It was like a big build up throughout the movie, I assumed we were finally going to know why he went through all that trouble for that amount of money. But he just takes it and drives off into the sunset. That was one thing about the movie that disappointed me.
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Yup....the 70/130k was a running gag. The 70k was for the principle.
shareYeah I think it was just the principle of the thing...
shareHe was just trying to be an honest slime-ball, tee hee.
Just wanted what was his, that's all.
I didn't read more into it than what it is.
"Meet me in Montauk." ~ Clem, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Sorry, I'm kind late to party with my comment.
You ever heard the quote "honor among thieves"? Porter was a crook, but in a wierd way, he was an honest one. The $70 was his cut of the money and that's all he wanted. He didn't earn any more than that, so he didn't want more than that. I found myself chuckling when he's strapped to the chair, beaten, toes smashed and he rolls his eyes when Bronson shows him the $130k. As if to say, "how many different ways can I say it!?"
I found myself chuckling when he's strapped to the chair, beaten, toes smashed and he rolls his eyes when Bronson shows him the $130k. As if to say, "how many different ways can I say it!?"
The writer's point is that Porter's motives are simple and shouldn't be a difficult problem, but every character he dealt couldn't believe the logic in it for one, 2) they are so greedy that any penny given away would be painful to them; 3) they didn't want to earn the reputation of being fair honest people because they were afraid later it come to haunt them. It's so simple in Porter's mind, but these guys don't live by simplicity like he does. Their world requires them to do everything the hard way or otherwise they'll be executed a minute later.
shareYou ever heard the quote "honor among thieves"? Porter was a crook, but in a wierd way, he was an honest one.
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The $70,000 figure makes the point that the movie is about principle. This idea is reinforced by Porter's insistence that what he's owed is not $130,000.
shareI think it was a foreshadowing of times to come. I call it short attention span, you see it regularly in reporters and that is why Twitter is so popular. Example:
What actually happened:
A red car crashes into a tree on a rural road and a child is injured.
What is reported:
A blue truck ran a red light, crashed into a school bus, and 5 people went to the hospital.
Idiot-leaning reporters don't bother to fact check and report the latter.
Only those that were there know what actually happened, and when they try to correct the record they are shunned since "I read about it on Twitter, so it had to have happened that way."
I enjoyed the whole $70K plot line. I really liked his line "You people aren't listening..." That sums up too many Americans these days.
Ignoring politics doesn't mean politics will ignore you.
-Pericles paraphrased in <100 characters