MovieChat Forums > Clockwatchers (1998) Discussion > The Stealing (Spoiler)

The Stealing (Spoiler)

posted 18 years ago by khalilluva23
11 replies | jump to latest

Was Cleo stealing purposely to get the temps fired? It just confuses me. Can someone help?

[–] akzel229 18 years ago

She was in a sense like the main character. She felt she was a no one
She just wanted to leave a legacy behind even if it was as meaningless as stealing things from the office.

[–] khalilluva23 18 years ago

Thanks.

[–] Kincajou 18 years ago

Good analysis, akzel229. Personally, I though it was simply because she may have been an obsessive compulsive thief. Jane, too, was a bit obsessive in checking the mailbox. You could say that Paula was obsessed with the copy guy. Maybe Margaret was obsessed with extroversion and Iris with introversion.

When I am not seen, it may mean, I am unknown to those who do not see.

[–] bpascente 10 years ago

Yeah, I just figured she was a kleptomaniac, a disorder that affects anyone regardless of socioeconomic status.

[–] greatbritain1989 9 years ago

I'm shocked at how unsympathetic people are to Cleo. She was completely isolated and that was why she was so lonely. The stealing was a reaction to that.

[–] tegyeven 18 years ago

Cleo had this passive aggressive behavior. Like another poster said, she felt like a nobody, invisible, no one noticed her. But she was sneaky and did all this stealing and turned the entire office upside down. That must have been some powerful head trip. And she must have enjoyed it, because she kept it up. It was her way of attacking all the people in the office, not just the temps. She indirectly was upsetting the balance of the office because of the frustration she felt in not being part of any group.

[–] Kincajou 18 years ago

Your analysis is plausible, yet I think it's difficult to make that determination because we don't know what she's thinking.

When I am not seen, it may mean, I am unknown to those who do not see.

[–] wjg32 17 years ago

I love how they show her returning home to a mansion complete with servant, to eliminate the idea that she stole out of necessity. Nice touch.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] stevenackerman69 16 years ago

It was as Iris said, she wanted to be noticed and make her mark.

[–] randomlynx 16 years ago

It's been a couple years since I've seen that movie, didn't they mention that Cleo was from a rich family? I think it may be some sort of unconscious desire to feel some control and maybe even some passive-agressive action at an existence where everything was handed to her - not to mention a break from her outwardly shy and lonely status.

It's really not until Iris mocks her that she even acknowledges how her actions have affected others.