To Die For Reflection

To Die For features a young Nicole Kidman, alongside her are Casey Affleck, Matt Dillion, and Joaquin Phoenix in this star packed cast. Not only is this film filled with stars, but the premise is essentially about being a star. Nicole Kidman plays Suzanne Stone Maretto; emphasis on the Stone because that’s her television name. One of her lines that stuck out most to me was, “you’re not anybody in America unless you’re on TV. On TV is where we learn about who we really are. Because what’s the point of doing anything worthwhile if nobody’s watching. And if people are watching, it makes you a better person.” That line pretty much sums up the movie for me. What is the point of living or doing anything for that matter if nobody is watching, and if nobody will remember you? The entire film was a scheme. Suzanne used poor, stupid and naïve teenagers to execute the murder of her husband. Being on television was so important to Suzanne and not so important to her husband, which is why he had to be killed, I guess in her delusional mind. Sadly, the highly confused and misguided teenagers implement her plan. Suzanne basks in the attention she receives from the media, which is what she always wanted. This film made me think of celebrity and what it means to be one. You sacrifice your whole life for what, recognition? Doing something “important?” Are you only important if you’re on television, and if millions of people know your name? Or should life be more like Larry Maretto wants it; filled with family and love? There’s a little Suzanne in all of us, not wanting to be forgotten and wanting to seem important; surface level importance that is. We as individuals need to find what is important to us. Being a celebrity or micro celebrity isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but with that being said I certainly wouldn’t mind the attention and access that attention gives to opportunity.