For anyone who erroneously concluded that McLeod molested the kid

I read one review here at IMDb that adamantly insisted that McLeod (Gibson) had a sexual relationship with Chuck (the kid). Nonsense. Anyone who says this didn't pay attention because the movie itself thoroughly disproves it.

Here's the evidence (beyond the fact that there's no scene where sexual abuse is even hinted at): When the mother asks Chuck if McLeod "touched" him he responds with a shrug, "Yeah, why?" In other words, he touched him only in appropriate ways, like a pat on the back and so forth. "What's the big deal?" is essentially his response. Furthermore, Chuck tries to find out the truth about McLeod upon hearing the gossip/rumors and then steals his mother's car and rushes over to McLeod's house in a frenzy to confront him. McLeod's not the type to TELL people what to believe so he asks Chuck (paraphrasing), "Have I ever done anything remotely questionable or abusive when you were around me?" It's a rhetorical question and the non-verbal response is "Absolutely not." This explains why McLeod had no worries when the police officer came to his house looking for Chuck after he was missing for a night. He nonchalantly responds, "Yes, he's here; he's sleeping upstairs." He had no worries BECAUSE nothing improper was going on. Be that as it may, their friendship ends for legal reasons and McLeod moves away, but he secretly attends Chuck's graduation 7 years later at the military school where they happily wave to each other from a distance, hardly the appropriate behavior if McLeod committed an atrocious crime against the kid years earlier.

See my review for more insights about the story here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107501/reviews-102


My 150 (or so) favorite movies:
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070122364/