Recently I watched The Shape of Things, which Neil LaBute directed and adapted from his own play.  I’d love to see a performance of it, mainly to find out how the audience would react.  Instead, I watched the movie alone late one night, and, because it’s not very popular, have yet to come across anyone else that’s seen it.

But I have a few things to say about it, so I figure this is as good a place as any.  Of course, in order to do so, I have to give away plot points.  I’ll warn before I jump into the spoiler heavy stuff.

To sum up the plot as quickly as possible: A graduate student (Adam) begins dating an eccentric art student (Evelyn) and allows her to completely take over his life.  The changes don’t go unnoticed by his two engaged friends (Jenny & Phillip) who grow concerned about his willingness to go along with everything his new girlfriend wants.

Somehow in the course of hearing about this film, I was under the mistaken impression that she eventually convinces him to castrate himself.  I know that’s a bizarre incorrect idea to have, but what’s even stranger is that I’m pretty sure I was talking about it with a friend of mine once, and he thought the same thing.

Point being, this does not happen in the movie.  But what she does to him might be even worse.  (Okay, not really.  But it’s still pretty bad.)

WARNING: THERE BE SPOILERS!

When Adam meets Evelyn, he looks like this:

After she convinces him to lose weight, cut his hair, get contacts, wear different clothes, and get a nose job, he looks like this:

It’s a stark contrast, one that Evelyn highlights at her thesis presentation at the end of the movie by showing the audience blown-up pictures of Adam before & after.

It turns out that he was her project.  Their entire relationship was fabricated on her end to achieve her goals.  First, she wanted to make Adam more physically attractive, at least according to the status quo.  Second, she wanted to show that while Adam might look better, he’s become a worse person.

It’s an understandbly hard blow for Adam, who had gone so far as to give up his friends for her and propose after only a few months, a fact that she makes known to her audience.  No sensible person would argue that her actions aren’t morally irresponsible, at least, if not outright evil.  But I’d like to examine whether or not she succeeds.

Is Adam a worse person now that he is more attractive?

As someone who had his first real relationship later in life, I know that it certainly gives you a confidence boost to know (or, in Adam’s case, think) that another person cares about you and finds you attractive.  In Adam’s case, the reassurance from Evelyn are coupled with a true physical transformation, one that’s commented on by his friends.  He does become attractive in an objective sense.

This is partly what leads to Jenny making a move on him, though the truth is she always liked him.  And he liked her, but he was too shy to do anything about it.  So she began dating his friend Phillip, who she eventually became engaged to.  Doubts about their impending marriage lead her to seek out Adam for advice, and their conversation ends in a kiss.

Would this have happened without Evelyn’s influence?  It’s hard to say.  Jenny clearly likes Adam regardless of what he looks like, so perhaps it would.  But it’s doubtful Adam would have reciprocated.  Evelyn has turned him into a man willing to cheat on her, which brings up the question of free will.  Is devotion really devotion if it’s only out of necessity.  Adam clings to Jenny because she’s the first woman to show interest in him, but once another does, he abandons her, if only momentarily.

Once the truth is exposed, Evelyn gives an ultimatum.  In order to get her back, he must give up both of his friends forever.  He agrees, and she later uses this as evidence that he’s changed for the worse.  But really he does this because he hasn’t changed.  Deep down, he’s still very insecure and worries that Evelyn is his last hope for happiness.

Is Adam better off now than before he met Evelyn?

When Adam confronts her after the presentation, Evelyn shows no remorse.  In fact, she says he should be thankful for how she’s changed him.  Should he?

There’s psychological and emotional damage to consider, but since I’m not qualified to evaluate that, I’ll ignore it.

Adam is undeniably better looking, which will make him more attractive to women.  He’s also more assertive.  Even though we all side with Adam when he tells Evelyn off, the old Adam wouldn’t have done so.  He would have sulked away, defeated.  Through her despicable actions, she has made him capable of condeming them.

And it’s a pretty safe bet that he’s never be that gullible again.  He’s unlikely to change major aspects of his life for a girl instead of finding someone who loves him for who he is.  Of course, whether he’s really himself anymore is a question that’s up for debate.

What did she whisper to him?

When asked if anything was true, she replies that “that thing I whispered to you in bed.  That was the truth.”  Much like Lost in Translation, we’re never meant to know what was said.

Some have concluded that whatever it was had a double meaning, such as “I’ve never been happier.”  While he would think she meant their relationship, she would actually mean being in the process of changing him.

Others have speculated that it’s a more crude “that was the best sex I ever had.”

I’m more in line with the double meaning thing, but I like to think it was something that wouldn’t feel completely hollow now that he knows the truth.  Something along the lines of, “You’re the nicest guy I’ve ever met.”  Even though she might have meant it made him easy to manipulate, it’s still a bit of a compliment.

What do you think?

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