Thanks for agreeing, Barb, and I should probably just appreciate that, but I also have to take issue with "cold as ice." She sounds very rehearsed, and probably isn't thrilled to hear from Ennis, with good reason. But, as you say, her encouraging him to go see Jack's folks is a truly kind thing to do. I think Alma is WAY more bitter than Lureen. But you're right, she also has more to go on.
And Jeff, your post arrived just as I was about to post this. That is a disturbing experience. What if you wrote back and said, in effect, "HUNH???" and then briefly summarized what you think DOES happen. I don't have any friends who have dismissed the film (mainly because most of my friends have inexplicably not seen it, at least last time I checked). However, I have two or three friends who liked it but only mildly. So I pointed out as many of the amazing things about it as I reasonably could in a short conversation and in each case, I think, their appreciation was deepened. Some people , even intelligent and sensitive people, just aren't attuned to its subtleties and as a result don't get it.
Thanks, Katherine, that's a good suggestion. I guess I've just been so disappointed in, baffled by, and even hurt by his response that I haven't had the heart to respond to his e-mail. Not when it's more fun to discuss the film with people who do "get" it, even when our interpretations vary.
I've somewhat reluctantly had to give up assigning any significance to the "rehearsed" element in Lureen's conversation with Ennis. I've seen it pointed out that she is, after all, Jack's widow and undoubtedly has had to tell that tale many, many times, regardless of whether her story is the truth or a lie. Now here comes Ennis's phone call, presumably a couple of months after the fact, and she has to tell the story all over again.
Barb, I'm sure in the end Will will be very fortunate that you and your husband have been able to come to terms with his problems. I really only mentioned Jack's complaint as a way of pointing out that I think Lureen comes off better in the film than in the story. In the film, in the "blue parka" conversation with Jack, she comes off to me as a busy procrastinator--yeah, yeah, she'll get around to calling the school about getting a tutor for Bobby--not necessarily as refusing to acknowledge that there is a problem, which is how Jack in the story portrays her.
BTW, from everything I've ever read in your posts, your husband is a prince. Keep a good grip on him, girlfriend!