Why stay together? Dean would like to stay for the child's sake, but he realizes that Cindy does not want him and that their dysfunctional relationship may actually harm the child.
The economic difficulties the couple faces are not so real as Cindy makes them seem. She wants security, but of a different kind than Dean provides. He is not going anywhere and makes a decent living -- but it is not enough for her.
The social vulnerabilities which they experience are evident in their respective outlooks on society and the world around them. Dean tends to be content with what he has, but when others (like Cindy's former boyfriend) appear and try to intrude, he becomes anxious and upset. Cindy feels the weight of society bearing down on her. One has the sense that if only these two could escape society, their marriage might have a chance.
The French film Amour focuses on an elderly couple named Anne and Georges. They have much in common and are peacefully happy as retired piano teachers. But one day Anne has a stroke. She is incapacitated and decides that she does not want to live any longer. Georges promises to take care of her, but her mental health declines. He sees that his old Anne is gone, so he smothers her to death.
It is not a very happy depiction...
There is great tenderness in the relationship. Both are an emotional support for the other -- but the vulnerabilities they face stem from the immanence of death. How to cope with
death and dying? Should one try to stave off death or accept it? Again, there is no real higher vision, in which suffering plays a redemptive role. The marriage in the film is focused only on sentimentality and self-fulfillment. When Anne sees that she will have to live her life debilitated, she decides to reject life.
The economic vulnerabilities are not quite so apparent. When Georges needs help, he hires a nurse. Financial difficulties are not really a strain on the marriage.
Social factors are, however -- at least in one sense. Does Georges have a right to carry out his wife's wish? Is he correct in his act of euthanasia? It is a moral question, and moral questions affect society. Georges decides that he should kill his wife because that is what she wanted and he can no longer bear her in the state she is in. He does it out of
love, so it seems -- but there is room for
doubt regarding the act. It may be as much an act of despair as it is an act of love. Who will judge him for it? The daughter? The authorities? These questions remain.
