And it's the kind that gets under your skin, and even though it was released years and years ago, it came back to me, like, yesterday, especially the cliff-hanging finale... hence the memorable, dramatic quote from the end of the movie above (my blog titles aren't usually quite so melodramatic, please excuse...)
But this movie...
It reeled me in with the mystery, the romance, the redemption... a beautiful tribute to the strength of the human spirit. And once I was totally hooked? The killer-twist of an ending... the pile of Kleenex at my feet was, well...
So, first of all, Spoiler Alert... I can't imagine anyone who hasn't already seen this classic, but, it could be... If that's you, then step away from your electronic device now... cause I just can't help it, we're going there.
To refresh our memories, here's the story:
Set in the aftermath of the Civil War, Jack Sommersby returns home after 6 years to find his plantation and home devastated by the ravages of war.
Jodie Foster plays his wife, Laurel. And we find that their life together before had been a war in itself.
The Jack Sommersby she remembered was a hard man, abusive and mean. The Jack who returned from war was a changed man. Time away, perhaps the war had softened him and he is now a man passionate about restoring his marriage and town. Everyone, including Laurel, are taken by his transformation... And this is the part of the movie that died-in-the-wool romantics simply love... ok, I was smitten, a hopeless romantic I am...
But then, the sinister music starts to play. Nothing good ever happens when that music starts...
Jack is arrested for killing a man somewhere in the past, and the local townsfolk begin to question the identity of this reformed Jack. Could he be an imposter? Laurel has fallen deeply in love with this man and staunchly defends his honor, but even she knows deep down that he is not the same man.
The past comes back to haunt, and the web of lies and deceit soon unravel. Murder charges play out in court. If this man is Jack Sommersby, he will hang. If he is indeed an imposter, he faces the shame of his community and the loss of his land and marriage.
Love and Honor collide, forcing the heart to speak truth.
Laurel begs him to confess and escape death. Jack holds tightly to the love that has grown and believes that to honor that love is more important than life itself.
He refuses to confess that he is an imposter. He is ordered to hang for his crime.
And this is where the crying began. I just couldn't believe they would hang him... Seriously, wasn't some super hero on a white horse going to come in and rescue him at the last minute? And then, happily ever after??
I kept waiting... the Kleenex pile growing... no white knight... no super hero...
Just a rope. And a man.
The Judge gave Jack and Laurel one final moment together, and the agony in that conversation simply haunts...
Jack says, "...if I know you'll be there with me, I can do this thing right."
In anguish, Laurel replies, "Please don't ask that. I can't. I will not watch you die!"
They lead Jack off to the gallows and Laurel fades away into the crowd.
In panic, as they begin to drape a hood over his head, he calls for her. The voice is raw.
Through tears that have swamped the last of the Kleenex, we see her turn back. Jack steadies himself with her presence...
And he is hung.
Who makes movies like that??? I was traumatized for days, well, years, really, because I just relived it all again tonight.
And yet, that movie got one thing right, well, maybe two...
There is incredible resilience and strength in the human spirit.
And Jack knew that if "you'll be there with me, I can do this thing right."
We need each other. During the joys of life as well as the heartaches. And to be sure, this cancer journey is filled with more than it's share of heartache.
If you'll be there with me, I can do this thing right...
We have that promise to hold onto every step of this journey, for Grace has pledged
"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
~ Matthew 28:20
We can do this thing right. Our rescue truly arrives in time... Always.
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