Clashing in art as a proxy for living

Rating: 1/10 (30 March 2019)

My thoughts: the film battles in art. The art is Tony's life is living out in the open through hedonism, competition, family, violence; a work of art actual 'performance' (many see a meta-performance and I do as well), all amount to the inverse of Don; who lives in the abstraction of piano where humanity is safely within symbol. So all of those ways Tony lives, Don lives in hiding; in performance, in sexual repression, in self protection. Then the cross in approaches contrasts the two opposing spectrum to comedic effect; Dumb and Smarter. The key for me is the magic stone, the great symbol allowing him proximity to his discomfort, that abandons his distraction in eating for genuine social connection through art. The ending feels wrong in the natural escalation of its presentation of symbols would reveal Tony being in the closet. Cronenberg ought to have made it...
Basically, Tony does all the learning while Don's ending does not seem very happy at all, destined only to continue reinforcing his internal fortification within this sole window to the outside world. Not sure how feel good it actually is but for how intent it is on being so damned on the nose, I can't make heads or tails of what they thought they were doing. Director Farrely having a big moment is fun though as those 90's comedies deserved best picture in some sense.