****SPOLIER ALERT******
Was the squirt gun leaking part of the con intentional or not intentional? This eventually lead to the bigger sting but I was never sure if this was done intentionally or not. But why we a seasoned con man fill a fake squirt gun with water?
OF COURSE it was intentional. Doesn't she overhear them talking about it at the bar near the end?
This reveal worked really well on me because I didn't see it coming. I didn't know the movie was about conmen - it was shown to me 'cold'. I think reading the box in the movie rental store would probably lessen its effectiveness.
I just remember Mike saying she was a born thief in the end and stole his lucky pocket knife.
I would also summize it is possible that hhe may not have noticed the water out of fear with the guys threatening her.
Dean
"Mike" asks the table (as the Doc overhears) "who filled up the ^&* pistol?"
To me, they tried to run a short con:
Billy goes to the Doc.
Doc goes to the bookie/Mike.
They run the poker scam.
Doc pays up.
They get the money and Doc never comes back from fear.
Instead, the gun leaked and "Mike" turned it into a longer con, knowing she'd come back and he could get $80k instead of $6k (from the poker con).
What was surprising to me was that the pearl-handled gun that her "patient" (the bait) was REAL. And that the gang didn't know she had taken it from the kid.
I wonder if thats what he was really returning for (besides checking to see she wasn't gonna crack about the $80k con) when she shooed him away?
"I wonder if thats what he was really returning for (besides checking to see she wasn't gonna crack about the $80k con) when she shooed him away?"
That's answered my question of why he returned. A lot of this movie didn't ring true, but at least now this small part does.
Thanks.
I don't think the poker game was the actual con; it was setting up for the larger one.
The point of the gun leaking was to make the con men seem sort of charmingly bumbling to her (and, well, to us to.) I mean, if these guys are so stupid they use a filled water pistol, how could they possibly fool a licensed psychologist?
It's possible that the gun at the poker game was deliberately filled with water with the expectation that it would indeed leak. But what the viewer and Margaret both see is only a small, barely perceptable dribble of water. I'm thinking it's quite a longshot on the part of the con men to think Margaret would have even noticed something so easy to miss in a smokey poorly-lit back room (and she almost did).
So perhaps in the short-term, her check was the goal of the con. Having been thwarted by a leaky squirt gun, the cons instead make light of the situation, and now having sized her up, give her "their" confidence as they draw her along unwittingly for their ultimate sting.
I think with the research they had done on her, knowing her psychology background they expected her to remain cool in the poker room situation and planned for her to see the gun leaking. And the 6 grand would be an easy days work if she didnt. In the bar scene where she discovers the truth, Montegna's character boasts about how they showed her the old school/caveman way of connning (or words to that effect) to make her think thats how they operated.
I personally don't think that the amount of water the viewer sees bares any significance because the shot is just a plot device - its just there to show that there IS water coming out of the gun and i doubt Mamet would have gone into the logistics of how much water there would need to be, realistically, for someone to see it from that distance...
The water gun was probably designed to "give up" the con in order that they would take her later in an even bigger way. It's also possible the guys had a second way of being "discovered" had Margaret not noticed the water coming out of the gun.
shareI would differ with the majority opinion here.
The initial plan was for 6k.
But seeing her interest in the field of conning and more so, her nonchalance at giving away huge sums "to help others" is what got them started on the bigger con.
[deleted]
I have to agree with you. I can believe the con men used a fake squirt gun but not filled up with water.
I think this was intentional to get her prepared for a bigger sting.
If you don't think a squirt gun can cause fear then try taking a black squirt gun through airport security and see what happens!
But why we a seasoned con man fill a fake squirt gun with water?
That is certainly possible, but my guess is they wanted the initial hit to fail. The bearded guy could have pulled out a real gun (loaded with blanks or something). Why use a water gun filled with water unless you want it to leak?
Or maybe, they had both a real gun, and a water gun ready for use, depending on how she acted and reacted during the poker game. After seeing her reactions, they realize she is great potential for a much bigger con/sting than just $6k, so they pull out the gun designed to blow their cover - aiming to hook her for much more.
Yes it was intentional. They gave her their "confidence" to help set up the big sting.
Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, and / or doesn't.