Film Review

The Skeleton Twins

I. Introduction

The Skeleton Twins was published in 2014 as the American comedy-drama film. The directors of
this film are Craig Johnson and starring Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. The film won the prize in
competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014. The Screenwriting Award:
U.S. Dramatic at the festival was the prize which this film gained. Many audiences and expert
appreciated and give the positive review for the film and also the performance of the actors and
actresses. This film showed the dark side of the American family and gave us something to think
deeply.

II. Summarize the film

The film is opened with the scene that two children are playing happily together with their father.
When they grew up to be the adult, they lived far away from others. The film showed the scene
that the brother – Milo decided to end his life by cutting his waist while his sister – Maggie was
holding a bunch of sleeping pills. During the time that Maggie was preparing to take these pills,
she received a phone call from the hospital that her brother suicide, but he was fine thanks to his
neighbors to bring him to the hospital out in time. After 10 years of separation, they met others in
the hospital and Maggie persuaded Milo to go back to New York to live with her. Milo agreed
and this brings the interesting stories after this decision.

When Milo came back to New York, he invited his mother to come home and had dinner with
him and Maggie couple. This scene showed that a mother is a person who is fanaticism, she
made Maggie – Milo childhood to be a nightmare with them, and Maggie thought that her
mother just came to visit them because she had the religious practice near her house.
Furthermore, this film brings us to the new surprising when it showed the dark side in the life of
Maggie and Milo. Before leaving New York to Los Angeles, Milo loved his teacher, when he
came back and met him. However, the teacher married and had children. Besides, for Maggie,
she attended a swimming class and vibrated with the teacher of this class, then she cannot control
herself which led she had sex with him.

Although Maggie and Milo have not met others for 10 years, when they met others, everything
was the same as when they were children, they played with other happily and shared about their
secret. Maggie shared that she had used birth control pills, she has not been ready to be a mother,
but she did not tell for her husband. Therefore, to face with others, Maggie and her husband still
talked that they want to have children and ready for pregnant. Moreover, Maggie also shared
with Milo that she had sex with three men: the chef, the swimming teacher and the man in the
photograph class when she married.
We can see that in the scene when Milo came back to New York, he met his teacher who he still
loves. However, this teacher was so weird, he had sex with Milo and talked happily in the secret
place. In the public place, this teacher chased him away in the public because he does not want
his wife, his children, and other people know about his relationship with Milo.

This film has the scene that Milo talks about happiness. He talked about his friend who now is
the electrician, has a wife and two daughters, and the most important is he is happy. In contrast,
Milo was thought that he will have a bright future, now he felt not happy and many dark sides in
his life.

Near the last of the film, Milo decided to make Maggie’s husband know that Maggie has used
birth control pills. His husband felt so bad and the relationship between Maggie and her husband
is broken because she confessed that she had sex with other men. Maggie blames Milo for
ruining her family while Milo thinks that he is helping his sister. During her angry, Maggie said
something that made Milo hurt, so he decided to leave her house.

Since Maggie is too hurt and stuck about life, she left a message for Milo and decided to suicide.
Fortunately, Milo quickly saved his sister’s life.

In the end of the film, Maggie and Milo can live in the happiness of sisterhood.

III. Link the film to the issues in the American family

The first issue is about parents can make an effect on the life of their children. Milo and
Maggie’s father suicide and their mother is so fascism that made Milo and Maggie childhood
was too bad. This leads to they feel so bad in their life, and have to face with the thinking of
suicide. Moreover, since Maggie did not have a happy life because of her mother, so she was fear
about having children, she worried she cannot be a good mom. As a result, it means that in some
American family, because of parents, the children have to face with depressed and struggle in
their life in some aspects.

The second is America quite open with LGBT, we can see in the film, it has both homosexual
love and heterosexual love. This illustrated that everyone has the right to love, they can be
confident to live with your heart with who you love.

The third issue is the dark side of American marriage. The husband and wife actually do not
understand others, and they do not share everything together. This led to the wife or husband
cannot find happiness in their marriage. As a result, they are vulnerable to vibration by external
relationships, and in the worst case, when they lose control, they will be adultery. All of this
leads to the sad consequence, it will not only damage the marriage of the couples but also
damage the trust, the life of couples. From many experts in America, they said that the context of
marriage in America is always hot issues and is worse than in other countries. Many couples in
America find the troubles when they live under the same roof, and cannot find mutual speech,
mutual opinions and the sympathy from their husband or their wife. As a result, the marriage life
makes them feel stuck. Therefore, most couples in America, they divorce after 5 years living
together in the average.

The last problem which the film illustrates is that the suicidal issue in America. The United
States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that the rate of suicide is
increasing in the US, particularly in some states, this number has increased quite a lot in a few
years. There are many reasons which can lead to the suicidal issue in America. In the Skeleton
Twins film, Maggie suicide because of the broken of her marriage, Milo decided to suicide
because of his work and he did not feel happy with his life. As reported by the CDC, the cause of
suicide includes: 42% is due to problems in relationships, 29% met the crisis, 28% were abused
regularly and 16% had problems with finance or job.

IV. Lesson to learn

After watching this film, we can learn many lessons from this film.

First, parents can affect children’s life and their future. If they do not have a great childhood, it
will obsess them to the last of their life. Therefore, the first lesson we can learn is the parent
should be the good model for children to follow, parents should not let their conflict to affect
their children. They should think and take care of their children in order to make them have a
bright future with a happy life.

Second, happiness may be the most important thing in our life, and to reach it, it does not mean
that you have to have a high salary job or generous things. It is simple that you can do the thing
you love and live the life which you want. In the film, Milo said that his friend is just the
electrician, he had two daughters and the most important thing is he is happy. Therefore, let’s
choose suitable things for you, enjoy your life, and make your everyday are happy days.

Third, be honest in your relationships. We just can keep our relationship long term when we trust
others, and to maintain the belief in the relationship, we need to be honest with others. Ling can
be damage the relationship, because nobody can continue trust in who lie on them. We can see
that in the film, Maggie lied to her husband when she takes birth control pills and had sex with
three men. This led to the broken of her marriage.

Fourthly, be control ourselves before the temptation. Another reason which leads to the broken of
Maggie’s marriage is the way Maggie cannot control herself before the sexual temptation. She
wanted to end the relationship with the swimming teacher. However, she cannot end it because
she cannot control before the temptation. As soon as she actually had realized her actions and she
had been resolute to stop the relationship with the swimming teacher, her husband realized
everything. As a result, Maggie lost the marriage with a fantastic husband. Then, we have to be
awake before the temptation to make any decision in the right way.
Fifthly, be cherish your live, suicide is not the fine solution in life. When Maggie was engulfed in
water, she could not breathe, she awakened and wanted to live than ever. This is reflected in the
scene she tried resurfaced, but the dumbbell kept her in the water. As a result, we should cherish
our lives, do not have the impulsive decision which will make you regret when it is too late.

Sixthly, be calm when you are angry. Maggie was saying some words which make Milo hurt
when she was angry then it made Milo leave her. When we are angry, sometimes, we cannot
control what we say then it can make other hurts by our words.

Finally, the most important lesson is family always stands by your side, so let’s learn how to
appreciate your family. Although Maggie made Milo hurt by her words during she was angry,
when Milo listened the message from Maggie and knew his sister will suicide, he came back and
saved Maggie’s life. Moreover, we can see many scenes of Maggie and Milo in the happiness:
they had fun in Maggie’s dental clinic, in the Halloween holiday and in the last scene of the film
when they are happy and peaceful together. In another scene, in the sharing space between
Maggie and Milo, when Maggie told her brother about her secret, he did not judge her, he shared
with her. In the nutshell, family never turn away from you, whether what you do is right or
wrong, family will help you to overcome everything in life, so let’s appreciate your family.