Reviews

I liked the basic concept of a white guy who gets connected to an older black man who becomes a father figure. The main problem was that I didn't believe the black man and his daughter would forgive him or accept him after the truth came out about his racist attitudes and behavior. I'm white and I won't tolerate a racist white guy like that so I know that if I was black I would definitely not tolerate a racist white guy in my life.

I also found it hard to believe that the white guy was able to have some non-racist attitudes and behaviors and then at other times horribly racist and oblivious attitudes and behaviors. Like when he blurts out all the racist ideas at the table full of black folks at the mayor's gala. How could he be that oblivious to his offensiveness? I guess there can be people like that but it seemed weird that no one confronted him and said something like "Hey, you're an educated guy, you're a writer, why the hell do you think things like that and say things like that?"

And why didn't the daughter and father discuss the guy's racism when they were alone? I feel like there needed to be a scene where they said something like "Hey, we like some things about this guy but gee, he's a horrible racist and that's just unacceptable!"

I guess people should see it for themselves. The white guy was an alcoholic so that was definitely part of his problem but not an excuse in my opinion.

No psychiatrist would introduce himself or a family member to a family member of a patient who committed suicide. That's so basic to ethics and malpractice liabilities that I don't understand why any writer got this storyline approved. Boundaries in mental health are critical to the work so I wouldn't see this film due to this breach of professional practice.

The shock of seeing the D.C. women's mouths sewn shut underneath their silencing red cloths was one of the scariest things I've seen so far on this show (and there have been plenty other shocking scary things done to the women on this show). That image will stay with me forever as a symbol of what the religious right wants to do.

The other really frightening thing was seeing the Lincoln Memorial with Lincoln's head and upper body destroyed. Plus the huge cross erected on the D.C. Mall, showing that the theocracy had taken over the Capitol. It was like seeing my worst nightmare unfolding. And unfortunately, it seems like it really could happen someday soon with the current administration. This episode hit me in the pit of my stomach as a foreshadowing of the future. I hope we can prevent this kind of thing from actually happening.

Helen Mirren does a good job of portraying a wife and mother who has depression. Beau Bridges is also good as the clueless husband who means well but just doesn't get what his wife needs and wants. Kyra Sedgewick has the hardest job of acting and she shows her range of ability in so many different emotions throughout the film. It certainly was believable that she is taken by surprise when Helen Mirren falls in love with her. It was clear to me that she thought of the Helen Mirren character as a mother figure. I was glad that she wasn't freaked out and was able to share a warm goodbye when they parted.

My main criticism was the ending and the title. Losing Chase implies death and I kept expecting that through the film. I don't know if that was intentional or not but I felt confused at the end when that didn't happen. Also, the voiceover at the end was Helen Mirren but it would have made more sense to have Kyra Sedgewick do the final summation about how she lost Chase. Helen Mirren doing the final narration made me feel the title should have been Losing Elizabeth.