My husband, who prides himself on being a male who does not insist on always seeing the latest special effects-laden move fare, managed to be persuaded by my silver tongue to see Beasts of the Southern Wild.  Every review I’d read about it said it was fantastic, and the only theater playing it in our area was a half hour away.  Still, I prevailed.  I haven’t been with this man for over twenty years without knowing how to persuade him to see a damn movie.  If you can’t persuade your significant other to see the movie that you want, then you might want to rethink your relationship.

Anyhoo.

I sat and watched the move, entranced as the story of Hushpuppy unfolded.

I glanced at my husband, and his eyes were closed and he was ready to fall asleep.

Nothing a quick elbow to the gut didn’t fix.

When we got out of the theater, I could feel the resentment emanating from him.  The whole “that was two hours of my life I can never get back” thing. When you persuade someone to see the movie that you want to see, you also have to be prepared in case that someone loathes it.

But instead of being an understanding spouse, I decided to go on the offensive.  He loves New Orleans and the bayou (the little that we have seen of it), so what was the problem?  The actress who played Hushpuppy was cute as a button!  He has a daughter, could he not empathize at all with their relationship? Did he have an issue with the little girl being a strong female protagonist?  Did he disapprove of a lifestyle different than his own?

After a few rounds of questioning, and some valiant attempts to validate his opinions, he decided to just allow us to agree to disagree.

Smart man.

And in the end, Christopher Nolan is still our favorite director, so I’m thinking we’re still right for each other.