Nothingness and absence as a means of resilience. A dialogue between the spirituality of Simone Weil and Thomas Merton

Abstract

In the film We need to talk about Kevin, masterfully directed by Lynne Ramsay, and based on the bestselling novel of Lionel Shiver, the audience grapples with the murder committed by the teenager Kevin Khatchadourian who locks several students of his college in the gymnasium and shoots them with his bow and arrows. The non-linear narrative of the film focuses on the mother, poignantly interpreted by Tilda Swinton, through a number of flashbacks depicting her relationship with her growing son, prior to the atrocious event, and the impact it had on her life afterwards. In the wake of the tragedy, she is visited at home by two Mormons who want to speak to her about the afterlife. Her curt reply is that she will be going straight to hell, and on that statement closes the door onto the preachers.