“I BELIEVE THERE IS SUCH POWER AND AGENCY IN ONE’S ABILITY TO SHARE THEIR OWN STORY. THIS FILM IS HONESTLY FOR EVERYONE AND I HOPE THAT IT DOES ENCOURAGE SOME THOUGHTFUL CONSIDERATION.” — Maria Clinton ’13
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was in complete awe of the magnitude of their collection and the diversity of specimens,” Clinton said about the first time she visited the O’Briens. “Their [individual] offices were across the hall from each other and they pulled out their most impressive cases of weevils and planthoppers.” The carefully mounted insects sparkled like miniature “disco balls” in lacquered teals and vibrant greens, and had location tags from places like India, Brazil, and beyond. Unlike anything Clinton had ever seen, they got her over her original repulsion. But it was the relationship between Charlie and Lois that pulled the heartstrings, if you will, of Clinton and the film crew, and left them wanting to know more. “We originally imagined a much shorter film, but just one trip to Green Valley [Arizona], and we knew there was a much bigger story that we had to share,” Clinton said. “The focus was definitely on the importance of science and scientists; however, the story evolved into something greater as we considered their love for one another.”
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In the opening scene, Charlie and Lois are surrounded by their collection — nestled together in front of ceiling-high pine specimen cabinets and drawers, glass presentation frames brimming with pinned insects, and piles of waxy envelopes. Lois asks about the condition of her hair, saying that she was just outdoors, that she always has fly-aways. Charlie, with laughing but doting eyes, brushes her hair aside. They readily admit that they don’t always agree, but just as quickly defer to one another’s knowledge or opinion. Later in the film, we see the signs of a home well lived-in, of a partnership peacefully forged over time. But, we also peer inside at lives of caretaking and facing the prospect of terminal illness, at the clutter and rubble of old age. The O’Briens present it all with a humor that has sustained them, even as they squabble over the slide carousel or eventual funeral plans, and all without losing focus for the things that they love most: each other, but really the bugs. Clinton wanted to keep the cameras rolling as much as possible, to capture the more “vérité observational footage” as well as the