MovieChat Forums > No Man's Land (1987) Discussion > Why was Benji so sad when he was forced ...

Why was Benji so sad when he was forced to kill Ted?


Why was he sad? I mean Ted was a killer. And he killed him in self defense. Why was he sad about Ted's death?

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I suppose because he felt he was a close friend to him despite being undercover the whole time, at least in an official level. I'd feel bad too if a man I was undercover on became my friend in a personal level.

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Spoken like a true sociophobe...

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Benji liked Ted, and the good times he had with him were genuine, (and I believe they were for Ted too) but in the end Ted left him no choice (Ted said he wasn't going to jail).

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That, and also Ted pulled a gun and was about to shoot Benjy. Ted could have surrendered and hire the best lawyer and get off with a slap on the wrist. Trust me if you are rich you can get away with murder. If Ted had surrendered, he could have hired the best lawyer and get off clean.

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You know, I have to agree with you; like Dominick Dunne said, there are two forms of justice: one for the very rich, and one for everyone else.

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You got it.

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To be honest, I was hoping Benji would go with Charlie Sheen.

He got zero support from the police. Randy Quaid was a bit of a dick and Charlie was a criminal yeh. But he wasn't rotten to the core.

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Yeah, there is a conflict there for Benjy, that's what I think makes this film good (good writing by Dick Wolf). No doubt, Randy Quaid's Lt. Bracey was abrasive and brusque every step of the way with Benjy; it didn't seem the young undercover could make a right move in his eyes and hardly cut him a break. I thought the lure of Ted was very strong, while on the police end Benjy received nothing but threats and being dressed down.

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