MOVIE CONVERSATION
Prompt - Movie Conversation : Use a memorable conversation from a favourite movie to inspire your writing
My inspiring film is Harvey.
Evan saved my life. More than that, he gave me a new one. With help from Elwood and Harvey. Which is why I should be giving him his full name, the one he likes to introduce himself by. So this is the story of my good friend and saviour, Evan G Mount.
I met Evan on the bridge. About to jump. Me, not him. He, despite never having met me before, was the one who talked me down, the one to whom I gave all trust I had left in the world. He was the one who changed me. He and his friends.
Evan took me to his place, fed me, listened to me, identified with me. He'd been there, on that bridge. He too had been left by those he had loved. He too had been found by someone who talked him down, restored just enough of his faith in humanity for life to go on. His rescuer had then had him sectioned. He wasn't going to let that happen to me.
I stayed at Evan's that night. He phoned in in the morning to take the day off, made sure I did the same. Then he let me talk. Until there was no talk left in me. And then it was his turn. He spoke slowly, choosing his words empathetically.
"Do you know what really helped me in the end? The one thing that made me look at the world differently, and wanting to find my very own way of understanding it, was a film. An old American black and white movie. A classic I suppose. I'd seen it once when I was young, and it didn't do much for me. But when they finally let me come home from the hospital I turned on the TV, just for the company, and there it was."
I looked at him numbly. But also wondering what came next. He was going to tell me what the film was, wasn't he?
"Have you heard this before George? - I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, and I'm happy, Doctor, I finally won out over it. The quote delivered in a slow, friendly drawl I knew from somewhere.
"I don't think so. What's it about?" I wasn't sure this was going anywhere helpful.
"It's about finding your own version of reality, the one you're happy to live in, and going with it. Maybe not quite like the guy in the movie, because he is an alcoholic, but the principle still works for me. How about this line?" The drawl returned. "There are two ways to live well, you can be smart or pleasant. I've been smart for years, and I recommend pleasant." He looked at me intently, seeking reaction. "That's from the same character. And he's right. I've given on being clever with people, I just try to be nice, and I feel better for it. And so do the other people."
He could see I wasn't convinced. "Look, it can't work for everyone, I know that, but maybe it will do something for you too, or at least give you some ideas where you can look for your own answers. Will you watch it with me?"
I nodded. What else was I going to do? So he put on the film and I waited to see if it had any impact on me.
The intro music was corny, the credits dated. I saw the title, one word - Harvey. And the name of the star, James Stewart. So that was where I knew that drawl from. I'd seen it once before, when I was a child, and couldn't remember much about it. Other than the rabbit of course. Everyone remembers the rabbit.
The opening exchange, between Stewart's Elwood P Dowd and the postman, had me inwardly wincing. "Oh, every day's a beautiful day" says crazy Elwood, and I dreaded the goody-goofy feel that gave, the sense of groundless optimism I'd lost a long time ago, if it had ever been there.
But gradually Dowd's charm, and seeing the way others not only tolerated his eccentricities, but joined in with them, started to get through to me. I began to laugh a little, relax a little, and when I looked across at Evan he smiled.
Tolerance. Of others who are different from ourselves. Kindness. Smiles and good humour and taking life as it comes to you. The lines Evan had quoted came and went and I could see why they had such meaning to him. I too had tried to be smart. But I had never made the effort to be pleasant. Not really. And I'd paid too much attention to what we are told is 'reality'. What we're told is 'normal'.
I wasn't 'normal'. I knew that. And maybe the taxi driver had it right - "After this he'll be a perfectly normal human being - and you know what stinkers they are". The line came out, I looked at Evan, Evan looked at me, and suddenly we couldn't stop laughing. And we both knew that showing me that film, above all others, had been the right thing to do.
I stayed with Evan for a couple of days, and went back into the life I'd known. Except it didn't really look the same any more, and neither did I. And I knew I wouldn't ever return to the place he'd found me in.
I saw Evan again a few days ago, walking in the park and taking in the sights, watching the people, smiling at everyone and paying attention to their dogs and babies. And all the time I checked out the sights around me, amazed at how it all fitted together.
"George" - he always calls me George, because that's my name - "what are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for Harvey, Evan. But there's no hurry. I'll find him one day."
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