The Mar Vista
The title means “sea view,” a metaphor for the fact that his mother’s happiest memories involved being mesmerized by large bodies of water. All the places she felt happiest were by the sea, even—with a stretch of the imagination—the suburb of Mar Vista, L.A., with its wispy view of the Pacific. It was, therefore, dramatically sensible that the final scene should take place on the island off Istanbul where his mother’s family vacationed. [more]