Our Town Analysis

Joy’s lukewarm acting career in L.A. had fizzled when she moves to Berkeley with her boyfriend, Mark. While there, she meets Malcolm, a physics professor, at a holiday dinner. Under the night sky, they talk about their love of the play, “Our Town.” Then he takes her hand and her imagination runs wild. That’s when their loving friendship began… That was fifteen years ago.
Currently, Joy’s life is unraveling. In the last six months, she lost her job at a studio, split with her fiancé (a film producer) and dealt with the death of her alcoholic brother from a senseless bicycle accident.
One evening, after several glasses of wine, she emails her old friend, Malcolm. He replies and invites her to visit him in Berkeley. Without a job to keep her

Also, that he’s taken a sabbatical from teaching and written an inspirational sci-fi novel. She’s intrigued, and after an unsettling dinner at his neighbor’s house (Emese), buried romantic inklings are unearthed. Though, their night of romance is short-lived, when Malcolm expresses reservations the next morning. Disappointed, Joy switches her attention to finding work back in L.A. and invites him to join her. He’s willing.
Back in L.A., their desire for each other rekindles and passions catch fire. Soon after, he gets an agent to read his book who wants him to write a treatment. Since his writing takes priority now, to compensate, Joy joins a bicycle group taught by a young instructor with an interest in Zen. Confident he’s the right teacher to quell her childhood fear of riding a bicycle, she dives in.
However, her enthusiasm bursts, when she gets spooked and takes a spill at the Santa Monica boardwalk. To soothe her bruised ego, she limps to an upscale hotel nearby, and at the bar orders a martini. Straight off, she spots her former fiancé (Thom) at a table with colleagues. They chat at the bar and he drives her home. Later he invites her to dinner where she discloses the loss of her job. In a beat, he offers her a development position at his production company. Though ambivalent, she accepts the job, with the assumption that it’s

Doris warns her to be careful about juggling two men she cares about, because she could end up alone.
She heeds the warning, and tells Malcolm about her job with Thom. Even so, her guilt and loyalty to both men get them and her entangled in a sticky situation that backfires. Where misunderstanding and jealousy opens old wounds, and she’s saddled with the belief that romantic relationships are not her forte. Rather than try and fix the mess, she takes Doris’ advice, and concentrates on the charity bike race.
A few days later, she and Doris begin their ride to Santa Barbara. The bike route is beautiful, but bicycling on unfamiliar terrain scares her and grueling on her body. She vows never to do anything like this again. Half-way to their destination, they take a short break and a second wind kicks in, but it doesn’t last. Her stamina caves, and at a critical point, she nearly faints and fears she may die, like her brother. Except for her, a serendipitous upshot occurs. With the other cyclists in sight, she finds support and the courage to bicycle to the finish line, just in