He seemed catatonic in the bar BEFORE the subway incident. What were they trying to get across w/ him?
I know we have no way of knowing, but I'd love to know theories. Loneliness? Self-loathing about his orientation?
Well, what did it make you feel? What is your theory?
He was, from the beginning, lonely and very vulnerable--and the horrific treatment in front of the others was so public, so clear and so humiliating that he was pretty much beaten down into submission. His shame and self-loathing were palpable. He was even an object of scorn from his fellow passengers (I really hated that date rapist coward almost as much as the hoodlums), but at least Gary Merrill--whom the gay guy was clearly hitting on before they got on the train--did try to stand up for him at some point.
"Thank you, thank you--you're most kind. In fact you're every kind."
Milliedil- I agree w/ you: and I too despised Donna Mill's "date" as much as Sheen and Musante as well. Even more so when he did nothing when it was his and Donna Mill's "turn" to be picked on.
What I felt about the gay guy, pre train was sadness for him and frustration. Now, this is just me deriving a back story only from what I saw but that perhaps he was just coming to terms w/ his sexuality and had a ton of self loathing about it. He didn't know where he belonged; he was obviously at a "straight" bar w/ women and men laughing it up, and he felt he didn't belong. He may not have known where to go, what do to etc. And he seemed very lonely (I got the impression he was only trying to pick up Gary Merrill because he was also in the bathroom, not because of a burning attraction...he was a man, at least.) And that he had tried to hide his sexuality his whole life. Which brings me to my point:
EVERY passenger (actually they were all paired off, except for Gary Merrill), was frustrated, angry, and generally going through rough times in their lives prior to boarding the train. I noticed the director showed us that each "pair" were comfortable bullying, fighting, nagging, their respective partners, but when it came to 2 strangers tormenting them, they turned into quivering, obedient children. Was that maybe the point of the director?
I suppose I'm asking in general, the reason why the director chose to show people in miserable situations prior what happened when they boarded the train.
Btw, upon 2nd viewing, I noticed that Beau Bridges mentions to his buddy, that his parents seem to really worry about him, and that he has a nice father. He also mentions, that his own parents died when he was really young, which by the end, I took that to mean, he may have been accustomed to being bullied, and having to stand up for himself, maybe even raise himself. Whereas his friend was coddled, and thus acted accordingly by the end. Comments? thoughts?
He obviously had some other problems. He didn't even bother to fight back at all when the creeps were harassing him. He didn't even get upset when he missed his stop. It was kind of sad how apathetic the other passengers were when he was getting his ass kicked.
sharePart of the torture of each person was being made to feel helpless and the failure of any of the other passengers to speak up against what was happening. It was a good reflection of what was going on in society at the time (and probably still is). People hesitated to get involved. They were no longer confident they lived in a world which still had rules and standards of fair play.
Barriers were being broken down. some were achievements in human rights like criminalizing racism and accepting mixed marriages. Others were done just to shock people. but once the "rules" had been broken for the first time, it took more to shock people.
This incident took place after the Kitty Genovese murder in which people could have phoned the police from the safety and privacy of their own apartments; but they didn't want to "get involved".
Harassment of the "gay" man drew no objection from the passengers because openly homosexual people were still considered insane or criminal in the sixties. The subway passengers may have had some lingering feeling that he deserved to be punished. Then the hoodlums proceed to violate the safety of each person until they have reached the most innocent victim of all, a defenseless child.
the movie gets a really intense feeling of dread going as the unfolding events awaken thoughts about what might happen next and possible means of escape. there aren't many movies which get inside my mind like this one. I felt the unspoken was an invisible character.