The Truth About Emanuel

"If we don't really chat a lot, it's not that I don't like you. It's more that I like to keep to myself."

Because I loved The Truth About Emanuel and everyone who matters in the movie industry hated it, then this is either proof that I should never be a critic since my opinion is worthless or that I'm pretty great at finding positive attributes in awful ideas. For the sake of keeping your interest in anything I have to say, we'll go with the latter.

Despite the fact that the title is misleading (Emanuel is basically an open book - there is no truth to tell), there is a truth to be revealed by Linda, the new neighbor who quickly bonds with Emanuel and later becomes a mother figure for the young woman. *SPOILER ALERT EVEN THOUGH THIS MOVIE IS A YEAR OLD SO IF YOU WANTED TO SEE IT YOU WOULD HAVE BY NOW* However, Linda's "truth" can be seen a mile away. Linda hires Emanuel to take care of her baby - a baby that we soon learn is actually a doll. We find out later that Linda had a miscarriage and Emanuel's mother died giving birth.

Sure, at first the doll thing is kind of creepy. At first. But if you keep an open mind and dig a little deeper into Linda and Emanuel, you can easily see one of the most honest relationships between a mother and a daughter that Hollywood has to offer. By relying on each other to trust their feelings and emotions, they allow the other to truly be themselves in the most honest sense. Linda can be seen as a crazy woman that we too often love to attach to actresses. OR she can be seen as a woman who has gone through trauma; she is someone who lives a loving life to her "child" and Emanuel.

I am always refreshed and excited by a movie that portrays women who aren't revolving around men and their romantic pursuits. The Truth About Emanuel shows us how humans are different than any other species on this planet. Unlike dogs, cows, flamingos, and plants, humans are able to tell each other what we're feeling and thinking. Dolls (no matter what label we attach to them) cannot fill the holes in our hearts like another person can. A person can relate to another person - even if it's just the way we can both talk about the human experience on Earth and the weight of existence. Another person can bring out our true selves and make us realize how valuable we can be for the well-being of an individual. Linda and Emanuel have spent their entire lives being independent women until they let the other shine a light onto their dark pasts. When we lean on each other, when we learn to become someone else's crutch, only then can we begin to understand the hardships they face.