The Upside of Anger

The past weekend we watched the movie "The Upside of Anger". In the beginning the movie felt like it was not a well "put together" film. The movie consists of a mother and her four daughters and their emotional ups and downs through a family crisis.

We initially see the family coming to grips with the loss of the man of the house. Joan Allen the protagonist (mother) is a highly strung lady and moves around constantly with a drink in her hand. She holds the drink in her hand like it is her defense to handle the emotional turmoil going on around her. The girls seem in pretty good shape, some sympathetic to the mother's situation while some believing her to be the cause for the situation. Amidst this we see ‘Kevin Costner" as the new lover and drinking buddy for the heroine. He is a successful ex- baseball player who is now a radio host. He is shown to have always had a soft corner for the heroine and in this time of crisis acts as the friendly shoulder to lean on. He tries to bring in cheer into the family. The heroine on the other hand is for the most part unkind to him. The daughters are trying to move on in life but do not find adequate support from the mother. The movie has a few fun moments and a couple of scenes where anger just shows up explosively and unexpectedly.

After a few interesting twists and turns, the movie really shows how anger can be built up without adequate reasoning. Bitterness becomes all powering. It is enough to influence the daughters as well. The end of the movie is quite unexpected and just goes to show how much anger can harm everyone. The movie successfully conveys how making assumptions from insufficient information can lead to disastrous results. The movie actually points out another important point and that is how we human beings actually thrive in misery. It is considered a more desirable state than striving for happiness. The best dialogue of the movie comes from the youngest daughter and it is so true.

Anger and resentment can stop you in your tracks.
That's what I know now. It needs nothing to burn but the air and the life that it swallows and smothers.
It's real, though.. the fury, even when it isn't.
It can change you...
turn you...
mold you and shape you
into someone you're not.
The only upside
to anger, then...
is the person you become....hopefully someone
that wakes up one day and realizes they're not afraid of its journey,
someone that knows
that the truth is, at best,a partially told story.
That anger, like growth,
comes in spurts and fits
and in its wake,
leaves a new chance
at acceptance
and the promise
of calm.