[I was to write this movie+book review in 'pure' English, but wasn't able to express myself decently. For the purpose of not confusing the readers, I wrote it in Chinese as well so that at least they know what I am trying to say.]
有段时间趴在Netflix上没完没了地看电影。大多影片看过也就忘了，连影片和男女主角的名字都记不得。在有数的三五部还记得情节的作品里，最让我唏嘘、让我牵挂纠结的，就是Ethan Frome里的三个小人物的辛酸命运和无奈人生。
Ethan Frome生长在美国东北部的一个贫困山区，十七八岁上父母送他到山外的大学去学习工程，可惜大学才上到二年级，就因为父亲病逝而不得不回乡务农。接着母亲又病倒，不久也去世了。Ethan母亲生病期间，他的远房表姐Zeena搬来帮忙照顾他们的生活。老人去世后，Ethan娶了Zeena. 两个年轻人倒也情投意合，商议着要卖掉农庄，离开穷乡僻壤，到外面去闯世界。可惜这个计划进展并不顺利，更倒霉的是婚后不到两年，Zeena也得了慢性病，渐渐的连做家务和照顾Ethan都成问题。于是远走高飞的梦想从此搁置。这样又过了几年，Zeena的一个远房表妹，二十岁的Mattie, 因父母双亡，家道中落，本人又无存身之技，被亲戚们推来推去，最后两全其美地流落到了Frome家。Mattie做家务虽然很有些笨手笨脚，Zeena也对此常有抱怨，但毕竟多一双手，还是极大地缓解了Zeena的劳动强度。出于对Mattie的同情，Ethan常常帮着干些她份内的事；她每个周末晚上到二里外的镇上参加舞会，Ethan也坚持去接她回家。如此长期相处下来，一来二去的，Mattie对Ethan的感情由感激变成了爱慕。Ethan当时二十八岁，在鲜活的生命对照之下，自己长期卧病，性情古怪、未老先衰的老婆就显得更加不堪忍受了。这一切，Zeena都看在眼里。当她确认自己的感觉可靠之后，就启动了自卫计划。她借口要到娘家看病，出去另找了一个帮佣的女孩，并决绝地命令Mattie第二天就得离开。Ethan想到了带Mattie私奔，可是却连路费都筹不来，同时心内还是放不下Zeena。在送Mattie离开的路上，两个相爱的人终于互吐衷肠。一面是炙烈的激情，一面是绝望的出路，情急之下，他们决定将雪橇对准山坡下的一棵老榆树，撞下去，相拥而死。可是在事故发生前的最后一瞬，Ethan想到了Zeena, 他心一软，手上也出了偏差，雪橇从树侧划过，摔到地上。Ethan瘸了一条腿，Mattie全身都是伤，从此生不如死。事故发生后，Zeena把他们接回家，并担负起照顾Mattie的责任。瘸腿的Ethan，还得颠跛着供养全家。电影结束前的最后一个镜头，是Zeena调整好窗户的光线，扶起卧床的Mattie，为她把书翻好，放到一个特定的位置。而至此，他们已经这样生活了二十四年了。
看这部电影之前，我知道一点儿它的原作Edith Wharton的背景，读过她的Putlizer获奖作品The Age of Innocence. 看过这部影片之后，我深深地爱上了这位生活在一个多世纪以前的女作家，她看问题的角度如此独特，讲故事的水平如此超凡，她笔下的每一个人物都鲜活生动，打动人心。读The Age of Innocence的时候，我一直在想：May知不知道Newland和Ellen之间的感情、她到底知道多少？在书的结尾，作者给出了答案。而在电影Ethan Frome里，Zeena对她丈夫Ethan的变化是一直看在眼里的，可我还有困惑：Zeena心里到底在想什么？这个答案，无论电影还是书里，都没有提及，甚至连足够的暗示都没有。因此作为读者，我只能从她的行动进行猜测。
Be Decisive, Be a Man! -- My Advice to Ethan Frome [part 1/2]
I once watched movies on Netflix everyday for quite a long period of time, and had watched countless number of all sorts of stories, most of which I remembered almost nothing ever since. Among the very few that I still remember, Ethan Frome stands out. I couldn't stop thinking about the miserable fate of the three main characters in the movie even a long time after I watched it.
The story happened in Starkfield, a remote mountainous town in Northeast America. Ethan Frome was born to a farming family there. His parents managed to send him to college to study engineering when he grew up. Unfortunately, he had to drop out and came back home to tend the land when his father died prematurely. Soon, his mother fell seriously ill, and passed away too not very long after that. When Ethan's mother was sick, his cousin Zeena came to live with them, taking care of both of them. After his mother's funeral, Ethan asked Zeena to stay and marry him. And she did. The newly married then planned to sell the farm and move out to a big city. The moving plan didn't go well, and Zeena's falling seriously sick, which happened only one year or so after their marriage, forced them to give up the idea for good. As Zeena's health condition getting worse, they started to need someone to help with the housework. And Zeena's Cousin Mattie, who just lost her bankrupted parents and failed in all efforts to obtain some surviving skills, was introduced to them. Mattie was somewhat slow and clumsy in managing the housework. Zeena had frequent complaints on her, but Ethan tried to help and sometimes he did part of Mattie's work. With time, Mattie gradually built up strong feelings toward Ethan. As a wife, Zeena had always been aware of her hu*****and's behavior ever since Mattie came. When she became sure that something was going to happen, she found a maid to replace Mattie, and demanded Mattie to leave the next day. Ethan was dreadful upon hearing Zeena's decision. He thought of to run away with Mattie, but besides his worrying about Zeena, he wasn't able to even get the money for the trip. On the way driving Mattie to the train station, Ethan accepted Mattie's suicide proposal. They ran a sled downhill, aiming at a huge old elm tree. Right before the last instance, Zeena's image flashed in front of Ethan's eyes and his hands slightly trembled. It ended up Ethan crippled one leg and Mattie became hemiplegia. After the incident, Zeena took them home and they lived together thereafter. Now Zeena took care of Mattie and Ethan struggled to support the whole family with his lame legs. The very last scene in the movie shows Zeena adjusting the light from the window, turning a book and put it to a specific position so that Mattie could read. And that was twenty four years after the crash.
Whenever I recall this story, I couldn't let go of the feeling of sadness and deep sympathy toward the three of them in the movie. And it was this movie that lighted up my admiration to Edith Wharton, the author of Ethan Frome and other novels including The Age of Innocence. Wharton's writing has the charm of forcing the readers into the shoes of the characters, and the power of inducing the readers' thoughts and imagination. While watching the movie and reading the novel Ethan Frome, I thought of Newland Archer in The Age of Innocence every now and then, comparing Ethan against him, and wondered what Zeena and May had had in common. I tried to find if there had been any possible alternative endings if the characters had reacted differently at times.
