MovieChat Forums > McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) Discussion > *spoiler* church scene

spoiler church scene

posted 15 years ago by D_vd_B
19 replies | jump to latest

when the church caught fire, all the villagers rushed out and helped.

Was this a little like High Noon; they all knew that there was going to be violence to someone and they all just stood back out of fear, but that they where almost delighted that they could do something (other than getting mixed up with McCabe and his problems)?

And when the priest was getting killed, I understand that those guys that were celebrating the end of the fire didn't notice his corpse. And I wonder if they even would care if they did.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ruelland 15 years ago

While it's true they kept out of the whole conflict, I saw the fire as a showing of how strong the community that McCabe and Mrs. Miller have made really was, whether it is was their intention or not. The way they come together and save the church, and celebrate as a group, shows that the town they've made will get along fine without them.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] D_vd_B 15 years ago

so I understand that in the book, McCabe seemed a much 'stronger' character (as in willpower and guts), while in the movie he is much more the player from Leonard Cohen's Stranger song.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kaskait 15 years ago

The church scene was a highly ironic and tragic counterpoint to McCabe's fight.

Here McCabe was fighting for his whole town, their freedom.

Instead of helping him, they choose to save a wooden building and celebrate it to boot. Meanwhile the real savior lies dying in the snow.

This film has one of the bleakest endings I have ever watched. The only other film that has captured the same element was "Requiem for a Dream".

[–] paleolith 14 years ago

I found it ironic that in a film which attempts to present the West realistically, the church fire is totally unrealistic. Given the stage of the fire when the villagers arrived, they 1) would not have been able to get that close due to the heat, and 2) would have had not a snowball's chance in hell of putting out the fire with the little buckets of water they were throwing in -- just mist to that size a fire.

Edward

[–] doughazelrigg 14 years ago

"The church scene was a highly ironic and tragic counterpoint to McCabe's fight.

Here McCabe was fighting for his whole town, their freedom.

Instead of helping him, they choose to save a wooden building and celebrate it to boot. Meanwhile the real savior lies dying in the snow.

This film has one of the bleakest endings I have ever watched. The only other film that has captured the same element was "Requiem for a Dream"."

You've nailed it 100%. MUCH respect

The underlying point of the Church burning scene was that the townsfolk were more loyal to a building than the values the building represented, values of loyalty to the man who almost single-handedly built their town. Tragically, even Mrs Miller was aloof in her own world, high on drugs, while McCabe fought alone. I agree, a very bleak ending.

BTW -- I respect that this is based on a book, but really, the film is NOT the book. I don't think the film should be explained by referring to the book; they are two totally separate things

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] doughazelrigg 14 years ago

mgtbltp -- you love this movie, don't you? :) I respect that, because I love it too. It's in my Top 10. You and I are two frequent posters on this forum.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] doughazelrigg 14 years ago

What cable service do you have? I've got Comcast, and in 2009 they showed it numerous times on one of the Encore channels. It was on a LOT. I recorded it using the Comcast recording facility

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bigmyc04 9 years ago

I don't think that either of you are correct about the circumstances surrounding McCabe's demise. Firstly, there's probably nothing that anyone could have done to help McCabe as his wounds were clearly severe. Secondly, I don't think that anybody really knew what was going on that morning in particular let alone saw McCabe staggering through the snow. Remember, the guy was trying to get to a point on the hill behind the town...he was basically out of sight of anybody who was rallying to get to the church.

[–] BobbyDupea 9 years ago

But what about helping McCabe before he was shot? He clearly wanted help, and he clearly didn't get it.

My real name is Jeff

[–] bigmyc04 9 years ago

Like I said, I don't think many people understood what was about to go down and when. McCabe didn't exactly rally anybody in his favor. That ending seems very fitting to me, though. Here's a guy who was used to thinking about himself and not really needing anyone. When he was truly in a position where outside help would be crucial, it wasn't there even though he was still among the citizens of the town. He was a man who kept himself under wraps and when he was severely wounded, he found himself out of sight...exactly where he kept himself throughout his life.

This was a great movie.

[–] doughazelrigg 9 years ago

Mrs. Miller certainly understood, better than even McCabe himself. The men that hung out at Paddy's HAD to have understood -- they witnessed the Kid murder the Cowboy, after all. The Reverend understood -- McCabe told him to his face, "Can I have my gun? Those men are out to kill me."

It's true that McCabe was something of a rugged individualist, and I think that this is part of the central message of the movie: by this time in history, the early 2oth Century, the individualism that had characterized the Old West was quickly dying -- the new era of corporatism, phony religiosity, and communal apathy had set in.

[–] bigmyc04 9 years ago

Of course Mrs. Miller knew what was to become of McCabe. She even related that to him but to no avail. She figured he was going to do what he felt he needed to do and so she was going to let that part of her life go. The reverend didn't care one way or another, that was clear and the people at Paddy's were probably still sleeping off the previous night's beverages. Now, keep in mind, the town consisted of quite a few more denizens that the aforementioned characters. So no, not many people were aware of what was transpiring between McCabe and the goons from the company. Even if they were, it was early morning and that played out all over the town. It was hide and seek with gunplay. Not a broadcasted high noon shootout.

I think the central message of the movie was less about a time period and more about using that time period in order to convey the tenuous nature of the human condition as it relates to greater society. The character, McCabe and his eventual fate could have occurred in any point in antiquity.

[–] BobbyDupea 9 years ago

Exactly - the only time the villagers cared about the church was when they were avoiding the danger of helping McCabe. They didn't actually attend the church on Sundays.

My real name is Jeff