An observation

watching this again, I was struck by one thing. at the end of the movie, she fights tooth and nail to defend herself and her child in scenes that resemble a psycho murder movie. she's in the house alone, he is outside stalking her, she shoots him, she chops off his fingers, he gets in, and holds her kid hostage with a hand to his throat. but, you know he never really want's to kill her or her child. even though she could identify him.

This movie had atmosphere! made in 1981 but it really had the look and feel of a moody war time england and scotland. I think this was sort of an end of an era, the end of some great 60's and 70's films where story counted, the sex was not so overt and kinky and the pace a slower one. I miss these types of movies.

so this is what amazes me about the difference between today's films and this old fashioned one, (even old fashioned for 1981)

in the same exact film done today, the nazi spy and I don't care if the plot was played romantic, the nazi spy would end up an evil evil creep who would go all out to kill her! it would be played up big time with him doing everything he could to kill her in the most brutal way and would come very close to doing so, only ending in her killing him somehow in some sick way like a knife through the eye or something.

call me jaded but I love the way this movie ended. it was perfect and I could not help but think how if this movie were made today, how much more violent and brutal it would inevitably be even if they kept the romantic parts in it.

I guess I am old fashioned but I find this observation sad. I loved this movie and I wish they had done about oh say 28 more like it. you could say and it would be fair, that donald southerland was miscast and you might be right, but I liked him in it cause I like donald southerland a ton.

wouldn't it have been great, if this movie had been a series on BBC? the adventures of an irish/canadien/german? spy with donald southerland in england? I would have tuned in every week