MovieChat Forums > Fade to Black (1980) Discussion > Some things people don't seem to underst...

Some things people don't seem to understand...

posted 20 years ago by celia_cyanide
5 replies | jump to latest

I first heard about this film when I saw the trailer at the end of Liquid Sky. While I agree that it is flawed, there seem to be a few points that people are missing...

*SPOILERS*

first of all, people seem confused about where Eric got all his money. "Aunt" Stella was actually his mother, and after she died, he collected the insurance money.

also, Eric did not win the heart of the Marilyn Monroe lookalike by telling her she looked like Marilyn Monroe. He never once said to her, "You look just like Marilyn Monroe." In his twisted mind, she WAS Marilyn Monroe, and began speaking to her as if she truly were. That, along with his movie trivia knowledge, and unusual demeanor, is what charmed her. He was unlike anyone she had met, and while she probably would have gotten annoyed with him after a while, it's easy to see how a beautiful girl could fall for a sweet and unique little geek.

This was just my impression, but I assumed that the "Alabama and the 40 Thieves" bit was a product of Eric's warped imagination. He saw the guy talking about it on TV, and created the scene in the car in his mind. Since the film is told from Eric's perspective, we see it happening before the TV appearance, where Eric placed it in his memory.

[–] amandybug822 19 years ago

Interesting.

I see your point.

I never thought about the misplaced memory thing.

That's interesting.

:)

-Amanda

[–] Pnin 19 years ago

I thought of that also, but there is one thing that makes that impossible: he called the movie producer on the phone, and we see the producer talking with him (there is no way he would have had a number to get a hold of the producer if he hadn't been given it by the producer-- it's a little sketchy that he'd get to him that quickly, but it is just a movie). If we cannot trust that this scene actually occurred, then we cannot trust any of the scenes in the movie, and thus, we have a sham of a movie.

"... it strikes a man more dead than a great reckoning in a little room."

[–] celia_cyanide 18 years ago

"If we cannot trust that this scene actually occurred, then we cannot trust any of the scenes in the movie, and thus, we have a sham of a movie."

Many movies have that are unverifiable, such as the car scene in Fight Club, it doesn't mean that the whole film is a sham.

[–] morlock555 18 years ago

Actually I think Eric called the studio where the producer was being interviewed for the tv program. Eric could have called the studio and they transferred the call to where the producer was at. I don't know why they would do that but it is a way to get around Eric actually meeting the producer.

[–] sims382005 18 years ago

ok mostly agree with what you aid....but.........he didn't woo the marylin look alike he saw her in a deli implied she look like marylin and left it kind of freaked out her freind....she thought he was cute....later in the movie he posed as a movie producer/director then he drugged her then as everything always goes with nerdy love the cops show up and BAM! he's in a movie in his head and he's on top of the world.