52 Films by Women Vol 6. 14. LANGUAGE LESSONS (Director: Natalie Morales)
Contains Spanish –
and spoilers
I was quietly bowled
over by Language Lessons, the feature directorial debut of Natalie
Morales, who also takes one of two leading roles and co-wrote the script with
her co-star, Mark Duplass. Now I want to
be loud about it! It is, one would judge, a typical by-product of the Covid-19
pandemic in that it is a series of Zoom calls between Cariño (Morales), a young Spanish teacher based in
Costa Rica and Adam (Duplass), who is, as far as we are told, the husband of an
exceptionally talented and successful choreographer, Will (Desean Terry) whose
voice we hear in the opening scene. How do we know he’s successful? Will and
Adam’s house in Oakland, California, is huge. It has its own pool and for all I
know might be Morales’ own house, having established herself as an actress in
the TV series, 90210, Trophy
Wife, Parks and
Recreation (that’s the biggie) and The Grinder. Will
answers a video call from Cariño,
who is about to give Adam the first of 100 Spanish lessons for $1,000. Adam
just has to be lured to his computer to be greeted with the surprise. The
choice to make Adam gay means that Morales isn’t interested in making a
long-distance love story. However, she has crafted a film about how two people
from very different backgrounds connect.
Cariño (short,
as we discover, for Caridad, which in turn is the Spanish for ‘charity’) doesn’t
make Adam seem awkward that his husband only paid $10 a lesson from a resident
of a developing nation. It makes Will seem a bit cheap. But Cariño doesn’t actually have the qualifications
to teach Spanish. She has a professional qualification but not the one that
certifies her as a teacher. Will had apparently responded to Adam’s confession
that he wanted to speak Spanish better, so had lavished upon him a two-year
long gift. For her part, Cariño has carefully arranged her background to
suggest that one of a language teacher - one who teaches eight to
eleven-year-olds. She has a sign behind her that says ‘Lunes’, the Spanish word
for Monday. Adam doesn’t notice this. As we discover, he has more important
things to worry about.
Adam takes his
first lesson while he is in the pool, which means that he is showing off his
wealth rather too opulently. The lesson is planned around his morning routine.
In the opening section of the film entitled ‘Immersion’ (spelt in both English
and Spanish), he complains that it is hard to make jokes in another language,
which is one way of saying that Duplass Brothers comedies don’t translate well
overseas. Mark and Jay Duplass are responsible for films such as Cyrus
and Jeff, Who Lives at Home as well as the television series, Togetherness
that haven’t really taken off in Europe. As he describes how he used to speak Spanish
but allowed his skill to lapse, Adam says the word ‘embarazada’, making Cariño
laugh. Rather than using the Spanish word to indicate embarrassment, he
described himself as pregnant. ‘That’s not the worst mistake a student of mine
has made,’ reveals Cariño. Adam wants to know more. Cariño refuses. At the end
of the session, Adam asks, ‘what is the Spanish for ‘cliff hanger’?’ For her
part, Cariño has given him homework, to demonstrate what ‘ser’ and ‘estar’ mean.
In the second
section, ‘Comprehension’, Morales gives us her equivalent of the inciting
incident, the dramatic turning point in a movie that drives the action forward.
Cariño calls Adam while she is walking around her garden, intending to show him
plants and flowers. She discovers that he is still in bed, not ready for his
lesson. I don’t want to reveal exactly what has happened, but Adam is in a
state of shock and has (as he puts it) the payroll of a whole dance company to
deal with as well as a nephew’s birthday. Cariño’s relationship with him
swiftly changes from teacher to confidante. Only she isn’t paid to fill that
role. At this point, the film takes a dramatic leap. Most of us would end the
call and discontinue the lessons. However, recognising Adam is in a state of
heightened anxiety and then some, she lulls him to sleep.
Later, Adam calls
Cariño to thank her. By his admission, he isn’t fine. Cariño isn’t sure how to
help him, but ‘if you want some Spanish lessons, I’m your girl’. Adam, as it
turns out, has been a diligent student, turning ‘ser or estar’ into a song.
Naturally, he plays the keyboards too. ‘Estar is where you are,’ he speak-sings,
‘ser is who you are’, noting ‘ser describes you best of all’. ‘If you want to
be a star, know when to use ser or estar’. At this point, we should be heading
for the exit or switching off the screener, but, like Cariño, we’re glad Adam
is feeling a little better. She reveals the Spanish for ‘cliff hanger’, which
according to Google translate is ‘momento culminante’.
At another
lesson, we see Cariño in a hammock. Although Morales works overtime to keep the
film visually interesting, I didn’t believe Cariño’s scenes were shot in Costa
Rica – the light is too similar. I actually felt she used a location round the
corner from Adam’s house. This leads to a montage in which Adam and Cariño try
to outdo one another to make the ugliest face in a zoom shot. Well, they had to
lighten the mood somehow. Afterwards, Cariño tells Adam that he has earned the
story of the student who was even more embarrassing than him. It involves a
young man who, while at a meal with Cariño and in the company of relatives referred
to a bread roll (bolillo) using the Spanish word for vagina. Needless to say,
Cariño was ‘embarazada’.
In the third
section, ‘Context’, Adam describes his mood: ‘I am crying and crying,’ adding
that he has dreams that turn ugly as he suddenly remembers what had happened.
He describes how he first met Will, seeing him on stage and deciding he was the
one. Throughout the call, Cariño’s camera is off (‘my internet isn’t great’,
she apologises), but suddenly it flashes on, showing her bruised face. ‘What
happened?’ he asks. ‘I fell off my bike,’ explains Cariño. ‘Did you go to the
hospital?’ asks Adam. Cariño explains that she has a headache and doesn’t feel
well. Adam is naturally concerned. He leaves her a series of messages. During
his first message, he explains how much he appreciates her. He offers to buy
her a new bicycle. In a later message, he tells her, ‘My feeling is that your
internet was fine but that you didn’t want to show me your face. I’m not a
genius but if you fall off a bike, you don’t injure your face, rather your arms
as you break your fall.’
In the fourth
section, ‘Grammar’. Cariño leaves Adam a message. She is keen to go back to
teaching him. ‘You need to focus on your grammar’. She doesn’t want to tell him
about her life. But if he doesn’t respond, he shouldn’t worry. ‘I have other
students.’
There is a fifth
section, ‘Extra Credit’. Cariño video calls Adam at 2:30 in the morning (though
why he would leave his computer on is a mystery). She is drunk or at least has
made the acquaintance of alcohol. ‘I found out it was your birthday,’ she tells
him as he responds. ‘I saw it in your file. I stalked your social media. You
like shitty records.’
‘How dare you
replace me so quickly?’ she continues. ‘I could teach you words for trees.’ She
has called to wish him a happy birthday in Spanish, though as she points out the
translated version of the song doesn’t feature ‘happy’, just ‘birthday’, so it
makes no sense. (‘Birthday to you?’)
Finally, we get
to the point of her drunkenness: ‘my mother died on her birthday. Literally
everyone dies.’ Morales shoots the scene so that Cariño appears out of focus,
reflecting her inebriated state.
‘You’re a nice
person,’ Cariño adds. ‘I didn’t know those existed.’
Adam is somewhat
astonished by the call but confides in her. ‘Can I tell you a secret?’ he asks,
forgetting that ‘can’ is about ability and ‘may’ is about permission. ‘It’s
really nice to listen to you talk.’ This naturally freaks Cariño out and she
ends the call.
She gets back in
touch to apologise. ’I drank a beer,’ she explains, the adds. ‘I have to pause
our classes for a little bit,’ she adds, having some ‘personal stuff’ to deal
with. ‘I think I have to move soon, so I won’t have a place to teach you from.’
It isn’t long before she reveals what exactly that ‘personal stuff’ is and
promptly rebuffs Adam’s offer to help. The drama builds to a final scene of
Adam’s resignation that he hasn’t been able to help her that is both sublime
and a real crowd pleaser.
Morales’ film
isn’t really about how learning another language improves your world view.
Rather it is about the acting of really saying how you feel and not being
afraid to accept help. Human beings have the capacity to make one another feel
better, a message that is lost in a sea of hate speech on social media.
She also
demonstrates that restricted settings do not necessarily limit the impact of
the film’s content. Both Cariño and Adam are memorable characters, reflecting
to some extent Morales and Duplass’ own charisma.
Language
Lessons was one of
three Duplass Brothers productions overseen during lockdown by producer Mel
Eslyn, whose directorial debut, Biosphere is currently in
production – the other two films are 7 Days, directed by
qualified doctor Roshan Sethi, and As of Yet, directed by Taylor
Garron and Chanel James. These movies entertain and show a skilful balance of
comedy and drama but aren’t perhaps the best demonstration of what their
directors can do. But Morales herself has gone on to complete a project planned
before lockdown, the Hulu television movie, Plan B, that aired in
May 2021. The Duplass Brothers low-budget production model can be a springboard
to bigger and better things.
Streamed on
Saturday, 9th October 2021, London Film Festival press screener
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