MovieChat Forums > Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) Discussion > the dr. wouldn;t have gotten away with i...

the dr. wouldn;t have gotten away with it

posted 15 years ago by Lee733
32 replies | jump to latest

So when the credits roll I picture the detective speaking with a former coworker of Delores. "So she was seeing someone. A doctor. Fifties, private practice. Eye doctor. Had a family, separated from wife. Thank you very much."
Maybe there is more questioning of Rosenthal given this information he apparently did have a relationship with the victim and had a motive. fast frame forward;
I picture Dr. Rosenthal being bent over his desk, hands behind his back, cuffs being shoved on. :D

Every time I watch this movie I imagine a similar scenario, I can't shake it.

I love this movie. Probably in my top 50. But, I always think at the end that Dr. Rosenthal would be arrested and have his life torn apart. Because there is no way that woman wouldn't have told a coworker or friend about her lover, this rich, handsome doctor, especially that woman. She was the kind of woman who would tell people about the affair, friends, family. Not to mention that she would have kept momentos, she wouldn't have just one picture of the man. She was the kind of woman who would keep ticket stubs, jewelry, pictures, all sorts of *beep* clothes.

Anyone else see this in their head?

[–] RexDartEskimoSpy 15 years ago

Maybe, but an exposing the affair does not prove his guilt in her murder. It only gives motive. Lest we forget, Judah does mention in the final scene that someone else had been arrested for the murder with several murders and crimes already attributed to him. That would be good enough for any police, and obviously it was good enough to quell Judah's fear and guilt over his deed.

He did get away with it. Perfectly plausible.

I love this movie too. Probably in my top 5.

Man, give her the *beep* overhead clause!

[–] Isaac5855 15 years ago

I have to agree that IRL, eventually, the law would have caught up to Rosenthal. I have never been crazy about the message this movie sends by seemingly allowing him to get away with murder.

[–] PoppyTransfusion 10 years ago

I have never been crazy about the message this movie sends by seemingly allowing him to get away with murder.

But this is not its message, not even one of its messages. The film is about faith versus doubt and what is common to both is love. Judah Rosenthal does not love enough so he is without faith and feels alone in a cold universe. He cannot trust that love will enable his marriage to recover from the exposure of an affair. The film suggests Judah is morally bankrupt and his final remarks about his daughter's future wedding contrast strongly with the image of Ben dancing with his daughter at her wedding. Ben who spoke most passionately for faith and worldy love during the film.

Movement ends, intent continues;
Intent ends, spirit continues

[–] c7c7c7r 15 years ago

Judah was also the type of person who would lose his nerve easily. When that detective visited him at his office, his inner state was already that of panic--so I think he would've been obviously nervous and the detective would've seen that. And I agree there would've been more incriminating things in Dolores's apartment for the police to find. Another thing: (Spoilers) I thought it was a mistake to play that classical music as Judah enters the apartment and sees Dolores there on the floor. That music touch was over-intellectual--Woody wanted to be taken seriously but should've shot that scene with no music.

[–] stephan-128 15 years ago

i loved the music during that scene.
although he COULD have gotten caught, and practically expected to get caught, he didnt. to the person who said you didnt like the message of getting away with murder, i dont think you're supposed to "like" it. The whole thing is dark existential meditation.

[–] Zando777 10 years ago

And the fact we dont like it is probably proof of a greater moral structure in the universe. Even most atheists dontn like the idea there is no good or evil, and no consequences for evil.

[–] jeffthropp 15 years ago

If you think he got caught then you in fact don't get the point of this picture. The doctor will never get caught.

[–] akeshishian17969 14 years ago

Yes, but there's nothing linking him to the murder itself.

[–] boodasak2003 14 years ago

that would just prove he had an affair with her, not murder

he would be a prime suspect for sure, but if he kept his mouth shut and lawyered up he'd still be in the clear

and you remember when he went back to her apartment, he said he grabbed everything that would have been incriminating from there

"Godamnit Jack Bauer. You really are the man."-Dennis Reynolds

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] ObstinateAnnette 14 years ago

All true, but as a previous posted stated, we already know that someone else had been arrested for her murder - someone wanted for other murders who will inevitably take the blame. This is exactly like the plot of Match Point.

Si Hoc Legere Scis Nimium Eruditionis Habes

[–] edess 14 years ago

All of you have completely missed the point of this movie. It's an existentialist take on life: that life is absurd. The point is that the doctor does get away with murder. Now if you believe in God, then you know he got his in the afterlife. But on the earthly plane in the world of Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors there is no God waiting to punish you in the end. Witness the characters: the good Rabbi who lives a God-fearing life and is practically a saint, goes blind; the opthalmologist not only gets away with murder, he gets away with adultery; the obnoxious rich tv writer/producer gets the girl in the end; an indigent gets arrested for a murder he didn't commit, but because he committed other crimes, well it's okay; the philosopher who has all the deep, profound understanding of life, commits suicide. All of this happens in a godless Universe. Existentialism is borne out of the frustration and anger from human beings who cannot understand how God could let bad things happen to good people. And we've all been there. The answer is that there is no answer to that question. Life is life.

[–] Noir-It-All 13 years ago

The music in the scene was probably Schubert. That was the composer Judah and Dolores discussed more than once.

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] GeneralBuck 11 years ago

The music in the scene was probably Schubert. That was the composer Judah and Dolores discussed more than once.

It is Schubert. The beginning of the String Quartet No. 15 in G.

[–] SampanMassacre 12 years ago

He didn't get away with murder, he got away with making a call to someone (his brother) who then made a call to someone else who committed the crime.

[–] kduffy-8 10 years ago

Yes- he's smart, connected, determined and very very lucky.

But it seems that as it all wraps up neatly ( maybe a little too neatly) that the doctor will go on and live his privileged life without getting caught.

He better hope his brother never gets pinched for anything that might have him using his involvement in this murder as a bargaining chip.

Swing away Merrill, swing away.

[–] filmmekker 12 years ago

He totally got away with it. He was very calm talking with the Detective, he wouldn't crack. Also, the case is closed, someone was convicted of the crime. And Delores doesn't seem the type to have alot of close friends. And even if she did, they wouldn't suspect the rich doctor of killing her....it was made to look like a robbery.

Open the door for Mr. Muckle!!

[–] aag12345-1 10 years ago

This is an excellent point and I've watched this movie countless times, starting with watching it in the theater in '89 and I don't understand how I never thought of it. The movie is very realistically portrayed and the cops fixating on and charging someone who's a more career violent criminal (which Judah explains is what happened) is believable.

But, I do agree that Angelica's character would surely have told people about the affair and had mementos of it, which should have clued the cops into the fact that Judah was lying in saying she was only a patient and then made him a suspect.

I think it's a testament to how engaging this movie is on other levels that I didn't focus on this plot hole. There's some weak movies where that's all I can think of.

"Boy that was really exciting. I bet you're a big Lee Marvin fan aren't ya."

[–] pullman1881 10 years ago

I think the whole point of his story is that he got away with it, contracting the religious beliefs he had been taught. God sees all; God will punish you, yet he (God) didn't. Had he been arrested, it would be vindication of his religious teachings.

Even if she told friends and they reported it to the authorities, an affair doesn't mean murder. He had a solid alibi. Even if they connected him to his brother, it means nothing. His life would have been ruined...loss of his family and his reputation. Again, punishment from God.

Maybe she didn't have any friends close enough to talk to. The cops would tend to disregard him as a suspect because of his wealth and status. They'd be busy looking for some low-life to blame and throw into prison whether he was guilty or not. I don't think of it as a plot hole; it is the plot. It would have been a completely different and less interesting movie had he gotten caught.

[–] NeilNR 10 years ago

I've always wondered why the detective didn't ask Judah for her medical records. How was he able to answer his questions about her without looking at them? I assume there weren't any records, and he would've been really stuck.

[–] snelling 10 years ago

He would need a warrant to see patient files, and since Judah did not seem suspect, the detective just dropped it.

"I will not go down in history as the greatest mass-murderer since Adolf Hitler!" - Merkin Muffley

[–] NeilNR 10 years ago

It would be suspicious if he could discuss her case, out of hundreds of patients, without any notes.
A warrant is easy, especially in a murder case.
Jerry Orbach in Law & Order would've NAILED Martin Landau and Jerry Orbach in Crimes and Misdemeanors!

[–] Quicksilver1900 10 years ago

It's not a plot hole; it is the plot. Like Match Point, in which Woody Allen tells an almost identical story, it illustrates WA's dark point that this is not a moral universe, and evil can thrive and the innocent suffer.

Watch Match Point and see where it more explicitly elaborated. One of the detectives does suspect the killer, and the police were aware of the affair, but that in itself is not enough to prosecute.