MovieChat Forums > 2 Days in the Valley (1996) Discussion > does anyone else think Teri Hatcher's ch...

does anyone else think Teri Hatcher's character gets caught, after all?


I thought so because:

1. Eric Stoltz is suspicious from the beginning; you see the first suspicion in his eyes when she is more concerned about what the injection might "show up" in her urine...both actors played that subtle moment so well...I really admired that.
That in turn opens him up to looking at her differently...and when the cigarette pack and her
"they" referring to the killers slips out, I seem him just go into terrier mode; he smells a rat...and sees this as the case that could get him into Homicide.

2. So he goes back and endures that painful shooting and fear but also gets to "look the devil in the face" (Spader,) and by Aiello saving him, he gets to add up to his "they" amount of killers.

3. Finally, Hatcher's character struggles up to her car, looks for the key, and with a big smug smile on her face, notices the parking ticket, which she tosses out the window as she drives away and the camera focuses on the Japan Games to come...but what she does not realize is that the ticket will pretty much blow her alibi to bits, it's a time and placement of the car without her in it, and she DOES NOT LOOK AT THAT INFO BEFORE TOSSING IT; NOW SHE WILL HAVE TO FIND OUT BY HOOK OR CROOK WHEN IT WAS WRITTEN WITHOUT SEEMING ANXIOUS...and all this with Mr. Stoltz eyeballing every move made that night, the night of the murder; unless she gets a smart talking lawyer who claims she was abducted and injected there, taken home and framed by being put next to her husband...but wow, seems that would give rise to some quite reasonable doubts...what would it be, a mad stalker, where did he go afterwards?

I really thought all cast members did a great job and she did in that last moment too...I was holding my breath hoping she would get it, and at the same time thinking, "okay you little Medal obsessed girl, now you have crossed the same line as the people you hired and nothing seems to apply to you morally anymore!" THAT is a good actress, to be able to get two feelings out of the person watching the movie, by doing so little, you know what I mean?

I know the credit also goes to the director and in this case also writer, for giving her the way he wished her to play this...but the expression in her eyes, and her supreme disregard for the very real complications to come really was great, no other word.

Again, everyone had a delightful way of helping each other's performance, making for a better movie, when professionals get together and just do the simplest thing...listen to the other person, not just respond with the right line, you can feel the crispness and the tightness of the work, and it is a real pleasure.

I found myself feeling sadness for Ms. Theron's character when she died...suddenly she was a little girl again...

I could go on and on...but this is a good place to stop. Thanks!!!!

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I forgot to say that last time we see Jeff Daniels, with the present and the card, and the service revolver on the table, and all that bottled up grief and rage and frustration, finally coming out, will it come out enough in time to save the character from suicide...we never find out. I am interested to hear what anyone else thinks...I really hate to say it, but I wonder each time I see this if he does take his own life and I just don't want to see it...does anyone else think this is what happens?
Please share and thank you, in advance!

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it is an interesting point about Daniels, and i agree that it is a possiblity that he took his own life, but there is not enough evidence to suggest it. A theme throughout the movie is despiration and acts of despiration sprout the idea of suicide. I wouldn't say for sure, but i agree it is definately a possibility.

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I would think that Hatchers character does eventually get caught. Unless she had an alias, fake i.d., new place to stay etc... she would have been caught. There are far too many loose ends. The money. All the bullets and shell cassings, Dosmo ( although it's unlikely anyone would get his version of events a good detective would piece it together from what he told Tedy, Allan,Susan and Audrey ) eventually Lee and Helga's bodies would have been identified and their criminal history would have indicated that they were hitmen. Not to mention Stolzs' characters observations.All the evidence, and there was plenty of evidence left, points toward a hit. It would have been pieced together fairly easily by any competent detective.

well, for me, the action is the juice.

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I must have missed something because I was pretty sure that Teri Hatcher got away at the end of the movie. As a matter of fact, wasn't the final scene in the movie of her getting into that SUV and driving away? Someone please refresh my memory if I'm wrong.

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[deleted]

It's several years since I saw this movie, but my understanding was that she had her husband killed because he was getting in the way of her comeback (was she a speed-skater or a cross-country skier? I forget.) Since her obvious goal was to compete in the next Winter Olympics, it's kind of hard to see how she could have hoped to quietly disappear into a new identity. A past champion doesn't just turn up at the trials pretending to be someone else! Her competitiors would recognise her from ten miles away. I was left with the impression that she got away scot-free, but these posts have some interesting suggestions about how that final scene should be interpreted.

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She did get away. The OP is just wishful thinking.

Yea, Tho I Walk Thru The Valley Of The Shadow Of Political Correctness...🇺🇸

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I never thought of that! You cunning person. Don't feel too sorry for Helga (Charlize's character), she should have known Lee was dodgy ...
----------------------

Nicebat and I had to party.

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i too thought that beckky foxx should have got caught. and i think she will in the future, though the plot ends well before that.And Ruffian's points regarding why she will probably get caught are superb. I had noticed Stoltz suspicions alone. and had noticed that the parking ticket was a loose link. I missed the thing about the injection. I had just thought the injection would validate her story actually.

and also after becky's fight with charlize, theres the sound of her getting hit by a car or something... so that will go against her. and her blood, prints are bound to be in the hotel room, on charlize's gun, etc...

And yeah, I too felt that Jeff Daniels character was unfinished business. BUT ... his character is sort of finishing where the Teddy Peppers character opened(Teddy Peppers character starts as being suicidal, Jeff Daniels ends as being suicidal)...so maybe its like a circle ...implying that Daniels too might get 2 days/ 1 minute to decide his life... & maybe others will play a part in his life in the valley too...

and how come becky's bloodied hair is washed but she goes around with the bloodied top ? when she has the time to put on a pair of shorts, surely she could have changed her top too...!!!

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i am pretty sure that she ll get caught. coz there are 4 dead bodies in and around the house, and two belong to the contract killers. and also they wud notice the $30,000 lying around. i am pretty sure they ll figure out wat happened. and with the insurance money round the corner, she is definitely a prime suspect..

King Kong Ain't Got *beep* On Me

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dosmo took to $30,000 from dead lee's pockets after teddy shot him...

but yeah, too many loose ends, and stolz's character's suspicions are enough.... becky foxx got caught all right....

It's mercy, compassion and forgiveness I lack. Not rationality...

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I'm not gonna read that. I'm jsut gonna say NO! Because the movie is over. What a pointless discussion.

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put a sock in it

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[deleted]

maybe that wasn't a parking ticket. coulda been a pizza flier!

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yeah, probably.



Season's Greetings

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Yes, or at least she got caught by something. After the 'catfight', she runs out into the street and we hear the sound of a body meeting a moving car.

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