Film Friday Theme: Reality and Weakness
Bible refs: 2 Corinthians 12 vv 7-10; 1 Timothy 1 vv 15&16
Similar clips: Regarding Henry – What are your bad knees?
Location of clip: 1hr 6 mins and 40 secs to 1hr 8 mins and 30 secs
Warning: This clip contains one barely distinguishable swearword
Film Description:
Bridget Jones is 31, single and lonely. She keeps a diary and monitors her cigarettes, calories and conquests. She resolves to improve her life – but it all goes badly wrong when she falls for her boss, Daniel Cleaver. Cleaver is a womaniser and a general wide boy and before long it becomes clear that he’s playing fast and loose with Bridget’s heart. In the meantime Bridget is nurturing a growing disgust for family friend Mark Darcy, whom she greatly distrusts. What she doesn’t realise is that Darcy is actually a nice guy – and one who is slowly falling in love with her.
Clip description:
It’s crunch time – Darcy and Cleaver are fisting it out on the pavement. They hate each other and both want Bridget for themselves. They fight like big girls, with much leg flailing and hair pulling. They are not fighting like Clint Eastwood or Tom Cruise. These are men who are not well versed in the art of street fighting. There is a great moment when the fight invades a nearby restaurant and they stop throwing punches in order to sing Happy Birthday. Only in Britain.
Thoughts:
Life is rarely like the movies really. If you’re depressed on screen then Simon and Garfunkel, or Coldplay will be playing softly and perfectly in sync in the background. If you’re happy you’ll be able to run up to total strangers and kiss them. If you’re leg hurts you’ll be able to accurately diagnose that it’s broken. At night when you put the light out the dark always has a nice blue tint to it. When you fight someone you’ll be able to deliver jackhammer punches that will always find their mark and never break your hand.
Except in this movie.
Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver attempt to fight like men and end up flailing about desperately trying to do each other damage.
So much of my Christian life feels like this – flailing about in the dark, trying to swing punches and triumph over disaster – and much of the time I look completely ridiculous. I try and pretend I’m together, I’m cool and I have a confident Christian life. But the opposite is true. I could well put my hand up with Paul and proclaim, “Look at me –I’m the biggest sinner around.”
Thank goodness that God uses us in our mess and weakness – because I have that stuff in spades. How about you?
Questions:
1. Ever feel like you make a mess of your ‘Christian’ life? Do you think of part of your life as ‘Christian’?
2. There is much talk about triumphant Christian living. I know of no one who lives this kind of life. In fact I believe it’s an unreal, idealised view of life. What do you think?
3. After seven chapters of encouraging the Romans to live well, Paul confessed he was a big sinner. His response was then to say, “Thanks be to God, because Jesus helps me.” How does he help you with your failure and brokenness?
4. Can we be more honest about our muddled lives?
5. Did the clip make you think about anything else?
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