 Years A Slave) really liked the Leo McCarey-directed film, Make Way For Tomorrow (1937 Paramount). So I decided to rent it after reading the synopsis.
It's a bit dated, however the challenges of the elderly & family dynamics is still the same, 76 years later. An elderly couple, Barkley & Lucy Cooper (played by Victor Moore & Beulah Bondi, who was actually only 48 when she made this movie), married 50 years, are forced to give up their home because they don't have any savings and are too old to work. But the dilemma is, where to live? They have five adult children but do any of them want to take them in or care for them, without acting like it's a burden? The children actually SPLIT up their parents & have them live in separate homes. I found that pretty heart-breaking & don't think I could ever do that myself.
The Asian culture is different than Western culture. We feel like it's our duty to take care of our parents & wouldn't abandon them. I remember my Mom talking about a woman she knew, dying of cancer. Her son never came to visit her at all. I thought that was so sad. Even if there were some relationship issues, wouldn't you try to make peace with them at the end of your Mom's life?
There are some really sweet moments in Make Way For Tomorrow between the Dad & Mom, especially returning to the hotel in NYC where they spent their honeymoon 50 years ago. But there is no Hollywood ending, which is why it wasn't a successful movie when it came out in 1937. I actually think it was pretty strong of Leo McCarey to stick to his creative guns. Also, life is not all happy endings, is it?
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