| The Way We Speak is a character study. A low-key dialogue heavy examination of a man as he embarks on a career-pivotal debate and cares for a wife dying of cancer. It’s also a career-defining role for Patrick Fabian. An actor that most people will recognize from decades of TV work including Better Call Saul, Big Love and Veronica Mars. He has a knack for playing bad guys that can hide behind charm and smarm. | | 2024
Directed by: Ian Ebright
Screenplay by: Ian Ebright
Starring: Patrick Fabian, Diana Coconubo, and Kailey Rhodes
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Here, Simon’s (Patrick Fabian) status as the bad guy is a lot more nuanced. He wouldn’t be able to tell you where things went wrong despite being one of the smartest, most eloquent and well-spoken societal analysts around. Let’s start with a quote from the opening scene. Simon is complaining to his wife about how much more successful his colleague and friend is. His wife says it’s not a competition, “everything in life is a competition,” he replies, so quickly, so succinctly, so matter-of-fact that it’s just an obvious statement.
I agree with him. I feel most people in society treat most things in life as a competition that it is just a factual statement. Is he a bad guy for treating most things in his career as a competition? He’s also a professional debater, again, debates literally are a competition; it’s easy to see how that seeps into other aspects of his life.
It’s quickly established that Simon is very arrogant and super competitive, and also condescending which just naturally follows from the first two adjectives. The next trait up for debate is misogyny. His wife is a doctor, a highly-regarded and very successful doctor, more successful than him as Simon likes pointing out. Typically men who marry driven and successful women aren’t misogynistic. But there’s a lot more about their marriage that the film will eventually dig into.
The central debate that the film features is whether God is real or not. Simon is of course on the side that God does not exist and he’s unexpectedly paired against a young, female Christian who ends up being way smarter than Simon would be willing to give her credit for. Is his issue that she’s a Christian? Or she’s young? Or she’s female? Or is it all three?
It's unclear if the film intends Simon to be a hated character. It’s nuanced on purpose so viewers can debate for themselves which lines he crosses and when. Simon certainly doesn’t understand where things fell apart with his wife. His intentions were clear and he never once changed. And that right there is a problem, people change, but is it his fault for not changing?
The Way We Speak is a well written movie, that can debate the existence of God for Christians and atheists alike meanwhile presenting the audience with the pinnacle of an arrogant, narcissistic academic and breaking him down into all his individual traits and forcing him to recognize himself when all is said and done.
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