A Map of the World is a surprising little gem about a Mother of two named Alice(Sigourney Weaver) and her Husband, Howard(David Strathairn). They move to the countryside so Howard can pursue his dreams of becoming a farmer. While everything seems to be going well for Howard, Alice is struggling to adjust.
Alice works as a school nurse and becomes stressed with dealing with difficult children, including her two daughters at home. Alice's only friend, who she confides in, is named Theresa(Julianne Moore). Theresa, like Alice, is married with two daughters of her own. Despite Life's ordinary struggles, life for Alice seems to be ideal. That is until her life takes a turn for the worse.
When Alice's friend, Theresa leaves her daughters in her hands, one disappears. Within no time, Alice finds the little girl on the brink of death in an unfortunate accident on her property. The girl eventually dies and thus diffuses the bond between Alice and her friend while crippling her relationship to her husband. This moment of loss represses Alice as a mother, a wife and a human being. Everything shuts down.
The film has three movements. This repression marks the end of the first movement. The second movement begins when she is question by police regarding one of the difficult children she sees daily in her nurse's office. Alice is under such distress that she makes a number of suspicious remarks. There are also a number of flashbacks sequences regarding her interaction with this disturbed child. However, it isn't quite clear to the viewer what exactly happened. That is until much later in the film. There is one particular scene early in the film where Alice confronts the mother named Carole(Chloe Sevigny) about her child's problems. The Mother is a young irresponsible waitress. One who takes offense of Alice's remarks. When the death of Thersea's child becomes the talk of their small town, Carole takes advantage and reports that her child was sexually abused by Alice. Officers show up and arrest Alice.
While Alice is in jail, her husband has to helplessly take care of their children. That is a given. However, their community neglects after Alice, yet again, becomes to the talk of the town. Her high bail forces to Howard to consider selling his farm. While time is ticking for Howard, life is changing for Alice. She treats jail as a vacation. A time to justify what life means to her. She comes to terms with the truth. Not just in the court, but in her heart as well. When the complexity of her guilt and innocence is understood, the second movement of the film comes to an end. The third movement captures the aftermath of the trial. Life as she knew it before no longer exist. It's surprisingly better.
A Map of the World is a great exploration into the nature of Motherhood. The effects of loosing a child is a tragic situation. Not just because an innocent life is lost, but because a part of its mother is lost as well. It is a haunting realism that women face all over the world. In respect to the film's plot, Alice didn't even loose her child. Yet she was broken from it. Possibly because of the overwhelming fear she had for her own children. Perhaps it was the guilt of having it happen on her watch. It's up for debate. This brings me to another point. Any film worth debating is generally a good film. This indeed is a good film worth checking out, if it can be found.
As I mention before, A Map of the World is indeed a surprising gem. It's filled with powerful performances from Julianne Moore, David Strathairn, Chloe Sevigny and especially Sigourney Weaver.
B
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