Some movies are a lot tougher to watch than others.  "Bridget Jones 2" was tough to watch because it was so bad; I gave up after ten minutes.  I could tell it was not going to be worth sitting through.  I loved the first movie, and I really enjoyed listening to the novel (book on cd, very well done version).  And I love love love Renee Zellweger, but BJ2 was just too much.  So was "Affliction," although for different reasons.  Just too painful, and I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"The Squid and the Whale" was brutal.  I almost gave up, and I did fast forward through a few scenes.  I cannot watch humiliation, especially teenage boys (I cannot watch many sitcoms because they rely so heavily on humiliation "humor").  A boy dealing with divorce and trying to figure out what it means to have a girlfriend is hard enough; as soon as he tried to pass off the Pink Floyd song as his own, I was cringing, waiting for him to be shattered by the revealing of this lie.  I kept waiting for terrible things to happen to Walt, and I had to force myself to keep watching ("it's a good movie," I said, "it's worth watching.  it's got Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney.  don't give up.")

So I watched the whole thing, cringing and fast forwarding through the talent show and so happy to see Walt pull free of his father.  Facing his fears.  There was a certain inevitability to the movie, once he'd spoken to the counselor, but it's exactly the kind of thing a kid his age will do in a moment of stress.  And it was not a revelation, no ephiphany, just the act of a boy who, as his heartless father said, used to be so emotional when he was younger.  The irony of his father's specific ailment and the words meant as a compliment but taken as an accusation of something special lost simply became too much for Walt.  And for a change, running away was the right thing to do.  A good thing.