The Grape Scene

I'm always impressed by the perfectness of Wemma scenes and the 'grape scene' in Night of Neglect was no exception. It blew me away. And here is why:

Acting: The subtlety and nuances of Jayma’s facial expressions mesmerize me. When she said she felt ‘so tired’ she really did look weighed down. In the space of the scene she managed to convey sadness, pragmatism, fading resilience, and appreciation while extracting ‘I want to give her a hug’ sympathy from the audience. Meanwhile Matt’s tone and timing of his lines exuded the sympathy, support and heartbreak he felt for her.

Writing: Wemma dialogue is like stroking a polished gem, you just want to keep admiring the smoothness, integrity and depth of it. No superfluous words, nothing predictable and always something meaningful and quotable. ‘I hear that OCD symptoms tend to get worse when a person is under great stress’; Will’s line is emotionally detached but indicates he’s emotionally connected to her because he must have been doing his research on OCD’s. ‘Carl’s gone’ only two words, but loaded with revelations that Will tactfully doesn’t pursue. Emma has the strength to say out loud exactly how she’s feeling and the honesty and severity and difficulty of her OCD really hits home with the words ‘I’m so tired’. This juxtaposed magnificently with the previous week’s scene in which Holly and Carl had both shown such insensitivity to Emma’s plight and Emma herself had tried to ignore her problem by promoting celibacy. Will’s behaviour is impeccable; he maintains calmness (while trying to digest the situation) and confirms their friendship with the simple act of cleaning her grapes for her – the most tenderhearted response. “One day, you’re gonna find a way to beat this thing. Until then, I’m here for you. No Judgement, just a friend that you can count on.” An affirmation that he knows ultimately it will be Emma who has to conquer her demons but he will stand by her side and help her. Will could not have said anything better. This scene perfectly conveys Will’s devotion to Emma.

Camera: The close-up of the electric toothbrush incited fleeting humour followed by alarm as the camera zoomed out to Emma’s face and then Will’s; it was the perfect execution of pathos.

Symbolism: The single tear drop represented her flailing strength so poignantly. Will putting on the rubber glove confirms his acceptance of her OCD and his love for her. Cleaning and passing the grape to her could symbolize the sustenance/strength she gets from him.

Parallels: It paralleled so gloriously with the ‘Chalk Scene’ in Showmance. In both these scenes Will is showing her support and there is a third party observing. Emma was also wearing the same green cardigan as she did in ‘crying in car’ scene while singing All by Myself, which Charice sang in NON. And in hindsight I guess her scrubbing of the drinking tap with a toothbrush in Showmance was an indication of the stress she was experiencing about the burgeoning romance between her and Will.