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Are we bound forever to our traumas, or is it possible to heal from them?
And, if we can, how do we make that a reality?
She completes the team by making a call, roping in former high-school peer/current group-therapy head, Theo.
The three women, clad in black like avenging angels, watch David as he hovers around the bar.
Then David drags Arabella into the restroom, her body like putty in his hands.
The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime, but whos the criminal?
she says, just before Theo stabs him with the syringe.
Hello, David, Arabella says solemnly before harshly kissing him.
Theo finds Arabellas underwear, which should be the end of the story.
But when has Arabella ever been a dame to play it simply?
This first fantasy creates resolution at the pitch of vengeance.
But is it satisfying?
Because Im deranged, Terry.
Thats never up for discussion.
Why am I here?
High as Hera, Arabella enthusiastically dances to Firestarter by Prodigy as she approaches David.
David is intrigued, of course.
You put something in my drink.
How much does her pain matter in the face of such atrocities?
Dont you tell anyone, David.
His anger gives way to a teary apology.
Corrective rape, he prattles on in a darkly comic fashion.
He doesnt understand why shes not scared.
More importantly, he doesnt know who to be now that she isnt.
But while that may be an answer towhythis happened to Arabella, it doesnt feel all that satisfying.
The third fantasy brushes past the particulars of the setup of the preceding versions.
Arabella is confronted by her memories, which echo sonically but arent shown visually.
Then we see her and Terry in the bathroom.
As Terry wonders aloud about her Italian threesome and considers joining Theos group, a woman brushes past Arabella.
So Arabella opens the doors to the stalls.
When Terry and Arabella leave the bathroom, Ego Death is empty.
Theres something uncanny and unsettling about a club in broad daylight.
Terry walks up to Tariq and stares at him intently.
Arabella approaches David, who is flummoxed when she asks him what drink he wants.
The Zain story line feels like a ploy toward nuance at the expense of emotional realism.
(Although, I truly dont.)
If trauma is a closed loop, fantasy is a field of endless potential.
This decision visually highlights the thematic pull of the possibility of closure and healing.
After these distinct fantasies comes a final coda that I want to believe shows Arabellas true reality.
Time passes, as seen by the shifting plants on the back patio.
The entire group of extended friends watches Terrys commercial.
Arabella attends a reading of her book (which is dedicated to Terry), titledJanuary 22nd.
But life is never that neat, never hews that closely to the narratives we wish it would.
