Yesterday afternoon a friend and I watched an unnerving documentary, "Crazy Love" (released on DVD couple weeks ago).It's about Burt Pugach and Linda Riss, a couple whose story started when they met in the '50s. Burt spotted the lovely Linda and decided instantly he had to have her. The two dated for years, and when Linda finally spurned him (I won't tell you why, but she was well within her rights), Burt went over the edge. He did something horrible to her (I won't tell you what, but it was despicable), and for it, he spent almost two decades in prison. When he got out he was as obsessively in love with Linda as ever, and continued to try to win her over.
HE DID. They married. They're still together.
My friend and I spent most of the documentary shaking our heads in wonder. "Uh, I'm OK not dating right now," I murmured as the story took its dark turn. Singlehood never seemed so ... safe.
The unsettling fact is that you really don't know who you're getting involved with when you start seeing someone. We all take a chance when we let someone new into our lives. Much of the time we're lucky, but in some cases, what begins as love mutates into something more sinister.
Also at the heart of the documentary is the knowledge that relationships work because the people involved are getting what they need out of it. What may seem kooky and ill-advised to us on the outside looking in may be perfectly natural and necessary to the folks who live it every day.
Ugh. The story of Burt Pugach and Linda Riss is scary enough for me this Halloween season, thank you very much.
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1 comment:
I just saw the film this weekend. An undoubtedly well made film about a strange, strange couple.
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