Fair warning, I'm going to be getting a little sappy on the blog today. My favorite love story comes
from a James Cameron movie.
Hey, where are you going? Come
back! I’m not talking about Titanic.
I’m talking about The Abyss. The 1989 science fiction
movie is best known for the water effects and for how parts of it were filmed
in a 7,000,000 (that’s right, seven meeeeellion)
gallon tank at an unfinished nuclear power plant. And that is remarkable.
But the heart of the story is
Virgil “Bud” Brigman, played by he-of-the-piercing-blue-eyes, Ed Harris. He’s a
gruff foreman running an experimental deep sea oil rig. And Virgil’s heart, in
turn, is in the hands of the abrasive Dr. Lindsay Brigman, played by Mary
Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Do you see where I’m going with this?
They come from disparate
backgrounds. He’s a roughneck and she has a PhD. He gets all greasy fixing the
machines on the rig. She designed the
rig. They married for convenience, truly fell in love, but then combusted and
separated. Fate, aliens and the U.S. military throw them together thousands of
feet below the surface of the ocean in a veritable pressure cooker, and they
fall in love again. They’re both competent, intelligent, passionate people who
will do anything for the other person. And I do mean anything.
Twenty-three years is long
enough, right? I’m not going to spoil this for anyone? Okay, if you haven’t
seen this movie, skip the remainder of this, and the next two paragraphs.
Otherwise…the big sacrifice, the one that influences the aliens to spare
humankind, is delivered softly. It’s Bud, relaying a poorly-typed message
saying that, when he went out to try to defuse a bomb, he knew it was a one-way
trip. He reassured Lindsay and the crew when he left, but he understood he
wasn’t coming back. It’s a great moment, really, but the two scenes that made
my heart grow three sizes were these:
One: When Bud hears that Lindsay’s
coming down to his ship after months (or years) apart, he pulls off his wedding
band and throws it into the toilet. Then he realizes that, no matter how much
she frustrates and angers him, he loves her. He retrieves the ring and, since
the toilets are specialized, they’re full of neon blue water. His hand is
stained blue, a larger, more noticeable exhibit of his love than the ring. Awwww.
Two: Bud and Lindsay are
trapped in a failing mini-sub, which is rapidly filling with frigid water, far
from the rig. They’ve only got one survival suit. Lindsay calculates the
oxygen, water temperature and their relative strength, and determines that one
of two things will happen. Either they’ll both die, or she has to die so that
Bud – the stronger swimmer – can drag her back to the rig. It’s the only chance
for at least one of them to survive, and it’s an intense scene. The sub’s tiny,
so Bud’s right there, holding her as she drowns, not knowing if he can bring
her back.
*blows whistle* Okay, all you
people who’ve been meaning to watch a movie for TWENTY-THREE years but haven’t
gotten around to it, come on back. This is the love story that made me believe
in love stories. It’s probably why I’m addicted to paranormal romance and urban
fantasy. Situations are highest possible stakes intense. Differences between
love interests can be vast. We’re talking different species or millenium-old
enemies. It’s fantastic.
Love has to find a way
through massive odds, threats of violence and magically-induced divisions. When
it’s tested, it’s put way past the red line. In the Night Runner series, Sydney
Kildare and Malcolm Kelly are, for everything going on around them, taking
things slowly. As a vampire, Mal has all the time in the world. As a human in a vampire world, Sydney's every breath could be her last. And, in Falling from the Light, a single moment will change everything.
About the
Author
Regan Summers lives in
Anchorage, Alaska with her husband and alien-monkey hybrid of a child. She is a
huge fan of the low profile. She likes books, ottomans with concealed storage,
small plate dining, libraries, Corporal Hicks, some aspects of
pre-revolutionary France, most aspects of current Italy, and books.
Her Night Runner series,
including Don’t Bite the Messenger, Running in the Dark, and Falling from the Light is available
wherever e-books are sold.
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