FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness is a powerful emotion. Recent examples: the Sandy Hook Commemoration and then I saw a powerful instance of forgiveness coming from the Amish Community to a mother whose son had killed eight innocent girls. 

And, then by chance, I ran across this movie, never even heard of it. “The High Cost of Living.” A drug dealer while dispensing his goods, takes a wrong turn, runs over a pregnant woman, hailing a taxi to go to the hospital. His sorry life is upended. He stops, calls for help but leaves: a hit and run. The pregnant woman has a concussion and also loses her baby. Her world collapses. As she unravels, Henry, the drug dealer gets involved with her. The drug dealer, played by Zack Braff, tries to come to terms with what he’s done. He gives her a safe place to “BE,” waits on the victim of his crime, is powerfully tender. Her marriage was in the pits long before the horrendous crime. 

Eventually, Henry’s world comes apart totally. He runs but his whole life has been affected and he returns to the woman and confesses. She, in essence, beats him into the ground as well she should. He refuses to accept her condemnation and she, in her way, forgives. He turns himself into the police. We are left wondering what happens and to make up our own story. 

Yes, the powerful emotion of forgiveness overwhelms almost. A powerful movie. I had never of it and can understand why it didn’t get much play. Not a feel good movie, no Hollywoodish bullshit. This is a thinking movie and why I love movies like this. In fact, to be honest it brought up a lot of soul searching. Am I troubled by the “forgiveness issue?” F..king A. “Yes sir ree bob,” as we say in the South. I have had a little experience in the area. One I can easily share is when I decided to seek out all my former girlfriends that I had done wrong and asked forgiveness. What had I done? Mainly to profess love when I was by nature an awful womanizer to use an anachronism. There were about six. It was delicate. They were all into their own lives and I was probably merely a bleep on their radar screen. But, I figured it out and ask each for forgiveness. To a person they said. “Forget it, we were just kids.” Did it make me feel better? I think so but not sure. Are there others? Yes, but way to delicate and complicated. In the movie, Henry had to ask forgiveness and rightly said, “he had to do it for himself.” For victims of awful atrocities like the Sandy Hook massacre, they too must do it for themselves. God bless them.