Waterlily Jaguar

The book, Waterlily Jaguar, will represent Bob’s highest achievement as an artist/novelist in both an excitement and obsession. He’s also taken the bold step of writing about the women found at the tar pits in “verse,” which sets off a series of meetings and ultimatums with his publisher. Bob’s people think his fans will appreciate the risk, while the publisher says, “are you nuts!” but in publisher speak.

All this pressure sets the stage for Bob’s massive heart attack and the strain it and his obsession has on Helen and their marriage, which to me is the best part of this story. When you get married, you’re choosing to take the other person—flaws and all. Throughout that marriage and as we get older, those flaws intensify.

Could it be that Helen married the passionate artist, Bob, only to realize that passion meant obsession? Melora Walters’ screenplay just pushes both Bob and Helen to their emotional breaking points as Helen must verbalize…tactfully…her frustrations, while Bob internalizes it to his detriment.

“…Walters’ screenplay just pushes both Bob and Helen to their emotional breaking points…”

The ending will conjure feelings of hope and disappointment, and I love it. I criticize a lot of dramas that talk and talk and talk. Often this talk is all exposition explaining what people are feeling and how they’ve psychoanalyzed themselves. There is a good amount of dialogue in Waterlily Jaguar, but the dialogue informs us about the character. Bob is not a chatty person, but Le Gros’ portrayal speaks volumes about Bob. Mira Sorvino continues to show she has range and can elevate any character she takes on.

Waterlily Jaguar hits right into my love of character-based stories. Honestly, I thought this was going to be a comedy, but thankfully it wasn’t. Each character is well-defined, and the dialogue fits their personalities. Good acting, good characters, and a clever plot, Melora Walters takes tells fascinating story of artists and an insightful tale about relationships as we grow older.