Topic: Alma & Lureen - Unforgettable Female Characters - Your Thoughts?

[*Froggy*]

My favourite "Lureen" scene..and one of the most heart breaking one too!

[pierralex]

I like very much Lureen.
Of course seing Alma crying, her pain and anger touches me, but when I think of the gap between the young Lureen (passionate, full of life, full of hopes) and Lureen in her last scene (bitter, cold, looking like the shade of herself), I feel that her life was really unfulfilled too. She spend 20 years typing on her calculator... and probably spend all her free-time at the hair dresser. :'(

[cara1158]

I like very much Lureen.
Of course seing Alma crying, her pain and anger touches me, but when I think of the gap between the young Lureen (passionate, full of life, full of hopes) and Lureen in her last scene (bitter, cold, looking like the sade of herself), I feel that her life was really unfulfilled too. She spend 20 years typing on her calculator... and probably spend all her free-time at the hair dresser. :'(

One thing I noticed -- maybe it will seem petty -- but, for all her glamour and glitz, fancy clothes, jewelry, Daddy with the $$$$... see the picture just above... her nail polish is chipped!  To my mind, like I say maybe I'm being petty but, it just demonstrates that Lureen is all show, she forgets the small, fine details.  Maybe she just ignores them... As long as she looks rich and pretty at a quick glance, that's enough.  Look any further and you find a woman who is unhappy, depressed, lonely.  I've always thought that, all the years she and Jack were married, on one level she thought she was In Charge, if you know what I mean... she pursued him, she had the rich daddy who got him a job and all, she probably thought he needed her... and on another level maybe she wasn't so sure, she didn't know his friends and didn't understand his 'fishing trips' and so forth.  And then Jack gets killed, maybe she knows why, maybe not.  And the phone call from Ennis confirmed her worst fears... that Jack HAD had a life apart from her... in truth, he had never been hers, really, not at all.  You see the realization hitting her, the tears welling in her eyes.  Her entire marriage had been a facade.

[pierralex]

I like very much Lureen.
Of course seing Alma crying, her pain and anger touches me, but when I think of the gap between the young Lureen (passionate, full of life, full of hopes) and Lureen in her last scene (bitter, cold, looking like the sade of herself), I feel that her life was really unfulfilled too. She spend 20 years typing on her calculator... and probably spend all her free-time at the hair dresser. :'(

One thing I noticed -- maybe it will seem petty -- but, for all her glamour and glitz, fancy clothes, jewelry, Daddy with the $$$$... see the picture just above... her nail polish is chipped!  To my mind, like I say maybe I'm being petty but, it just demonstrates that Lureen is all show, she forgets the small, fine details.  Maybe she just ignores them... As long as she looks rich and pretty at a quick glance, that's enough.  Look any further and you find a woman who is unhappy, depressed, lonely.  I've always thought that, all the years she and Jack were married, on one level she thought she was In Charge, if you know what I mean... she pursued him, she had the rich daddy who got him a job and all, she probably thought he needed her... and on another level maybe she wasn't so sure, she didn't know his friends and didn't understand his 'fishing trips' and so forth.  And then Jack gets killed, maybe she knows why, maybe not.  And the phone call from Ennis confirmed her worst fears... that Jack HAD had a life apart from her... in truth, he had never been hers, really, not at all.  You see the realization hitting her, the tears welling in her eyes.  Her entire marriage had been a facade.

It makes me realize that in a way she's like Ennis : for both of them the most important is the way the society see them. They have to be as they're expected to. In the case of Lureen, to be a good sophisticated and working wife, showing off her whealth. And both Ennis and Lureen aren't happy in their lives, and both become totally involved in their jobs to forget their lack of happiness, puting their family life aside.
To me Lureen's caracter has also a very tragic fate.

[BBBOY]

One thing I noticed -- maybe it will seem petty -- but, for all her glamour and glitz, fancy clothes, jewelry, Daddy with the $$$$... see the picture just above... her nail polish is chipped!  To my mind, like I say maybe I'm being petty but, it just demonstrates that Lureen is all show, she forgets the small, fine details.  Maybe she just ignores them... As long as she looks rich and pretty at a quick glance, that's enough.  Look any further and you find a woman who is unhappy, depressed, lonely.  I've always thought that, all the years she and Jack were married, on one level she thought she was In Charge, if you know what I mean... she pursued him, she had the rich daddy who got him a job and all, she probably thought he needed her... and on another level maybe she wasn't so sure, she didn't know his friends and didn't understand his 'fishing trips' and so forth.  And then Jack gets killed, maybe she knows why, maybe not.  And the phone call from Ennis confirmed her worst fears... that Jack HAD had a life apart from her... in truth, he had never been hers, really, not at all.  You see the realization hitting her, the tears welling in her eyes.  Her entire marriage had been a facade.

It was an incredible performance by Anne and I think you stated exactly what it was all about. Great observation pierralex.

[n061857]

Never thought of any similarity bwtween Ennis and Lureen.  Interesting observation.  In some ways she is very different from Ennis - she is the pursuer, the one in charge, though.   It was sad though when she came to realize what all those fishing trips meant.  I am surprised that she told Ennis BBM was Jack's favorite place.  I wish she would have put more effort into carrying out his wishes, at least before she knew what it meant.

I thought her grief may have caused her to not pay attention to the details - her nails.  However, it would have taken a while for her teeth to get that bad.

[Patriot1]

However, it would have taken a while for her teeth to get that bad.

I am not sure what you mean by this.  What is wrong with Lureen's teeth?

[bram]

I thought her grief may have caused her to not pay attention to the details - her nails.  However, it would have taken a while for her teeth to get that bad.

I think that's what her teeth looked like before Jack died. That's what cigarettes  and coffee do over the years. Her teeth looked like that of any other 39 year old small town Texas lady.

[n061857]

Thanks.  I kind of forgot - this movie is pre-Crest white strips.

[Sunflower79]

I defently agree that Michelle and Ann were good in ther roles..they played the part of  two women in a marriage that didn't work out,, where they once thought there would be love and happinesss turned into bitterness and disappointment. Lureen in the begining was happy, and hopefull and full of spirit and by the end of the movie she was bitter and lonely.  Her entire marriage was a lie in a sense...her husband found happiness and love with someone else..
Alma was also disappointed with her own loveless marriage as well..she wa also deeply hurt and bitter about her husbands true love for someone else. I think both of the characters were very well played. One of the reasons I like this movie so much is that it didn't hide anything and it showed what a loveless marriage is when two people are trapped. When society didicates that a man and women marry and have children and thats it. It also showed what real true love is, and what real commitment is with the love of Jack and Ennis throughout a 20 year period..the whole movie is just wonderful and heartbreaking

[Patriot1]

Did anyone other than me think that Lureen went after and married Jack for reasons other than love?

I mean the book tells us Jack was short, heavy in the haunches and had buck teeth.  Doesn't sound like something a rodeo queen would be interested in.

It is just possible she went after Jack and got pregnant to spite her father, who she didn't particularly like anyway.  Remember her happiness when Jack cut him a new butt at Thanksgiving.

She didn't seem too concerned that Jack was taking off for Wyoming again after all these years, at least not like Alma did.

She didn't really love the kid.  She couldn't care less the kid was dyslexic and couldn't read at 15.

She never seemed to be concerned they never had another kid, possibly because there was nothing going on between her and Jack.

It just seems to me that possibly because the movie had attractive actors we are missing something here.

When you look at the marriage there is just something missing that should be there but isn't .

[Stephen]

I agree, Patriot, with your observations; I do think the film establishes an initial attraction between Jack and Lureen, but of course the relationship sours. It was suggested in another thread that Lureen got accidentally pregnant on that first "date" and thus the marriage.....Lureen, in between the scenes, obviously becomes more disenchanted with the marriage, until, as Jack says, it could be a marriage over the phone!

[BBBOY]

Did anyone other than me think that Lureen went after and married Jack for reasons other than love?

I mean the book tells us Jack was short, heavy in the haunches and had buck teeth.  Doesn't sound like something a rodeo queen would be interested in.

It is just possible she went after Jack and got pregnant to spite her father, who she didn't particularly like anyway.  Remember her happiness when Jack cut him a new butt at Thanksgiving.

She didn't seem too concerned that Jack was taking off for Wyoming again after all these years, at least not like Alma did.

She didn't really love the kid.  She couldn't care less the kid was dyslexic and couldn't read at 15.

She never seemed to be concerned they never had another kid, possibly because there was nothing going on between her and Jack.

It just seems to me that possibly because the movie had attractive actors we are missing something here.

When you look at the marriage there is just something missing that should be there but isn't .

Very good point Patriot1. I wish there were more clues in the story about her. Of all 4 main characters she gets the least of description for us to go on except for the telephone call in the end.

[Valandil Eluch]

Did anyone other than me think that Lureen went after and married Jack for reasons other than love?

I mean the book tells us Jack was short, heavy in the haunches and had buck teeth.  Doesn't sound like something a rodeo queen would be interested in.

It is just possible she went after Jack and got pregnant to spite her father, who she didn't particularly like anyway.  Remember her happiness when Jack cut him a new butt at Thanksgiving.

She didn't seem too concerned that Jack was taking off for Wyoming again after all these years, at least not like Alma did.

She didn't really love the kid.  She couldn't care less the kid was dyslexic and couldn't read at 15.

She never seemed to be concerned they never had another kid, possibly because there was nothing going on between her and Jack.

It just seems to me that possibly because the movie had attractive actors we are missing something here.

When you look at the marriage there is just something missing that should be there but isn't .

That is a good point patriot but well i really love that performance of Ann and Michelle!!!

Alma was the woman that you feel symphathy she looks inocent and cute but throught the movie she changes like cowboycody says she naggs ennis to get what she wants which is not fair. and you know i realized somehting monroe was in love for Alma since the begining his eyes say it all.

Lureen, well to me she is spoil brat that just wanted a toy to get she got inlove of the image of Jack the promising rodeo not Jack Twist she was in love of the fame suddenly married she realized it was not what she expected and hide herself on the numbers.

[coguaro]

Did anyone other than me think that Lureen went after and married Jack for reasons other than love?

I mean the book tells us Jack was short, heavy in the haunches and had buck teeth.  Doesn't sound like something a rodeo queen would be interested in.

It is just possible she went after Jack and got pregnant to spite her father, who she didn't particularly like anyway.  Remember her happiness when Jack cut him a new butt at Thanksgiving.

She didn't seem too concerned that Jack was taking off for Wyoming again after all these years, at least not like Alma did.

She didn't really love the kid.  She couldn't care less the kid was dyslexic and couldn't read at 15.

She never seemed to be concerned they never had another kid, possibly because there was nothing going on between her and Jack.

It just seems to me that possibly because the movie had attractive actors we are missing something here.

When you look at the marriage there is just something missing that should be there but isn't .

I agree Patriot... I always saw a conflict between Lureen and his father... to marry Jack had been a pretext to go against his father (who didn't liked rodeo cowboy) once again. 

Anyway I saw a kind of regret in Lureen tears when she is at the phone with Ennis.... these tears started at moment in which she realize how much love there was between Ennis and his defunct husband...how much, as Alma, she never had been loved.

I consider the proposal to Ennis to bring Jack ashes to BBM as final act of respect for their love.

[Mars]

Did anyone other than me think that Lureen went after and married Jack for reasons other than love?

I mean the book tells us Jack was short, heavy in the haunches and had buck teeth.  Doesn't sound like something a rodeo queen would be interested in.

It is just possible she went after Jack and got pregnant to spite her father, who she didn't particularly like anyway.  Remember her happiness when Jack cut him a new butt at Thanksgiving.

She didn't seem too concerned that Jack was taking off for Wyoming again after all these years, at least not like Alma did.

She didn't really love the kid.  She couldn't care less the kid was dyslexic and couldn't read at 15.

She never seemed to be concerned they never had another kid, possibly because there was nothing going on between her and Jack.

It just seems to me that possibly because the movie had attractive actors we are missing something here.

When you look at the marriage there is just something missing that should be there but isn't .

I agree Patriot... I always saw a conflict between Lureen and his father... to marry Jack had been a pretext to go against his father (who didn't liked rodeo cowboy) once again. 

Anyway I saw a kind of regret in Lureen tears when she is at the phone with Ennis.... these tears started at moment in which she realize how much love there was between Ennis and his defunct husband...how much, as Alma, she never had been loved.

I consider the proposal to Ennis to bring Jack ashes to BBM as final act of respect for their love.

It's my same thought