Shadowlands

 

Every month, our parish has a movie night. Our pastor, who is a film buff, shows a movie that has moral/religious themes. We view the movie, he gives us some details about it and the actors, then we have a discussion afterwards. 

Last night, the movie was Shadowlands, a movie about the courtship and marriage of C. S. Lewis and Joy Davidman, her death due to cancer, and how Lewis deals with that death.  Anthony Hopkins played Lewis, and Debra Winger played Davidman.

Lewis later wrote a book about dealing with her death, A Grief Observed. The movie - and the play from which it was adapted - was based on that book.

I had seen the movie decades ago when it was in the theaters. I also read A Grief Observed.

I highly recommend both.

Father is usually ready to answer any questions during the after-movie discussion, but a few stumped him last night.

In the movie, Joy had one son Douglas, with her from her previous marriage (in real life, she had two sons). When she dies, Lewis took in the boy. Someone in the audience asked what happened to the boy as Lewis himself would die just three years after Davidman. Father did not know.

Lewis had adopted both Douglas and his older brother David. At the time of Lewis's death, Douglas had just turned 18, so he was no longer a child. David at that point was 19. Douglas later became an actor, voice actor, producer, and more, and he and his wife had five children. He also shared in Lewis's estate after Lewis's older brother, Warnie, died. 

Two question rose about Warnie that Father could not answer. There was a hint in the movie that he had a drinking problem and someone wondered if he did have that problem.

Turns out he was indeed an alcoholic. But he apparently somewhat controlled his drinking with his brother's help, though not always successfully. I don't know what happened after Lewis died in terms of his drinking; Warnie survived him by 10 years, and was involved with helping to edit his bother's works, so perhaps he was able to keep his drinking under control. But I don't know for certain. 

Someone also wondered if after Lewis's death if he raised Douglas and David, his step-nephews. But they were 18 and 19, so no longer children, per se. He did maintain contact with them, however. He had inherited his brother's estate, and when he died in 1973 it all went to Douglas and David.

Some added notes: Douglas remained a Christian, but David reverted to his family's Orthodox Jewish faith. Lewis while he was alive tried to make sure there was kosher food provided for him.

Sadly, David had mental issues, and he and Douglas were estranged. David later died in a mental institution in 2014. 

Douglas is apparently still alive.