Mark Pizzato asks:
"
Unfortunately, we didn't quite get to a discussion of how two female characters
"save" Cole in both time periods: the psychiatrist and the "insurance"
scientist.  I just saw Dead Man Walking and find an intriguing parallel with
Sister Prejean.  Both films (though one radically fictional, the other
disturbingly factual) show men trapped by perverse/ethical systems, who need
women, as romantic, maternal figures, to help them find sanity, ethical
responsibility, and spiritual hope (if not physical freedom).
 
Is this a trend in current film?  Would anyone like to trace precedents?  Does
this popular depiction of a cinematic pieta show a stale archetype, an
oppressive stereotype, or a new power for women in mainstream film?"
 
 
All of the above, I'd say.  Actually, I'm continuing to be amazed at how
 viewers,
critics, and now the Academy have neglected Madeline Stowe's performance in
this film (much better than Willis or the nominated Pitt, I think).
 
One interesting thing about her character is its arc of development, from
skeptical and more-or-less object to passionate commitment and belief.  She
certainly fits into the stereotypical mold of the Nurturing Woman as place
of refuge for the beleagured male, but she's also very good at what she does
(as a character), being able to spot similarities and oddities in data from
across a range of time and finally connect them in a meaningful way.
 
But then we come back to one of the paradoxes toyed with by the film.  Does
such connection really imply insight, or merely paranoia (or are they
at all distinguishable)?
 
She always shows compassion as a character but she almost becomes frightening
when that compassion transforms into radical belief.  And she does miss the
connection of the David Morse character (until the very end?) when he speaks
to her at her book-signing.
 
Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN)
 
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