Eye of the beholder

Have you ever watched a film or series and suggested it to a friend? Did you gush about the positives or simply imply it may be of interest to them? Did your friend go on to give the suggested media try? I know many of us have experienced this at least once, with varying levels of success. Maybe you are the friend who received the recommendation?

Granted, our life experiences  can have a broad impact on how we react to events in life. These same experiences can change how a joke comes across or the emotional connection developed with a particular character. In addition, the writing, character archetypes, actor performances, visual effects,  and so on are pieces of a narrative that combine to create a piece of media that all have variables which could be hit or miss.

We watched a film recently where we experienced an anomaly. One I don’t think either of us have encountered before. We sat in the same room and popped the disk into the player. The movie started and by the end, we had watched two completely different stories. In our 65th episode: That Old Time Religion, you can hear the confusion we experienced. How is it possible to have a story with such divergent interpretations? We essentially watched two different movies and frankly, I am not sure how to feel.

I think what confuses me the most, is that we didn’t realize the differences in understanding until well after the film was over. Is this a problem with writing, acting, direction, or editing? By both interpretations the story was coherent, the acting was fine, neither of us really had any complaint. We both thought the movie was good.

Perhaps this was by design. Could the filmmakers have really planned on divergent interpretations of what should be a straightforward plot?

At the end of the day, the differences in interpretation did not change our individual enjoyment of the film. But how would we suggest this film to a friend? Those would be two differing pitches.

Granted, it’s entirely possible I may have misinterpreted a few key points that led to my conclusion and core understanding of the movie. If so, do I get an honorary writing credit or am I losing my mind?

All joking aside, this experience makes me think of video games where there are different endings. I’m curious if on a re-watch, would I see the movie Tia saw? Or would I still see the movie I remember from a week ago?

I guess at this point I will just have to find out. I will update here after the re-watch.