MovieChat Forums > The Last of Sheila (1973) Discussion > Huge fans look for tiny flaws

Huge fans look for tiny flaws

posted 11 years ago by Vidhound
8 replies | jump to latest

SUBJECT: Huge fans look for tiny flaws

This is a carry-over from the thread called "Letter Clue Errors? Spoilers!"

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!

I love this movie! I've probably seen it at least 20 times over the years since it came out in 1973. I've seen it so many times that I think I might have actually found some flaws that I've never heard anyone discuss.

I *definitely* don't want to come across as criticizing the movie. (After all, it's easy to find flaws if you've had 20 viewings and 40 years!)

So, let's discuss!

I think we can dismiss flaws involving lucky timing and the perfection/tidiness of the clues, but there are a couple of other things that occurred to me -- mostly by wondering what exactly will happen next (after the movie ends).

SPOILERS

My biggest question has to do with Philip's motivation toward the end of the movie. Again, since it has taken me 40 years to notice this, it can't be too big a problem, but...

We find out at the end that Philip was willing to KILL CLINTON simply to keep his secret a secret. However, just before the final scenes, Philip is basically in the clear. Four people on the yacht know, but they have secrets too, and no one seems to care. He's off the hook!

And then he chooses to keep poking at the mystery! He keeps trying to solve it, and he does! He finds out that it was Tom. And, while explaining the solution, Philip flat out admits to Tom that he, Philip, tried to kill Clinton by turning on the yacht's propellers.

When Philip's explanation is about complete, Tom asks, "What do you think? Am I going to get away with it?"

A quick-thinking Philip would answer "You mean, are *we* going to get away with it? We each tried to kill him; you were just more successful. So, yes, of course *we* are."

Instead, he blows his chance to make Tom his ally, even if only temporarily. He keeps twisting the screws, and finally Tom does the worst possible thing: He explodes! Fortunately, Christine and some hunky guy run in, save the day, and they all decide on Tom's punishment:

Tom's going to pay a bunch of money so that they can make a movie of everything we just watched!

Philip now has more secrets than he did before: He's a child molester, he tried to murder Clinton, and he nearly killed Christine (news that she takes very well, by the way!). And he wants to make a movie of the whole thing?

I have tentative explanations that I can satisfy myself with (a lot more easily than wondering why Tom wouldn't crumple his fake replacement card).

But I thought I'd throw out the topic for discussion, even if just between myself and Poisoned Dragon :-)

[–] Poisoned_Dragon1964 11 years ago

I've never believed that Tom could be made an ally; he's too treacherous. Look what he did to his wife and to his gay lover. And Philip ("That was my contribution") was never in any real danger, not even over the fact that Christine was listening in; something Philip was unaware of at the time. Did you notice how long it took her and Guido to respond to the sounds of murder? Evidently the news that she'd been nearly killed by Philip's attempt on Clinton's life made her chew over whether or not she was going to intervene and stop it. Nothing was being recorded, so Philip's attempt to create an accident for Clinton (which resulted in no fatalities or real injuries) isn't even really actionable.

As for wanting to make a movie of the whole thing, remember - it's what they were all there for. The "six hungry failures" all needed something, a money-making project of some sort, and although each one knew what a week on a yacht with Clinton would be like, they all hoped he would have a place for them in a project. They were willing to put up with him - up to a point.

It's also possible that Philip and Christine were only speaking metaphorically, and that the "Sheila" project actually only alluded to their blackmail scheme: they intended to deprive Tom of the inheritance he was going to pick up from his wife. Letters to the solicitor notwithstanding, I rather doubt they've really got him where they want him; the equilibrium will not hold, I think, first and foremost because Christine will not keep her mouth shut.

§« The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters. »§

[–] Mr_Blonde3 11 years ago

"When Philip's explanation is about complete, Tom asks, "What do you think? Am I going to get away with it?"

A quick-thinking Philip would answer "You mean, are *we* going to get away with it? We each tried to kill him; you were just more successful. So, yes, of course *we* are."

Instead, he blows his chance to make Tom his ally, even if only temporarily. He keeps twisting the screws, and finally Tom does the worst possible thing: He explodes! Fortunately, Christine and some hunky guy run in, save the day, and they all decide on Tom's punishment."

Tom could not be made an ally. Philip reveals that he's figured out Tom was the killer AFTER he tries to point the finger at Anthony. He goes downstairs and comes back to the lounge area. While downstairs, Tom takes the puppets to kill Philip with, then locks all the outside doors.

Philip casually keeps trying every door and buzzing the crew repeatedly while explaining how Tom did it. As the scene progresses, thanks to the immense talent of James Mason, you can see Philip getting more and more desperate to get out of that room because he by now realizes that Tom isn't going to let him leave, and you can see he's continuing to reveal how Tom did it just to keep Tom distracted while he tries to find a way out of there. Tom even makes comments as such "You know too much to live." etc., so Philip knows at that point he is locked in a room with a venomous snake waiting to strike.

The scene of Tom carrying Lee to the bathroom and cutting her wrists, in my opinion, is there for two reasons. Number one, to show Lee's true fate, but #2, to show just how, pardon my french, fvcking ruthless Tom was. He'd won. Lee was convinced she'd killed Tom, the police were certainly accepting of the story, but she was a loose end, and Tom felt he had to kill her to keep himself safe. Upon watching the film for the 2nd time, I got a total chill when Lee says, "I'd kill myself for a hot bath...Clinton has the only tub." When you hear her say that knowing her ultimate fate, it's brilliantly creepy foreshadowing.

So back to your original suggestion of Philip trying to make himself an ally of Tom, it's interesting, but also it's important to realize that Tom's actions show he was already planning to kill Philip even BEFORE Philip figured out Tom was the killer. He was already anticipating murdering him as soon as Philip revealed that he figured out there was a killer other than Lee. At that point, Philip already knew too much.

While lucky, Philip played things out exactly how he needed to. He and Christine get to share in the glory of the new picture, and Tom is punished insofar as that he loses Alice and the money he killed Lee for. He doesn't even get the chance to write the picture himself, he's still regulated to a rewrite, and must suffer through it for fear of the alternative.

You also asked the question of why Philip, knowing he'd tried to kill Clinton himself, and was walking away scot-free, would continue to push....I think it was out of genuine care for Lee. When Clinton insults him while describing the game, Lee can be seen taking his hand and squeezing it and the two share a look. Later, on the deck at night while having a drink, Philip again shows he cares for her, even suggesting that she finance a movie with her own money so Tom can get a break. Philip is the only one who cares about her condition after everyone thinks she's locked up and sleeping, and searches for her himself when she's missing. And even though we don't see his face, we can see the shock in him when he opens the bathroom door and finds her dead body. (I own the film novelization, and in that, Philip breaks down weeping when he finds her corpse in the book)

At the end, he's more than a little selfish, letting Tom go free knowing what he knows, but he has to protect himself now that Christine and Tom know he attempted to kill Clinton, and while he's not going to jail, Philip hurts him in the next best way, by blackmailing him out of his money and forcing him to again do another rewrite.

Still, Philip remains my favorite character in the piece. He's not good. None of the characters in the film are good. But I like Mason, and like Philip all the same, because He does show elements of decency that are lacking in the characters of Tom and Anthony.

I love to love my Lisa.

[–] Poisoned_Dragon1964 11 years ago

You replied to the wrong poster - weren't you responding to Vidhound?

§« The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters. »§

[–] Mr_Blonde3 11 years ago

Yep, but I usually just reply to the lowest message on the thread, that's why I copied and pasted part of the message. Looks to be a fun thread. It's dead on here, and i love talking about the movie.

I love to love my Lisa.

[–] roncerabona 11 years ago

As was pointed out elsewhere on the site, an icepick wound in the neck would have been picked up by the medical examination - so it is hard to believe nobody would have been detained for questioning.

[–] SkipEastport 10 years ago

As was pointed out elsewhere on the site, an icepick wound in the neck would have been picked up by the medical examination - so it is hard to believe nobody would have been detained for questioning.

This is incorrectly regarded as a plot hole. Sondheim and Perkins addressed it in the film. During the denouement when Philip recounts the events leading to Clinton's murder, he notes seeing blood on the back of Clinton's cowl, but points out that there shouldn't have been any since Lee struck him from the front with the candleholder. Philip then says something to the effect that such a minor discrepancy didn't matter because Lee's confession negated the need for an autopsy.

And even on the off chance that the authorities would've bothered with the time and expense of corroborating Lee's confession, they would've assumed that she stabbed him with the icepick. Remember, it's a tiny village in the South of France in the early 70s. The police had a dead body and a killer's confession. Case closed. In view of the era in which the film's narrative exists, it's really not so hard to believe at all.

[–] Vidhound 11 years ago

Mr_Blonde3, I'm pretty sure that your answers to my "tiny flaws" are as close a match as we could get to the original writers' intentions. But if I don't find something to nitpick about, the thread won't go on :-)

You wrote:

you can see Philip getting more and more desperate to get out of that room because he by now realizes that Tom isn't going to let him leave

I really like your analysis that Tom is already planning to kill Philip no matter what. From the point of view of Philip (who doesn't yet know about the gloves), I still think a last ditch effort to chum up to Tom might have been worth a try.

Let's see, what else...

Regarding Lee, you wrote:

...she was a loose end, and Tom felt he had to kill her to keep himself safe.

I'm not sure she was just a loose end to his plan to kill Clinton. I'm pretty sure his real goal was to get her $5 million, not just to get back the rights to a screenplay he once wrote.

I suppose he basically "gets her money" if she's in prison, but he gets it a lot more smoothly if she's dead.

why Philip... would continue to push... I think it was out of genuine care for Lee

I agree!

... although I might raise more of an eyebrow than you did at a couple of your examples :-)

Later, on the deck at night while having a drink, Philip again shows he cares for her, even suggesting that she finance a movie with her own money so Tom can get a break.

I actually thought that scene on the deck was sweet, until I started scanning it with skeptical eyes. Suddenly, I noticed that the "little child molester," the guy seen directing all the little girls at the beginning of the movie, was getting the following compliment:

Lee: Have I ever told you how sweet you were to me when I was a child?
Philip: Nothing could have been simpler.

Also, I definitely got the vibe that the suggestion about how she should finance a movie was a bit self-serving, since there was a pretty good chance he would get to direct it.

That said... I still agree with you that he really cared.

I like Mason, and like Philip all the same, because He does show elements of decency that are lacking in the characters of Tom and Anthony.

I love the movie, but I don't know who in particular I really like. If we judge them by who does the sweetest thing, then I guess Philip rises to the top. If we judge them by who is least willing to murder or let a murderer get away, then Philip takes a huge dive. (He did both.)

Christine, in all her cute funniness also takes a dive right at the end there, if we take everything that's said literally. Suddenly, Anthony, despite his willingness to beat a guy up, starts to look pretty good among the survivors.

Now that I've typed that, I think I'll pivot on my Christine analysis. I'm going to guess that no matter what she said during that smartass conversation at the end, she's not really going to let Tom literally get away with murder in exchange for her agent's fee on a movie!

Decades earlier, she turned in people to the HUAC, and you can see that it is still killing her. When all the game cards are first revealed, and she says "Oh no," you see it all in her face. And when she tries to play it down during her story, you can still see it.

I say that within 24 hours of the movie ending, she puts her big mouth to good use and starts telling everyone that will listen what just happened! Unlike Philip, she didn't try to kill anyone on this cruise, and she has very little to lose by making things right.

This time, she does the right thing! She learns from her past, and fully changes!

Long on Christine! :-)

[–] Poisoned_Dragon1964 8 years ago

There'll probably be more killings, you know. How do you think it would play out? Who do you think would survive?

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