Tatiana Maslany is extremely convincing in this short film titled Apart From Everything. It’s uncertain just what the film is about until the two women meet up in the diner, upon which time one can tell that there is a great deal of tension between them and the smoker is revealed to have left some time ago after being unable to deal with the issues in her life that forced her to part from everyone that cared about her. The issue with being a fall down drunk and alcoholic is that it’s difficult to know just when you’re really hurting people, as the compulsion to drink takes away just about everything except the need to pour another.
Unfortunately those that don’t have the problem tend to enable those that do. It’s not always a conscious choice as they might do so just to keep things on an even keel, as rocking the boat can make things so much worse. Fran unfortunately is the type of drunk that seems ready to laugh it all off and continue hurting the ones she cares about, as selfishness is one of the byproducts of being an alcoholic that doesn’t always get addressed as much as it should. The enabling is a coping mechanism that doesn’t always work, as it simply prolongs the problem and allows it continue building, until the only options are to weather the storm or run away. Obviously Fran chose the option to run away from the pain and the problems, but didn’t think of how it would affect those that were left behind.
Drunks don’t tend to think that they’re doing anything wrong, and even if they do then they tend to try and play it off in one manner or another. It’s infuriating really how those that do wrong tend to beg for forgiveness after doing so much harm, but it’s also infuriating at times how people in their lives will continue to support them in ways that will never allow them to grow past the problem. Those that love them don’t give up easily, and this is a very good thing since it means that they are still valued by those that care for their well-being, but the cycle that continues when they don’t seem to get the point of how their actions affect others is something that cannot be easily broken. It takes a seriously concentrated effort for such individuals to look at their lives and what they’ve done without an alcohol filter to dim the pain or dull the agony. Sometimes the pain is the only thing that continues to wake them up, to make them understand just what they’ve done and to whom.
Fran losing Lana was a serious wake-up call, as was the realization that she had damaged the lives of those that cared so deeply for her. Unfortunately for her, and for all those that have experienced this issue in their lives, there is a point when it becomes the only way left.
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