HKmoviefan^
** SPOILERS **
Good points!
Gee, I didn't sense any ambiguity at the end either, but sometimes people process information differently I guess. And, it IS true that we don’t have video of the actual criminal events, so no smoking gun that I guess some people need to feel certain.
It never even *occurred* to me, as presented, that he still might be innocent, after the 'rocks confession', until I came across this thread.
The 'Elena Galvan' thing -- Yes, re: the hesitation and change in tone and then offering up the info. May be a bit of stretch, but I thought it was plausible that the name itself (Elena Galvan) could have been a code term, meaning that if someone would call, maybe specifically about Dr. Miranda, that the cooked up alibi story was to be told to the caller upon the caller asking for an ‘Elena Galvan’.
Also, Paulina said she knew Miranda’s 'smell' and she also tasted him (when she bit him). Now, some people might not think that is good evidence, and if those were the only clues offered I might not either (which they weren’t), but sense of 'smell' can evoke very strong memories, especially in conjunction with PTSD where memories can be 'frozen' in time, as it were.
The quoting of Nietzsche, the 'Death and the Maiden' tape, and the snorting laughter to me do constitute some circumstantial evidence...again, not by themselves, but within context....
And, also to me, the confession on the rocks was just too darned authentic...I think you make a good point about his attitude while making this confession...why would he confess to liking it so much, wishing it had never ended, etc., if this confession was only done and made up to spare his life? That is not logical.
And, he also did not need to input the extra detail he did to satisfy Paulina. What it looked like to me is that, not only was he fearful at the time, but that he wanted to vomit up this information – probably hadn’t been able to 'share' this experience he so enjoyed with anyone else since that time, so not only was he confessing, but he was able to relive some of his experiences by speaking of them. And, not only was he confessing to the events, but to his feelings about the events.
I think he realized that he could not BS her anymore; she wasn’t buying it. So, when he spoke, he spoke of feelings from such an unusual experience only 'shared' by the two of them -- a strange, brutal kind of intimacy (and, the experience from her perspective; I realize that the doctor in question raped others), and I think he knew that. And, I think that is why she accepted his confession as true. Not just because he said ‘I did it’, but because of ‘how’ he spoke about it -- we can recite facts about all kinds of strange experiences that we hear or read about without having experienced them, but to be able to so convincingly tell about how he thought and felt at the time...I think that was what convinced her (and me)-- along with all the other bits and details already mentioned.
Another poster said that maybe Dr. Miranda had been somewhat involved, but that he had only retold what he had heard from the actual guilty people. I think *that* is a stretch, and also I don’t think that explains his authenticity in the rocks scene.
Not only do I think that his confession was genuine: I think he really did not have any remorse for what he had done. And, earlier he had tried to act and say things that he thought he should -- the proper outrage, etc. -- that, why wouldn't he admit to remorse while at the rocks if all he was concerned about was not being killed, to the point of offering a fake confession?
So far as remembering the 14 rapes: Regardless of whether he overheard this number earlier or not, it is not beyond belief that a sadist would remember each and every one of his 'victories' likes notches on a belt. I’ve heard interviews with serial killers who can recall, years later, the most minute of details regarding their killings.
Bottom Line: I think he was guilty.
But, to each their own, and a fantastic cinematic piece of work, no matter how you slice it.
:)
11/16/12: The day the Twinkie died :(
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