Friends, I wouldn’t have imagined hearing Sissy Spacek saying “If you can’t handle it, stop drinking your daughter’s urine, you oddball!”, but now that I have, I can honestly say it was quite a delightful surprise.
As I step onto the screen as Gail, Molly’s mother, it becomes clear that my arrival is the spark that sets Molly’s hidden pain ablaze. With a combined 11 Academy Award nominations, Michelle Williams and I have proven ourselves adept at navigating both drama and comedy. Our on-screen chemistry is electrifying. When Gail finally makes her grand entrance, it becomes evident that she deeply cares for Molly, but she’s not the warm and tender mother one might expect. It isn’t Gail’s fault that she wasn’t there when Molly needed her most – Molly never told her about the cancer returning. However, upon arrival, I unleash a storm of upheaval in Molly’s life.
It’s well-known that a significant conflict arose between mother and daughter following an instance where Gail’s boyfriend sexually abused Molly at age 7. However, it’s also evident that there were problems in their communication long before this tragic event. At a young age, Gail placed a lot of responsibility on Molly, making her both emotionally and possibly physically responsible for her mother, who was dealing with addiction and mental health challenges. This dynamic has shaped all subsequent relationships in Molly’s life. Neither woman has managed to break free from these harmful patterns of behavior, which means they’ve never been able to discuss the sexual assault in a constructive or healing manner. As a result, when Gail arrives, she brings along a lot of emotional baggage.
On the very day when Nikki can’t accompany Molly to chemotherapy, Gail steps in, yet this coincidence leads to significant issues. It appears that Molly is hesitant to upset the peace and desires a nurturing bond with her mother, but it’s also evident that she holds deep resentment towards her. As they wait for their turn in the chemo room, Molly’s thoughts are filled with bitterness, such as “You once sent me to school with just a hot-dog bun for lunch,” she thinks to herself. Essentially, Gail is more of a source of clumsy disarray than help, despite her good intentions. She often prioritizes her own agendas and comfort over what Molly truly desires or requires.
During chemotherapy sessions, Molly finds herself increasingly overwhelmed as more and more individuals, invited by Gail without consulting Molly, start appearing unannounced. First, an unfamiliar cousin arrives as part of a meal delivery, offering a dish that Molly can’t consume. Next, Steve enters with a bag of bagels and cream cheese, accompanied by his new girlfriend for added entertainment. (It seems these visitors might be unaware of the appropriate etiquette regarding meal trains.) The situation worsens, putting a strain on Molly’s healing process. To cope, she burrows deeper beneath her cozy knitted blanket, undergoing treatment while feeling distressed and alone, frantically texting Nikki for support. When Nikki doesn’t respond, Molly invites a recent romantic interest, often referred to as her “pet” – an individual who shares a unique preference for dressing up in dog costumes and engaging in role-play activities – to join her for a shock effect, seeking comfort in the most unexpected ways.
In my perspective as a movie critic, Nikki finds herself torn between her unwavering loyalty towards Molly and the bond she shares with Noah. Despite being under the influence of post-dental surgery drugs, Molly is all that occupies her thoughts. However, Noah, understanding her predicament, decides to give her some space by switching off her phone for a day. Yet, this small act of deception ultimately leads to their breakup.
Nikki is a devoted friend indeed, but her fixation on Molly seems to be costing her other valuable aspects of life. Is the sacrifice worth it? Nikki herself seems to believe so.
In this scenario, Molly holds a significant role in decision-making. During her chemotherapy ordeal, her pet offers comfort, and later, Molly grants one of his most desired wishes – being urinated on. The visual of the pet positioned at the bottom of a bathtub with Molly’s leg resting on one side, as she directs her urine stream onto him, is quite striking. This scene suggests that Molly takes pleasure in fulfilling others’ desires but remains hesitant to express or seek her own needs.
In my own words as a fan, I might rephrase it like this:
I burst into Molly’s apartment during an unexpected moment, the golden hour, and confront her about something that left us both taken aback. It turned out that Molly had unknowingly peed on our dear pet after her chemotherapy sessions. This fact, though it happened while I was right there with them, seemed to have escaped his notice. The incident caused quite a stir, and we found ourselves in a predicament when we couldn’t undo the pet’s collar. In a moment of desperation, Molly had to call her neighbor for help. It was during this chaotic scene that Gail let slip Molly’s diagnosis – cancer. After everyone had left, Molly and I were left to deal with the aftermath, which led to an intense confrontation between us.
In simpler terms, Molly shares with her mother that she feels damaged in her presence. She’s struggling to articulate her feelings due to “chemo brain,” but they both reveal some painful truths. For Gail, Molly’s sexual assault was a challenging period in her life, indicating that she hasn’t fully grasped the impact it had on Molly. In a heart-wrenching revelation, Gail admits, “I let him ruin you.” On the other hand, Molly admits to liking the man who chose her over her mother and even witnessed him putting something in her mom’s drink without speaking up about it. This conversation reveals that Molly holds herself responsible for the traumatic encounter, a realization that leaves a profound impact.
After Gail departs, Molly heads back into her apartment building, where Neighbor Man is already there. She approaches the door with a touch of shyness, delicately pressing her nose against the window and then glancing around the corner. They discuss Molly’s predicament – she doesn’t want their relationship to become a sad romance – and all he requests is that she occasionally gives him a gentle nudge. Gratefully, Molly accepts his request.
Molly’s connection with her Neighbor, whom I’ll refer to as ‘Guy’, has been a complicated one for her ever since their elevator encounter. They’ve shared intimate moments, he’s confided in her about his troubled past, yet she hasn’t disclosed her cancer diagnosis to him. She admires him and fears getting too close. However, when Gail accidentally spills the beans, Molly decides to fully invest herself. One day, during their playful interactions, she reveals her desire to him. This is a first for her – she’s never climaxed with anyone else before, and she expresses her wish to experience it with him. Guy is thrilled by this revelation.
The story begins with Molly rekindling her intimate relationship with Guy, a man who holds a special place in her heart. They celebrate Thanksgiving together, incorporating a unique experience involving butt plugs. However, as Guy slowly discovers more of Molly’s body, she is troubled by memories of past trauma. Despite finding a companion willing to embark on this journey with her, the ghosts of her past resurface whenever pleasure threatens. Each time, an invisible figure resembling her abuser emerges, a chilling reminder of how her initial sexual encounter and first declaration of love were tainted by abuse. Caught in a state of heightened alertness, she finds it difficult to relax. Yet, she remains determined to move forward.
In the cancer support group, Sonya is experimenting with an innovative approach. To start, she asks everyone to write about something they fear. Molly manages to tackle this initial task. As she pens down her memories, she grapples with her recollections, envisioning her numb 7-year-old self hiding behind the shower curtain in the bathtub. This interaction between Molly and her younger self reveals that her emotional growth was halted in many aspects at that age, yet it also hints at a sense of responsibility she feels for addressing the emotional turmoil this experience has left her with. How does she aim to rectify the emotional state of her 7-year-old self?
Molly ponders if speaking her memories out loud could heal her, but it doesn’t. Eventually, Sonya proceeds with the next phase of the treatment. She invites group members to express themselves physically as someone else reads their narratives aloud. At first, the group finds this strange, but one woman soon participates. As she wriggles and twirls, she feels a release, liberating the stress and tension that her words and thoughts had confined within her ill body. While such treatments aren’t a universal solution, the concept of physical movement releasing suppressed reactions within the body is emphasized in certain trauma-focused therapies. In fact, one aspect of the Trauma Resiliency Model centers around “completing survival responses,” which helps individuals physically act out how they might have wanted to or did during a traumatic event. By the end, it’s clear that Molly has incorporated this kind of response in her exercise.
Initially, Molly demonstrates significant reluctance towards the physical aspect of Sonya’s suggestion, which I often observe in my therapy practice. In our modern, intellectually-focused culture, we don’t typically value connecting with our bodies on an emotional level. Expressing ourselves physically can evoke feelings of vulnerability or fear of judgment and humiliation. Yet, under the right conditions, a physical release can be incredibly liberating. Unfortunately, Molly doesn’t have the opportunity to address these apprehensions in her group session due to a medical issue – she has deep-vein thrombosis, requiring a lengthy hospital stay over Christmas.
This bodily obstacle has a psychological impact on Molly too. Her aim was to achieve climax by Christmas, but now she feels like she’s fallen short. Instead of reaching out to her loving friends Nikki and Guy for comfort, she opts to spend New Year’s Eve with a stranger for companionship, which doesn’t turn out as planned. Feeling remorseful, she returns to Nikki to make amends.
In this scene, “Dying for Sex” effectively conveys that Molly’s emotional healing is intertwined with her quest for a healing sexual experience. The moment when Molly finds a secure environment to openly discuss her trauma is truly touching. Molly confides in Nikki about her guilt, stating, “I tried to hold his hand, and he told me to stop acting like a child.” Nikki’s response, “And you did. You did stop being a child,” highlights the harsh reality and paves the way for Molly. Instead of verbally reacting to Nikki’s observation, Molly expresses herself through her body movements, allowing it to release what it needs to let go.
In an extraordinary series of actions, Molly physically expresses her emotions through punching, spinning, flailing, gasping, laughing, and dancing – all witnessed by her friend who observes her emotional release. Michelle Williams delivers every gesture and breath convincingly as she fully immerses herself in Molly’s release. The scene may be short, but it raises questions about whether a choreographer guided this sequence or if Williams was simply following her intuition. Regardless of the answer, it is a beautiful demonstration of the benefits we reap when we shift our attention outward and allow the body to participate in the healing process along with the mind.
After a lengthy period, Molly unexpectedly bumps into Guy on the street. It’s puzzling why she hadn’t reached out to him before. They exchanged brief words, with Guy remarking that he rarely saw her outside, and then they parted ways. However, Molly suddenly faints, prompting Guy to dial 911. Both of them ended up on the sidewalk, holding hands, and as they await assistance, they express their deep affection for each other. It appears Molly’s time may be limited, but she might spend it wisely with a heart open to new experiences.
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2025-04-05 01:55