Home > Work > Survive the Night
1 " We all go a little mad sometimes. "
― Riley Sager , Survive the Night
2 " Women need to do that, you know. Look out for each other. There’s a special place in hell for those who don’t. "
3 " Meeting people is easy. Keeping them around is the hard part. "
4 " Sometimes you can’t simultaneously be smart, brave, and careful. Sometimes you need to choose one. "
5 " No one tells women that none of it is their fault. That the blame falls squarely on the awful men who do terrible things and the fucked-up society that raises them, molds them, makes excuses for them. People don’t want to admit that there are monsters in their midst, so the monsters continue to roam free and the cycle of violence and blame continues. "
6 " That’s the tricky thing about movies. They can be wonderful and beautiful and amazing. But they’re not like life, which is wonderful, beautiful, and amazing in a different way. "
7 " Movies are like life,” she finally says. “Only better. "
8 " Wrapped in Maddy’s red coat, she feels almost possessed by all the tough women she’s admired in movies. Stanwyck in Double Indemnity. Hayworth in The Lady from Shanghai. Crawford in, well, everything. The kind of women men don’t know if they want to kiss or kill. Women who claw and scrape through life because they have to. Now it’s Charlie’s turn. She’s no longer the scared, self-loathing girl she was when she left campus. She’s something else. A fucking femme fatale. "
9 " She blamed herself and hated herself and punished herself because that’s what women are taught to do. Blame themselves. Blame the victims. Tell themselves that since the Angela Dunleavys and Taylor Morrisons and Madeline Forresters of the world had sat through the same lessons on assault, received the same tiny bottles of pepper spray, and endured the same self-defense classes, it must have been their fault they were attacked. Or raped. Or killed. No one tells women that none of it is their fault. That the blame falls squarely on the awful men who do terrible things and the fucked-up society that raises them, molds them, makes excuses for them. People don’t want to admit that there are monsters in their midst, so the monsters continue to roam free and the cycle of violence and blame continues. "
10 " Because they take our world and improve upon it,” Charlie says. “Movies are magical that way. Everything is magnified. The colors are brighter. The shadows are darker. The action more violent and the love affairs more passionate. People break out into song. Or they used to. The emotions—love, hate, fear, laughter—are all bigger. And the people! All those beautiful faces in full close-up. So beautiful it’s hard to look away. "
11 " take our world and improve upon it,” Charlie says. “Movies are magical that way. Everything is magnified. The colors are brighter. The shadows are darker. The action more violent and the love affairs more passionate. People break out into song. Or they used to. The emotions—love, hate, fear, laughter—are all bigger. And the people! All those beautiful faces in full close-up. So beautiful it’s hard to look away. "
12 " Beginning at the end, like a great film noir. Bill Holden dead in the swimming pool. Fred MacMurray giving his last confession.Going full circle. Like a noose. "
13 " And if Charlie’s learned anything from the movies, it’s that few things are more dangerous than someone with nothing to lose. "
14 " I was just looking out for you. Women need to do that, you know. Look out for each other. There's a special place in hell for those who don't. "
15 " - It's hard meeting people.- I've found that not to be true. Meeting people is easy. Keeping them around is the hard part. "
16 " Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night. —All About Eve "
17 " No one tells women that none of it is their fault. That the blame falls squarely on the awful men who do terrible things and the fucked-up society that raises them, molds them, makes excuses for them. "
18 " Real life is so much better. "
19 " A constant pumping on the brakes of her existence. Now it’s time to start moving again, even if that movement is really just running away. "
20 " It’s a Russian doll of remorse. Guilt tucked into guilt that she’s ruining the only thing that has yet to be ruined. "