I have often wondered about the very curdled natures of our opinions so much so that the perch of imagination simply becomes a bystanding abstraction and real thoughts of genuine merit slip between the fingers. That is a human tendency, to beat arou...
CAST : BRAD RENFRO, JOSEPH MAZZELLO, ANNABELLA SCIORRA, DIANA SCARWID.
DIRECTOR : PETER HORTON.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I was so positively affected by THE CURE that I watched it another time on the MGM channel where I had seen it first and also elaborated on this original writing, to further include it in my dissertation for Masters in English, my chosen topic being ‘representation of children and teenagers in literature and cinema’ .
This was originally written on 21st February, 2015, exactly five years ago. In fact, it’s reassuring to say that this is indeed one of my favourites of all time.
***
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Peter Horton’s underrated drama THE CURE is an epitaph of nostalgia that attests to the oft-repeated proverb ‘Child is the father of man’
Here, Horton relays much of the unfortunate layers of social ostracisation and paranoia in the wake of post 1980s AIDS breakout where the idea of victimhood for the afflicted was appropriated with skewed notions of same gender intercourse and other unholy concepts. In such a volatile scenario, sympathy’s hands are not extended even to an unsuspecting young child Dexter ( Joseph Mazzello) for whom a chance blood transfusion whittles his life down to every precious minute. Survival and hope then for a miracle are transferred to his everyday motions by dint of his mother (Annabella Sciorra)
Like all selfless parents, this single mother copes with her private tragedy with an iron-clad resolve and an angelic warmth that stands tall even in the face of inevitable odds. The community in their small town turns its back on them and they walk on a tightrope, secretly knowing that clinging on to false wishes would only mean further heartburn and unwanted disappointment which they cannot afford, with every breath counting for Dexter.
