HurlyBurly - Misogynistic?

I wouldn't personally consider the play or the film to be misogynistic really, some of it's characters act in such a way but face the consequences of their actions. It therefor, doesn't celebrate misogyny, instead it explores it through a journey in which the characters have become extremely lost in a sea of self destructive behaviour. It's message is not one that views women in a negative light, the three women in HurlyBurly are very different and very strong characters. Donna is the youngest of the women, but she is wise beyond her years. She is the one that Finally helps Eddie find peace with his thoughts, explaining to him that everything pertains to him, yet he has complete freedom on how he feels about things because the truth is, it doesn't make any difference what he thinks about anything. This complete futility actually brings him comfort. Finally realising that he has no control over anything is his epiphany as he says "I may never go to sleep again, I may stay awake forever"

There is a scene where all the guys are sat around drinking and chatting, Mickey is telling a very misogynistic story about Bonnie. We see the very different reactions of the three guys as they each deal with their disgust in very different ways. Mickey makes light of it as he always does with every thing, Phil shows no form of disgust as he looks for acceptance where ever he can get it and Eddie is the character who actually refuses to find any of it funny, he is repulsed by it and we sense there may be hope for him yet.

Darlene is the most adaptive and suitable to their world. She is a woman who has come between two friends and makes no apologies for her decision to play the field. Although seemingly the most "normal" of the three women, she is not necessarily the most respectable

Eddie Is up and down, all over the place. (HurlyBurly) He is the unification of all of the characters positive and negative qualities. Mickey Is Jaded, detached, manipulative and will continue to live a very guarded and numb existence. Phil commits suicide as he is the most miserable of them all. Phil's character is arguable repulsive and disgusting, but he has a very honest and raw edge to his personality. Each of these characters face a different reality based on the way they treat others, it does not celebrate misogyny in the slightest, it is actually a warning against it and the hedonistic lifestyle with which it is often associated.

To summarise. Just because there is misogyny present in the themes explored by the film, doesn't necessarily make the film misogynistic. How can you ever discuss and explore the negative aspects of misogyny without showing it in a film? You can't.

I stand by my opinion that HurlyBurly is a masterpiece and remains my favourite film of all time.