I’m not very interested in my school days and feel no special nostalgia for them. But I remember Sixth Form. In those days, we imagined ourselves as being in a holding pen, waiting to be released into our lives. And when that moment would come, we would be at university. How were we to know that our lives had already begun, and our release would only be to a large holder pen. And in time, a larger holding pen. When you were young, you want your emotions to be like the ones you read about in books. You want them to overturn your life and create a new reality. But as that second hand insists on speeding up and time delivers us all to quickly into middle age, and then old age, that’s when you want something a little milder, don’t you? You want your emotions to support your life as it has become. You want them to tell you that everything is going to be ok.
And is there anything wrong with that?
~ Tony (Jim Broadbent), A Sense of An Ending (2017)
Notes:
- NY Times Movie Review: ‘The Sense of an Ending,’ and the Elusiveness of Truth
- Movie based on Julian Barnes’ book: The Sense of An Ending
- Photo of Jim Broadbent in A Sense of An Ending via Parade.com
Live & Learn 
how interesting the timing. i am watching this very film at this moment as i read your post and type this response.
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Me too!
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what a beautiful film on so many levels. jim broadbent is a magnificent actor, the king of the understated.
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So agree Beth. Loved the movie.
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Now I want to watch it!
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I loved it. Broadbent was magnificent.
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Someone to tell us it’s all going to be OK..the simplest of desires, yet sometimes so damned elusive…
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This is a keeper for me – remaining in my inbox indefinitely, to read and nod and feel comforted by.
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Yes. Encourage you to watch the movie too. https://youtu.be/pYLNTQGpNQ0
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I think it depends on where you are, what you have or have not experienced. Though as you move forward, the desire for wild does diminish to mild status. More towards contentment.
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Yes, the hard pull is towards contentment, yet the chains will not release
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So very true.
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As life moves on, everything is OK if we learn to accept it as such.
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Yes Lulu, only to accept it…
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I had the weirdest dream last night. That it was my 60 th birthday.
I say weird because after an exceptionally beautiful day yesterday, a perfect summer day, I just didn’t want it to end. I woke up in the middle of the night to a sudden peace, sudden stillness. As if everything stopped moving, even the planets. Seriously, it’s like I was sleeping in a moving car that had just gently come to a stop.
I thought about a walk I had with my youngest during the day. Taller than me now. How beautifully independent she has become in so many ways. “Mom, can I teach you how to play the guitar? ”
Then she wasn’t interested in one of my favorites stores, a used book store with a twist. I told her it won’t take long. Then I couldn’t pull her out. She fell in love with the place she’s going again today.
The thing is, the only thing my mind kep on thinking in the middle of the now was, “Ok Sawsan, you’re 44, now what?”
This “Now What?” Is new to me.
What do you mean, “Now What?”
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Wonderful story, thanks for sharing Sawsan…
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What I was saying is that I think last night I was released into a larger holding pen. And I didn’t know what to think or feel. But, it’ll be ok. Right?
😉
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Of course!
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Lives entwined… thoughtless acts… loving and yearning… regret and forgiveness. Moving through our lives towards a gentler ending. 💛🙏💛
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Beautiful stated…
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Love Broadbent. Good post 😊
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I rarely leave a movie unfinished, but this was one. I love Jim Broadbent, but… something… made me take it back to the library. Something pushed my irritation button. Probably nothing to do with the movie. Funny how stuff gets triggered.
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Interesting…
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