MovieChat Forums > Exotica (1995) Discussion > seems a bit odd (spoilers)

seems a bit odd (spoilers)

posted 10 years ago by denham
4 replies | jump to latest

Francis is determined to kill Eric until Eric says (I paraphrase) 'I was the one who found your daughter!' (which would surely sound unlikely, and for all Francis knows is pure fabrication) at which point instead of plugging the sonofabitch Francis decides to give him a big hug. Somehow this doesn't seem all that plausible to me, but maybe I'm missing something. Anyway, the clear moral of the story is: when you're going about your business in a lavatory cubicle and a complete stranger tries to engage you in conversation, resist the temptation to respond.

"I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken."

[–] I_Created_U 7 years ago

I don't really know why but this scene is so unexpected that it is my favorite of the movie. Something about forgiveness. It was touching, really.

As for the reasons behind it, i suspect that he changed his mind when he realized this man he was about to kill also had a connection to his daughter. He is the one who found her and in a sense saved her from lying in that field any longer. Somehow he saw Eric as the last person who has tried to "help" his daughter.

As to why he believed him, Francis was so sensitive on the subject of his daughter that mere mention of her name would have made him collapse in the state he was towards the end, completely hopeless and empty. Besides, you could could see guilt, pain and sorriness on Eric's face, he clearly wasn't joking.

The question as far as i'm concerned is more how did Eric know Francis was waiting for him with a gun at this exact spot? Maybe i missed something.

People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs

[–] TreeShaman (806) 4 years ago

I'm surprised he wouldn't have known that already. He must have at least known that Christina was there when Eric found the daughter, so it wouldn't be that much of a stretch to believe that Eric was there.

The only thing that is still confusing is how Zoe seemed to not realize that Francis and Christina knew each other prior to meeting in the club.

[–] ExTechOp (2737) 3 years ago

I got the feeling all the characters know more about each other and their interrelationships than the audience

By that I mean, I think Zoe knew full well that Christina was Francis's kid's babysitter. But he was a paying customer, so why bother him unless he breaks the rules?

Likewise, Francis probably knew Christina was with her boyfriend when they found the body; he just didn't realize until that moment that Eric was that same boyfriend.

As for why that warranted a hug instead of a bullet, Francis needed that reminder that other people suffered as a result of his daughter's murder. Eric being the one who found the body gave Francis a "connection" of the sort he'd been trying to force with Christina.

[–] agentalbert (2298) 9 months ago

I feel about it the way you do. It didn't seem realistic to me that Francis would lose all his anger at that point. He wanted to kill Eric because of what he perceived Eric took from him, but ruining his ability to go into the club and have Christina dance for him. That Eric would do that, even though he knew what Lance had gone through just makes Eric even more of a dick.