The Big Chill leaves a different impression 27 years after its release. The cast included soon-to-be stars Glen Close, Kevin Kline, William Hurt, Tom Berenger, Jeff Goldblum, JoBeth Williams and Meg Tilly. It struck a chord with thirty-something baby boomers who related to the friendship, casual drug use, sexual disinhibition, differences between friends after years of traveling different paths, and the love of Motown music.
The college classmates are suddenly reunited when one of their group slashes his wrists and dies. The opening scene shows a man being dressed - by an undertaker. It's the sole appearance by Kevin Costner, whose face isn't shown and whose other scenes were cut by the director. The group buries its friend and decides to stay together for the weekend.
The world was turbulent fifteen years earlier when they were in school with war, riots and assassinations. Protests, terrorist acts, the sexual revolution and drug use challenged "The Machine" and "The Man." Like the characters in The Big Chill, many moviegoers had participated in demonstrations, gone to Vietnam, been told not to trust anyone over 30 and naively believed that their self-proclaimed moral superiority - and sheer numbers - would transform the world.
It went without notice that there was a dearth of good ideas about what to turn it into.
The deceased character, Alex, was the only rebel who didn't assimilate into society like the lawyer, businessman, journalist, housewives, actor and radio host. His demise provoked reflection and introspection about the pragmatic roles they had assumed after jettisoning their idealism.
It's an entertaining movie, but today it just seems to be self-absorbed navel gazing. One thing is clear: despite their material successes these are empty people who have no idea where to turn for fulfillment. When the film ends they're reflexively destined to climb back on their respective treadmills.
At one point Alex's young girlfriend Chloe is asked about happiness. She responds, "I haven't met that many happy people. How do they act?" If she had visited my church or one of thousands of other Christian churches, she would have known. She would have known because faith provides the hope and direction that secular life doesn't and it changes the lives of people who lack meaning, solid moral standards and hope for a future that transcends material wealth.
At the funeral a friend played Alex's favorite tune, "You Can't Always Get What You Want." It's great, especially the way the organ music transitions into the french horn as the Rolling Stones sing the original. What do we want? Wealth? Status? Power? Alex apparently rejected all of these, searched for something else, found nothing and terminated his pointless life. If he had found Christ his life would have had a purpose and Chloe would have known what a happy person looked like.
Maybe The Big Chill is what happens to a soul when spirituality succumbs to emptiness.
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Great post Chet!! Maybe they should make a sequel, where Chloe and the others find God :-)
ReplyDeleteI found faith in my fifties and know many others who have, too. My guess is that at least some of those characters would have figured it out as well and a sequel like that would reflect what really happens in people's lives. Great idea, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for it!
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