Daddy Longlegs
Life is painful, yet so beautiful. It felt like light slowly spreading over your body just to reveal your bruises.
Daddy Longlegs isn't interested in heroes or villains. It's interested in people. It captures the kind of love that is sincere enough to break your heart and flawed enough to break the people receiving it.
What stayed with me the most was the imbalance. When two parents fail to support each other, someone eventually disappears and in Lenny's case, it feels like he's slowly disappearing into fatherhood. People often mistake love for self-sacrifice, but I can't help seeing endless selflessness as a form of self-betrayal. Children don't only deserve a parent who gives them everything; they deserve to know who that parent is. The things they love, the dreams they chase, the child they once were. How can someone truly leave a presence behind if they abandon every part of themselves?
And yet, Lenny never feels performative. He never announces his sacrifices or demands gratitude. He simply loves messily, instinctively, and with everything he has. That's what makes him so devastating to watch. His love is real, but sometimes love alone isn't enough.
Some films expose monsters. Daddy Longlegs exposes ordinary people trying, failing, and loving anyway. It's one of the rarest portrayals of fatherhood I've ever seen.