MovieChat Forums > The Life Before Her Eyes (2008) Discussion > What motivates Diana (major spoilers!)

What motivates Diana (major spoilers!)

posted 14 years ago by amkatz
6 replies | jump to latest

After reading many of the comments here & re-watching the movie I've come to the conclusion that the filmmakers (along with, apparently, the book's author) give Diana too many reasons to choose to die in place of Maureen & thus dilute some of their own themes, creating ambiguity where none ought to be.

A number of readers have commented about how dysfunctional Diana's projected adult life becomes, largely because of guilt at having survived while her best friend didn't--(unless of course the apparent dysfunction of her adult life owes more to its hypothetical nature than to any survivor guilt on Diana's part). Thus Diana chooses to die because her only alternative is a less than satisfactory life.

Okay.

But why include the quotes about conscience being the voice of God in man, or the heart being the strongest muscle; why recall how much she loved Maureen & how much Maureen loved her ... why emphasize those things if her decision is based simply no not wanting to survive at the cost of someone else?

After all, suppose she'd been caught in the bathroom with total stranger & had indicated to Michael that he kill the stranger ... if guilt is the issue would't her subsequent guilt be nearly as a crippling?

I think the issue is one of conscience & morality. Diana realizes how much she loves Maureen & one of the moral imperatives of love must be the willingness to sacrifice to ensure the well-being of those we love, even to the point of sacrificing our lives to save theirs.

That in my opinion is what motivates & validates Diana's decision to die in place of Maureen. That she also projects an unsatisfactory, dysfunctional survival in place of Maureen seems beside the point. Given her realization about conscience & her feelings about Maureen, it seems clear that her decision would be the same even had she projected a deliriously happy & productive life.

andy

[–] whatbecameofhim 14 years ago

A lot of people seem to want to hang her decision on guilt over her abortion. That to me, makes NO sense.

[–] amkatz 14 years ago

Good point.

I think Diana's lifestyle, abortion included, was depicted to show that even people who have sex, get abortions & use drugs & etoh are perfectly capable of making courageous, moral decisions.

andy

[–] sftony 13 years ago

What's with the 'etoh', fool? Not everyone knows what the hell you are talking about!!

[–] gobears87 13 years ago

'Etoh' might mean alcohol. It's sometimes used as an abbrevation for ethanol in industrial contexts, or alcohol in medical contexts.

[–] aimless-46 13 years ago

Good analysis. Diana only "projects" that she will feel guilt, that her imagined life will be somewhat troubled by a guilty conscience if she does not volunteer (as Maureen has) to be the one shot. Minimizing this guilt gives her no real option but to also volunteer, yet in the end she is actually hoping that she is the one who Michael shoots. Conscience is not what causes her future to become nothing; but conscience is what causes her to scorn her fate, to step back from the terror, and pragmatically interpret her imagined future. During this process Diana slowly realizes that the trauma of the incident will crush whichever one of them survives (like the flowers in the rain), and she has come to believe that her heart is not as strong as Maureen's. Diana believes that it will be impossible after this for her to ever bloom again, but that Maureen might be able to recover. So it becomes a Hobson's choice for Diana, a choice between giving herself up for Maureen or nothing.

The point of all this being that while it may appear that they gave Diana too many reasons to choose to die in place of Maureen, diluted their own themes, and created ambiguity; ultimately it relates to the same redemption theme. I would even argue that this complexity amplifies the theme, as a well-considered sacrifice demonstrates more courage and greater love than an impulsive action. And it introduces a nice irony as Diana's selfless action contradicts her belief that her heart was not that strong.

[–] amkatz 13 years ago

I really appreciate the POV you present here. It really makes sense. Why put all of that into a film if it has no meaning, after all? & I do agree about Diana's sacrifice being considered rather than impulsive was an integral part of the story (hence her initially drawing away from Maureen). I also believe her relative atheism ennobled her decision because she had no assurance of divine reward the way Maureen did.

andy