MovieChat Forums > Love and Death on Long Island (1998) Discussion > Portrayal of Ronnie

Portrayal of Ronnie

posted 11 years ago by Edward_de_Vere
5 replies | jump to latest

One interesting aspect of this film is its portrayal of Ronnie and Audrey. It would have been easy to make Ronnie nothing but a avatar of low mass culture for cheap laughs, and the film does some of this (e.g. Ronnie thinking Rimbaud is Rambo, Audrey asking about Mexicans in Germany). On the other hand, it resists the route of making the young couple complete caricature of pop culture ignorance. Initially at least, both of them have a genuine interest in Giles' erudition and welcome him as a friend until his hidden agenda is revealed, something they wouldn't do if they were just shallow cardboard cutouts.

And Ronnie's reaction to Giles' rambling letter was just right - you could see the conflict between on the one hand being disgusted by an aging homosexual's advances, but also flattered by the fact that an older and much more cultured and intelligent person could take an interest in him at all.

[–] Quicksilver1900 11 years ago

I thought the character of Ronnie was great. He had been a male model who had moved on to films. He wasn't the least bit arrogant or deluded about his work, which is actually quite unexpected. He did not see himself as an artiste; he was just doing a job. He was realistic until Giles turned his head with sophisticated flattery which made him consider other possibilities. But even then, he resisted going along with Giles' self-serving plan that he relocate to Europe.

I saw Ronnie's reaction to Giles' letter somewhat differently. Due to his disgust at Giles' romantic delusions, he no longer trusted Giles. There would also have been anger and some shame that he had been so successfully hoodwinked. But Giles had indeed opened him to possibilities about his scope as an actor. There was still some residual respect for Giles, and so Ronnie took on board his ideas for elevating the script of HC3.

The pivotal scene in the diner, where Ronnie restrained himself from berating or humiliating Giles, but instead showed pity and compassion, shows the audience that Ronnie really did have a beautiful soul as Giles had imagined. Jason Priestley's handling of this role was impeccable.

[–] dab6 10 years ago

I wish Giles had just left things as they were after the diner exchange. After having become vulnerable with Ronnie and been rejected, he angrily reverts back to his arrogant side, like a surly teenager who got dumped by his girlfriend. There's no reason why Ronnie needed to read his confessional: the story was apparent enough based on Audrey's observations and their conversation at the diner. At the very least he should have waited for things to cool down, and written the letter after he returned home.

Giles is a wonderfully nuanced character because he balances between a creepy obsessive man, who does plenty of inappropriate behavior like lying and stalking, while also being sympathetic and likeable as an intelligent and curious lonely old man, unprepared to know how to deal with his emotions.

[–] Quicksilver1900 10 years ago

You know what? I agree completely. The faxed letter was a means for Ronnie to acquire Giles' revisions to the HC3 script, and that is why it was in the film. But Giles could have made his exit a lot more gracefully in the letter, thanking Ronnie for the time they spent together and even apologising for upsetting or offending him. That would have been the appropriate, decent and classy thing to do. And then Giles could have gone back to London and embarked on his new life, armed with new knowlege of how he could achieve greater happiness in his mature years.

And perhaps Ronnie would have felt less angry and humiliated at how Giles had duped him and betrayed his trust.

[–] dab6 10 years ago

I mean it makes sense for Giles that he would write the letter: he was shocked at having blurted his true feelings for Ronnie out of desperation, and he was crushed at his delusional trip to Long Island being a failure (at least in his mind, he should have seen it as a learning and growing experience). He's a writer, so telling the whole story would be something he'd want to do now that the truth was out and he had kept it to himself so long. He let his emotions get the best of him, and his letter could have incinerated any last trace of respect Ronnie had for him, by confirming he was a creep and a liar. Fortunately, Ronnie was himself mature enough to see that Giles was at heart not a bad man.

[–] Quicksilver1900 10 years ago

Fortunately, Ronnie was himself mature enough to see that Giles was at heart not a bad man.

This is true. But I think the encounter with Giles would have forever destroyed Ronnie's and Audrey's trust in beguiling strangers, and they would never again be as open as they had been with Giles.

The book and film take place in the very early days of the internet, but now the stalking process is very much accelerated thanks to the immediate access to a vast amount of personal information.

Fast forward to a few years in the future, and it is easy to visualise Giles drooling over pictures of beautiful young men on various gay websites.