Crime and Letting Go, or Family: Seven anchors around the neck The film successfully pretends to be stupid, not always funny, and sometimes even vulgar comedy. Albeit with the original setup (the girl-nymphomaniac tries to get rid of the corpse, which she “accidentally found” in the hotel room). In fact, under the guise of comedy is a tragedy. The tragedy of a man who is a burden to his family and friends, who does not meet their expectations. The tragedy of the “man of disappointment.”
If you discard the details, this is what the movie is about. The heroine's life wasn't good. She's not young anymore, but she has nothing: no job, no family. The only “outlet” for her is frequent casual sex. And the film just begins with the fact that she comes out of the clinic, where she was treated for this addiction. Yes, perhaps it is her painful addiction that is the reason for her failures (in the film this is hinted at). But it doesn't matter. Especially for a heroine. It doesn't matter what happened. It doesn't matter how things might have turned out if something had happened like this and not like this. The only thing that matters is where the heroine is in the here and now and how to live with it. That's not clear. Because there is no means, no purpose. But there is support and support in the face of the sister of the main character, and then her new friend. They treat her kindly, try to help (the sister found the heroine a job, sheltered in her house, did not leave one with a corpse, too), worry about her... Will the main character of Fresno be able to find her place in life again? (Alas, we have to cut off the plot squeeze, I would like to tell you to the end, but I can’t, because otherwise, there is a suspicion, it will turn out spoiler, no matter how I try to say “streamlined”.)
It's kind of like this. But how is it – you may say – why then I think that this is a tragedy, is it not possible for the main character to get things right, to feel the taste of life again, if there are people who need it, who care about it – sister and friends who care about it? I sometimes hear people say that for someone, family is support and support. But that can't be the whole truth. That's only half the truth. Because not only the family is a support for you, but also you must be the same support for your family, you must be ready to help, support, and not let down. And this, in my opinion, was the problem with the main character of the film “Fresno”. Yes, they were helping her, trying to make her smile. But she just didn’t want to smile, she continued to consider herself a “finished man”. And I saw that this attitude lets everyone down... It’s hard to believe in yourself once you’ve lost that faith. The sister did for her what she could and considered necessary, the heroine herself did nothing because she did not consider anything necessary.
It turns out that Fresno is not just a comedy about a nymphomaniac and a corpse, it is also a film about a family. In particular, it is important not only to help, but also not to interfere. For example, not to impose your care. Because otherwise you can and a loved one, and yourself just “blow”. Sometimes it is necessary to step aside and give the person the opportunity to make their own decisions, to do as he or she wants. Yes, in a sense, it doesn’t matter. Or rather, to step back a little and do the right thing, not as we think it will be right. In the same film, there is another example that is not related to the main character. An example is that overdoing care can be harmful to everyone. A woman has old sick parents at home. She takes care of them, does all the housework. She doesn't have any free time. The woman is unhappy. But then she somehow comes up with the idea of selling the house and giving her parents to a nursing home - they will be provided with care, and she will be free. That's what she ended up doing. Did she do the right thing? Why didn’t she think of such a decision?
Another, in my opinion, a good illustration of some of the ideas of the film under discussion is Equilibrium (2002), where people take special “pills” to stop feeling. In the past, I had no doubt that the protagonist who tries to keep his feelings alive was “good” and everyone else was “bad.” But in fact, there is a healthy grain in the “dystopian” order shown. "Equilibrium" as it suggests to think about the fact that life without feelings can be easier. It's on one side. On the other hand, life without feelings is not life at all, but rather a gray and faded existence. This is also shown, for example, in the film “Winter’s Tale” (1995), where one of the heroines at the end says that only love for her brother fills her life with meaning. As with feelings, so with family. On the one hand, without a family in a sense easier: you don’t owe anyone anything, you don’t owe anything. Simple and clear rules of the game. On the other hand, without a family is difficult, because life is empty. The heroine of “Fresno” had a loving sister, but they were each other’s burden. And the way out that the heroine found is... (explained, because it may seem like a spoiler).
I think the ending deserves a separate discussion. It's at least ambiguous. My first reaction was a misunderstanding. Then I thought that maybe this heroine just “surrendered”, “hidden in the house”. Is it possible that this is the path to redemption, so that you can start with a clean slate (try again). Now I tend to think that, yes, this act of the heroine was symbolic, but its meaning is that she decided to... “sacrifice herself.” Sacrifice for the sake of her sister being able to live peacefully without thinking about her. A similar plot is found in the book by Charles Dickens, which is called “A Tale of Two Cities”. In fact, this is also a story about the “missing man”. Who, unlike the heroine of Fresno, had a job, but no one was close at all and he also saw no meaning in anything.
In general, the end of the story to become the whole film – “joke”. Unpredictable, spontaneous, and seemingly light and “good”, positive, everyone smiles, including the main character, but... She may have a smile on her lips, but she has tears in her eyes.