Line #40 Film/TheYellowHandkerchief


1	[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theyellowhandkerchief2008poster.jpg]]
2	-> '''Gordy:''' Why did you trust him from the beginning?
3	-> '''Martine:''' I think because I trust... sad people.
4
5	''The Yellow Handkerchief'' is a 2008 drama film starring Creator/WilliamHurt, Creator/MariaBello, Creator/KristenStewart and Creator/EddieRedmayne.
6
7	William Hurt plays Brett, a man who gets released from prison at the start of the story. With no home and no family, he ends up hitchhiking with two teenagers. Martine (Kristen Stewart) and Gordy (Eddie Redmayne) are strangers to each other, but get drawn together. Each of them is dysfunctional in their own way, but all bond as they journey to Southern Louisiana. Along the way, Brett is troubled by flashbacks to his relationship with a woman called May (Maria Bello).
8
9	!!Tropes:
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11	* AbuseMistake: A passerby [[spoiler:mistakes Brett's attempt to give a distraught (and drunk) May a CooldownHug for DomesticAbuse]], which is what leads to the AccidentalMurder that sparks the whole plot.
12	* AccidentalMurder:
13	** [[spoiler: What Brett went to prison for. A passerby saw him and May arguing, thought Brett was attacking her and tried to intervene. Brett pushed him and he hit his head off a fire hydrant]].
14	** Gordy also accidentally hits a deer crossing the road.
15	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Alluded to with May, who had a string of bad relationships. Brett suggests that the men themselves were just bad. Brett himself is a former bad boy who is now reformed.
16	* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: [[spoiler: May gave one to Brett while he was in prison - right after he said he wanted a divorce]]. Also doubles as a ReasonYouSuckSpeech.
17	* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Martine gives one to Brett about May.
18	-->'''Martine''': Do you think she knows.... that she's the one thing in your whole life you've ever loved?
19	* BetaCouple: Although Martine and Gordy are two of the protagonists, more emphasis is on Brett and May's relationship, making them the Beta.
20	* BlueAndOrangeContrast: During the flashback of May and Brett making love in the shower, the scene is lit by contrasting hues of blue and orange.
21	* BrokenBird: May has been through a ''lot'' in her life, and it's taken its toll.
22	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Gordy apparently is a computer repairman.
23	* ChekhovsGun: Brett mails a postcard when they stop at a motel. [[spoiler: He later reveals it was a postcard telling May he'd just gotten out]].
24	* ChildrenRaiseYou: Brett is clearly a better person from getting to know the two teens along the road trip.
25	* ChromaticArrangement: The three protagonists. Brett wears a blue jacket, Martine has a red top and Gordy a green shirt and cap.
26	* CloudCuckooLander: Gordy is quite odd and has some peculiar mannerisms.
27	* ColorMotif:
28	** The first troubled flashbacks with May are heavily filtered in blue, to create a melancholy feeling. A similar use of blue is created in a flashback to [[spoiler: Brett divorcing May in prison]] as all the prisoners wear blue uniforms.
29	** The scene of May and Brett rowing through the bayou have a lot of green, creating a tranquil feeling.
30	** Brett telling Gordy and Martine about May is lit with a predominance of orange - emphasising the warmth.
31	* DefrostingIceQueen: Martine warms towards Gordy as the film goes on. May also in the process of her relationship with Brett.
32	--> "Did you know that you made me love you?"
33	* DisappearedDad: Gordy's left him when he was just an infant. Martine's is around but doesn't show her much attention, considering she repeatedly says that no one from home has left a message wondering where she is.
34	* DysfunctionJunction: In the one car we have - the ex-con who went to prison for manslaughter, the oddball teenage runaway, and the absurdly trusting fifteen-year-old with daddy issues.
35	* ExtremelyShortTimeSpan: The film covers three days, give or take.
36	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Martine (Choleric), Gordy (Sanguine), Brett (Phlegmatic) and May (Melancholic).
37	* FreeRangeChildren: Martine is free to take off on a two-day road trip around the state, and she mentions that her father hasn't even left a message wondering where she is.
38	* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Subverted. May reveals she once had an abortion, and it's used to show her as a Woobie.
39	* HollywoodKiss: [[spoiler:Brett and May's ReunionKiss]] is so loving and cinematic it ought to be on a movie poster.
40	* {{Hypocrite}}:
41	** A redneck's girlfriend screams abuse at Brett for attacking her boyfriend, calling him a psycho and freak. This is after her boyfriend had been attacking Gordy, while she sadistically cheered him on.
42	** Not long after this, Gordy is mistrustful of Brett when he finds out he was in prison. This is after he's spent a while hoping Martine won't judge him for his flaws.
43	* InsecureLoveInterest: The reason Brett is reluctant to go back to May is that he doesn't think he's good enough for her. [[spoiler:May doesn't agree with him.]]
44	* IntergenerationalFriendship: Brett - who is in his forties or fifties - with Gordy and Martine, who are both teenagers.
45	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: This is why Brett breaks things off with May -- he thinks she's better off without him. [[spoiler:[[IWillWaitForYou May doesn't agree]].]]
46	* IWillWaitForYou: Discussed by Martine, who says she would wait for a loved one to serve out their prison sentence. [[spoiler: Ultimately played straight by May]].
47	* KarmaHoudini: The couple that attacked Gordy for accidentally dinging their van seem to get off scot free, aside from the husband getting beaten up by Brett.
48	* LastGuyWins: Brett was the latest in a series of failed lovers for May. [[spoiler: He does indeed win and she waits for him to get out of prison]].
49	* LastMinuteHookUp: [[spoiler: Gordy and Martine after Brett and May are reunited]].
50	* LonersAreFreaks: Subverted. The protagonists are all lonely in some way, and have an oddness to them. But they're good people who just want to be loved.
51	* LoveTheme: Brett and May have an achingly poignant, beautiful, romantic theme that winds through their tenderest moments together.
52	* LoveWillLeadYouBack: Despite the way their relationship ended, May refuses to give up on Brett, hoping that he will find his way back to her. [[spoiler:She's absolutely right.]]
53	* MagicalNativeAmerican: Gordy (who is white but raised by Native Americans) tries to invoke this a couple of times, but it's used to show him as an idiot.
54	* MayDecemberRomance: Parodied, courtesy of this little exchange.
55	--> '''Martine:''' Are you married?
56	--> '''Brett:''' Are you interviewing for the job, because you're a little young.
57	* MoodLighting: Love scenes between Brett and May are shot with a soft yellow light.
58	* MoralityPet: The teens are this for Brett. When he thinks Gordy might be raping Martine due to a misunderstanding, he intervenes and makes Gordy sleep in the bathroom. Later when some rednecks attack Gordy, he defends him. May also qualifies; his tenderness with her speaks volumes about how much he loves her.
59	* MotorMouth: Martine tends to ramble or ask a lot of questions.
60	* OneHeadTaller: In her bare feet, May comes up almost exactly to Brett's chin. [[spoiler:This only adds to the romance of the final scene, as he folds her in his arms and strokes her hair while she hides her face in his chest. He even gets to lift her off the ground and into his arms before their ReunionKiss.]]
61	* OneTrueLove: Martine calls May "the one thing in [his] whole life [he's] ever loved." Brett can't deny it.
62	* ThePowerOfLove: The movie's ''tagline'' is "Discover the power of love."
63	* RedHerring: [[spoiler: The audience is led to believe that Brett went to prison for killing May or at least assaulting her. It's later revealed they were in love and the actual murder was a stranger who got caught in an argument between them. Funnily enough May is wearing a [[VisualPun red dress]] when it happens]].
64	* ReunionKiss: Brett and May, [[spoiler:at the very end of the film]]. Unlike most examples of the trope, while the kiss itself is simple, sweet, and heartfelt, most of the emotion is conveyed simply by the tender way he holds her.
65	* RoadTripPlot: But of course. The majority of the movie is spent on the road as the trio journey through Louisiana.
66	* RoadTripRomance: Martine and Gordy slowly fall for each other during the trip.
67	* SceneryPorn: It's a road movie that takes place in Louisiana and shows off plenty of the sights and scenery.
68	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Gordy decided to just up and leave where he lived because everyone hated him.
69	* SheCleansUpNicely: [[spoiler: May dons a beautiful red dress and does her hair in anticipation of Brett's return at the end]].
70	* ShipperOnDeck: [[spoiler: Martine and Gordy are the ones who convince Brett to reunite with May, after hearing the story about her]].
71	* StepfordSmiler: Gordy reveals himself to be one, though he wavers between this and ThePollyanna.
72	* TearsOfJoy: May gets a bit teary-eyed when [[spoiler:Brett lifts her into his arms at the end]].
73	* TraumaCongaLine: May's life was one. She had numerous bad relationships, one of which resulted in an abortion. [[spoiler: She suffers a miscarriage and her husband goes to prison for accidental murder, and divorces her while inside]].
74	* TroubledBackStoryFlashback: To Brett's relationship with May, [[spoiler:her miscarriage of their child and accidental murder of a stranger]].
75	* TroubledButCute: All the protagonists are troubled in some way but have an endearing quality to them:
76	** Brett is an ex-con and has a hint of a temper, but is a kind and honourable man underneath.
77	** Martine is a little judgmental and brutally honest, but very trusting.
78	** Gordy is awkward and odd, but wants to be loved.
79	** May too has suffered hardships but just wants love too.
80	* TrueBlueFemininity: Martine's default outfit has a blue t-shirt, emphasising her kind and caring nature.
81	* {{Tsundere}}: May is a Type A who gets ''tsuntsun'' when Brett first makes advances to her, but becomes ''deredere'' pretty quickly. Martine is a Type B who is mostly ''deredere'' to Brett, but Gordy brings out her ''tsuntsun'' side.
82	* VagueAge: Gordy's age is never said, but he's old enough to drive, which puts him at seventeen at the youngest.
83	* WhatTheHellHero: May delivers this speech to Brett [[spoiler: as he gives her divorce papers while in prison]].
84	--> "Did you know that you made me love you?"

Context Film / TheYellowHandkerchief