Social faux pas?

[Arcadian]

A couple of close respected friends and family over the last two years, have been a handy meaningful chat, gentle nudge to question things, helpful insight into understanding things...

Although I live in The North West, for 25+ years, Wiltshire with its landscape and history has been a bit of a regular short stay relaxing bolt-hole.

For January, a close friend has kindly booked us a quirky country pub stop-over.
I'm looking forwards to it, they are looking forwards to it and we have a fantastic list odd things to see and do.

Marlborough has a pleasant recently converted large chapel, that is now a small cinema with a bar and hot food (The Parade).
Thinking about the potential for rain or our last night before driving home, I look up what's showing:-

"Ooh, a Bill Nighy film - 'Living', I wonder what that's about?"

"Oh, we might want to give that a miss..."

Personally, I'd be happy watching it - It's adapted from an existing book about a man given a devastating diagnosis and exploring some escape from the everyday mundane...
(Has a film crew been following me around the last year)?

https://www.livingthefilm.co.uk/synopsis/

I'm not going to push my travelling companion to watch it, although I may coincidentally suggest a pizza and glass of wine in The Pavilion bar an hour before it starts - otherwise I'm watching nearer home, by myself.

[denise]

It sounds like something nice to look forward to after Christmas and new year. I think January leaves us all feeling a bit down. I've noticed a lot of things this time of year seem to have some emotional situations like death or relationship ending and I find I want to turn the TV off. I was watching Mayflies and that's about someone with only a few months to live. I'm halfway through and not sure if I want to see the rest.

I watched goosebumps which at least made me laugh.

[JamesW]

This is quite an interesting subject 👍

One of my favourite films is The Theory of Everything but there are several people I know that refuse to watch it because it makes them uncomfortable because of my own situation. Maybe my outlook is slightly different to that of some other people?

Similarly, I got pulled up by the wife because I recommend to a friend with lung cancer (who have asked me for a really good series to watch) that she should try Breaking Bad. I did warn her in advance that the main character has lung cancer but my friend really enjoyed it and said it was one of the best things she had ever watched on the TV ……but I guess that could’ve been received very differently?

[Arcadian]

Relative to my own circumstances, I'd be happy (happier), for a few friends to watch it, even if they don't talk about it - and / or do talk directly about it to me.

I could arguably be criticised for being a bit blunt / frank / pragmatic in conversation around serious illness (I have more than one) and practical considerations regarding direction of travel.
At the same time I occasionally go off and do a few things that are less than sedate or may appear reckless.
My argument being it's stuff I used to enjoy when younger and age and sensibility have reduced the opportunities.

Like the film mentioned and a couple of people who step into your life, there is a mixture of adaptation to the circumstances and trying to revisit things you like, whilst you can, or the chance to revisit pathways in life not previously taken and see what that brings...

[Ellie]

Arcadian In my experience, watching films or documentaries on the topic of living with a terminal illness and inevitable death, is usually quite uncomfortable for our viewing companions, much more so than it is for us - we have rather different emotional viewpoints and I suspect awkwardness is top of your friends' list. xx

[WheelsOfSteel]

One of my favourite "terminal illness" films is Hawks
Hawks (film) - Wikipedia
An entertaining Brit flick from the Eighties with Timothy Dalton