Last night my twins and I wept for most of a flick.
Not Easily Broken is one of the best marriage movies I've seen, because it portrays the erosion, and redemption, of a couple that almost didn't make it. The wife's mother is a black woman who has been deeply hurt by her ex, and that bitterness infects her
daughter Clarice. The husband, David, is a good man, who loves his wife and tries to make a difference for fatherless boys in the black community.
I cried over the cycle that happens too often... her affection for her man slows down to a trickle, he withdraws, she becomes more critical, he gives up. It gave me a vivid picture of what happens when a woman no longer sees her husband as her hero. It dries up his reason for living.
David
resists the attraction he feels for a single mother whose son he is trying to encourage. He is thirsty to be respected, and she willingly gives it. Yet even though his own wife stopped respecting him long ago, he believes in the vows he said before God.
The conversation with my girls was precious to me. Being able to name what was good and what was not felt more important than any interchange we might have about homework or chores.
I
welcome the portrayal of both what went wrong, and the miracle of their renewed love. I learn from seeing both.
