Let me start with announcing that I totally lost my idea of what a typical Oscar movie is. I used to belie it had to be a stereotypical Hollywood cliche, or have a “good” and serious theme. But apparently I was wrong. This realization came over me when God of Love, the one of all the action short film nominees I said “can’t win” took home this years Oscar. Whit this chocking piece of news still fresh in mind, it was with no expectation I sat down to watch the winner of this same Oscar category, class of 2005. Let me present to you, Wasp.
When the first thing you see on the screen is a young woman, barefoot and dirty, running down the stairs holding a baby, you know this wont be the most pleasant movie experience. When this woman then is followed by three dirty children, and soon a bare baby’s butt fills the screen, you get your confirmation – this 30 minutes will be rough.
Wasp sure did know how to provoke and chock you. The story in a nutshell was the life of a young single mother and her four children, living dirt-poor in a British suburb. When the mother meets an old crush, she decides to meet him at a bar – and leave the kids outside to wait.
If the story sounds depressing now, I warn you, it’s getting worse. There will be kids cursing, eating drunk peoples leftovers, and a baby getting a wasp in his mouth. All this time the mother is trying to live a “normal” life, meeting a man at the bar. Offcourse, this will not work out.
The ending of the film finally brings a little light to the life of this tragic family, but who knows for how long. I guess you got a interesting look into the life you hope no one will have to live with. And I guess there was some hope at the end. All in all, I might understand how Wasp got the price of an Oscar. But then again – who knows what kind of movie that should be.
