TO GILLIAN ON HER 37TH BIRTHDAY

(October 1996, U.S.)

TO GILLIAN ON HER 37TH BIRTHDAY is a story about loss, and as I sit and write this blog post, I'm dealing with a loss of my own; the same loss every fan of the Canadian rock band Rush is dealing with upon learning the news of the death of drummer Neil Peart (so naturally, I'm listening to the music of Rush as I write this).

By the time I saw this film when it was released on video, it was the summer of 1997, and I'd just re-opened the beach house in Westhampton Beach that had been in the family for nearly twenty years. I'd always been a sucker for poignant stories that took place on the beach (think SUMMER OF '42, as an example), so my interest was immediate. What I didn't expect was an almost atypical ghost story in the tradition of GHOST (1990), but without the thrills. I was instantly drawn to David Lewis's (played by Peter Gallagher) Nantucket beach house and it's isolation from neighbors and town's hustle and bustle. The beach and the ocean right outside his doorstep was an easy way for him to lose himself in his own private world after the loss of his beautiful wife Gillian (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) two years earlier when she foolishly climbed the mast of their sailboat and fell to her death. David is so affected by her death, that he willingly and knowingly communicates with Gillian's spirit as if she were standing right in front of him, while unwittingly neglecting his daughter Rachel (played by Claire Danes).

During a family weekend gathering, in what's supposed to be the second anniversary celebration of Gillain (who happened to die on her birthday), David's sister in-law and her husband have brought with them a woman they hope will spark a romantic interest in David's heart. No such luck. David ignores her and proceeds with a series of rituals to celebrate his deceased wife's birthday. The events of the weekend prompt the grown-ups to re-examine their own lives and relationships, while Rachel's best friend Cindy (played by Laurie Fortier) has no problem being as provocative as she can, even while showing off her developing body on the beach (sorry, no pictures, as that would be inappropriate due to her character being underage). It's not until Rachel has a very realistic nightmare about her mother that David finally realizes his isolation and self-indulgent fantasies are hurting his daughter, and finally agrees to her moving in with her aunt and uncle permanently. He also comes to realize he must close the beach house and move back to Boston in order to move on with his own life...and above all, to give up the ghost, while not betraying the memory of his beloved wife.

It's easy enough to simply dismiss this film as just another tearjerker that could've easily been a TV movie on the Lifetime network instead of a theatrical release. The story and performances are solid enough (particularly Claire Danes's anguish as the troubled daughter), though hardly worthy of Oscar mentions. The exterior shots of the beach and the ocean offer the traditional sort of moonlight and magic one might expect from such a setting.

Beyond all of this, I suppose the film needs to feel personal to the one who's watching it. As I mentioned, I'm a sucker for beach stories (though I'm not a fan of Bette Midler in BEACHES), particularly it its power to heal painful emotions and experiences (always worked for me). The timing of my seeing this film was effective in that by the time I saw it in 1997, I was alone in the family beach house and struggling with my own painful memories of love lost. However, upon seeing GILLIAN and it's ultimate message of closure, I was inspired to take a daring step in my own life that would bring closure of my own. I contacted a woman I'd once been in love with and had also ended things badly with. After nearly four years of not speaking to each other, I was inspired to reach out to her in order to finally settle my demons with her so that I could finally move on with my life. In a nutshell, my efforts paid off. I settled things, I moved on, and soon met the woman who would one day become my wife.

You see - this is the point I've always tried to make - that movies continue to have the power to inspire us in our own personal lives. They may not be great movies, but if they managed to touch a nerve within us, then they work, nonetheless.

So thank you GILLIAN for touching that nerve within me.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Cindy Bayles: "Live people can't compete with dead ones."