The whole stretch where Hettinger's baby is crying and crying was the best scene in the film. John Savage was riveting in his intensity. When he walked into the room and slapped the child, I jumped. Then when he takes the gun out and prepares to shoot himself, only to have his daughter call for him... it was scary.
Savage should have been Oscar nominated for this scene *alone*.
I don't think it was an "almost scary" it was SCARY!!!!
shareNoted and corrected.
shareAnother equally chilling scene is the execution scene in the onion fields. Ted Danson's character could hear haunting bag pipe music playing in his mind and he looks up at the full moon, probably knowing that he would be killed. Then his hand touched John Savage's hand. They are both helpless and deadly scared. In my opinion, this was James Woods's scariest and most vicious portrayal of a criminal.
shareyeah, he's totally crazed!
“Can't go wrong with taupe."- Wynn Duffy
Agreed...the scene where he strikes the baby made me cry the first time I saw the film, and every subsequent viewing. It's horribly emotionally powerful. You don't know what he's going to do, if he's going to kill the child, kill himself, or kill them all.
When his older daughter comes into the room as he's pointing the gun to his mouth, the relief is almost physical when you at last realize he's not going to harm them or himself. It's one of the most incredibly emotionally true moments I've ever seen in a Hollywood film, even now.
OMG I just watched this movie and I couldn't agree more. It's such a relief when he takes their baby in his arms and cares for it, sobbing he's sorry. I thought his performance in this movie was astonishing from beginning to end. If it wasn't, this scene would have lacked the emotional intensity that was all but unbearable, exactly what this scene required.
"Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars."
I think the reason it was so chilling is that it was a uniquely crafted re-enactment of a situation that so many people have been in. It's a brilliant depiction of a man being pushed to the edge, and only barely coming back from the brink of oblivion. Savage blew it entirely out of the water, with barely a word to say. Most everyone has been at some point where you just can't take it anymore, and you frighten yourself with what you are capable of considering.
shareI was actually rooting for him to blow his brains out after that....Karate chopping your baby in the crib? No excuse for that
That scene was tough to watch, but yeah, it was super tense not knowing what he was going to do next