Cameron and Rose, the point about honesty is noteworthy. If the Astrid-Michael subplot is a kind of cautionary tale, then honesty can be seen as the one-word touchstone for its central theme. And now that I think about it, honesty is a key theme throughout all of the storylines and characters. How Nick has been less than honest with Rachel about his familial background and especially his wealth (this was a stumbling block for me when I saw the movie, how could Rachel *not* know Nick’s background in an era of Google, social media, and how could Nick think he could *possibly* hide who his family is given the same). Peik Lin’s family is the opposite of Nick’s family in that they are down to earth and completely honest with themselves about their ‘earthiness.’ Oliver is similar, as he doesn’t fit the upper crust rich Asian mold, most notably being gay, but he, too, is completely comfortable (honest) with who he is. I wonder if honesty has a place when considering Eleanor: how much of her apparent disdain for Rachel is based on her philosophical adherence to custom and tradition, and how much is more psychological in nature, that since she was once castigated for being different, she is going to take that out on Rachel, akin to a kind of sorority hazing system which Eleanor suffered from and now is intent on putting Rachel through it precisely because she (Eleanor) sent through it.

Hmm. More food for thought…

Thanks for your observations, Rose and Cameron!