Why on earth would anyone kneel down to get his head done in with a hammer in the hands of a nutter? This is the only part of this movie I found unbelievable.
shareHmm yeah it is a bit strange, but remember this is the same guy who nicked a football off a couple of kids.
European Cup Winners '99
haha... he's a dick...
morrell "dya want me to go get n 'ammer and put it throo thows 'ead"
gavins dad "i dont know"
clearly the answer to that is... "no... no i dont"
the dude was just sat in his garden... he should have called the police while morrell was just sitting there, or at least have grabbed a shovel from the yard and ran at the dude while he was defenseless.
I think he means "I don't... no." not "I don't know."
at least that's what I took it to mean as he actually says "no I don't want you to hit me, but you can't go in the house!" as Morrell walks towards his van. He is basically just biding time and trying to stop Morrell. You have to bear in mind that he has just been walloped twice, hard enought that Morrell assumed he had knocked him unconcious, I actually thought he had been stabbed but I may be wrong. Either way he would be a)dazed and b)scared for himself and his family so he probably would try something stupid just to stop morrell from getting to them. in his state of mind it would made sense.
I don't know.
it is because he is scared of morell and is a silly little man with a porn stash who feels great when taking little boys footballs lol and would probably sexually please him if he asked
shareYou don't think straight when you are that overcome with fear. He wanted to "be a man" and protect his family by standing up to Morell and not running inside and calling the police, but he lacked the physical prowess to do so, all he could do was take whatever Morell was willing to give. What he did was a lot more courageous than going back in his house, locking the door and calling the police, who would probably take 30 minutes to show up anyway.
shareNo he wasn't a wimp.
His behaviour was courageous and self sacrificing, he didn't think of himself all throughout this scene, he only thought of protecting his family.
This part of the movie was one of the most moving parts, because you start to realise how much he really does care about his family.
I just finished watching this again with my mom and she loved the movie. She feels he was being self-sacrificing as well. She told me she thought he wasnt being a wimp, he was just sacrificing himself for his family. She got excited when Romeo's father came and beat the hell out of Morell.
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That would be my guess.
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If i remember correctly he was unemployed? maybe hes depressed and feels worthless? and by sacrificing himself he feels that his helping his family, which is all hes good for? ( in his eyes )
shareI think he was very brave to still get in the way when he was obviously to zonked out to actually do anything.
Not at all. The fact that he faced up to Morrell and was willing to sacrifice his life shows that he was braver than even Romeo's father who solved the problem with violence.
He had just been knocked ouy by Morrell - a wimp would have gone inside and cowered, but no he went out and faced him off.
Gavin's father is a wimp - a horrible little bully to neighbourhood kids, a sneaky stasher of porn magazines, a father who apparently couldn't care less about his kid in hospital. Yet he shows great courage in his meeting with Morrell - this is the kind of stuff that makes great literature, or appeals to folks who've been through the same situation themselves. I loved this movie.
shareGavins father is redeeming himself with his actions in the final ten minuites of the film. Throughout, he has come across as a terrible father (hospital and bed scenes) who seems to think about no one but himself. In the same way that Romeos father is to him (with past actions ie leaving the family for another woman). Morrell also speaks about his father and reveals similiar facts about his dad. This is the common thread linking the three characters in my opinion and is what draws them together. the two lads fathers both redeem themselves, prove their worth and how much they actually care about their families in the end. I love how most characters 'come of age' in a wonderfully subtle way. This is one of my most favourite films in the world. Not as good as dead man's shoes though. Check that out.
shareHe almost showed great courage (in my opinion) but basically just ended up being stupid. Sure, he wasn't a boxer or anything, but how about at least raising a hand against the scrawny little freak? How does getting your head bashed in, in front of your family no less, help the situation? The stuff of great literature is the story of those who fight despite being hopelessly outmanned and outgunned - not those who get on their knees and give in to those forces, IMO.
sharethe man was scared out of his mind, he figured if the guy lets out his anger on him, he'll leave and not hurt Gavin. it's a good example of when the fight-flight reaction goes wrong.
he doesn't have the brawn to back up his decision to fight!
I absolutely loved that bit. From the outset it does seem a bit wierd that he just knelt down without question but for me it was completely believable and he fully redeems himself for all past misdeeds. He may be a pathetic little wimp who takes no interest in his son and bullies little kids but at that moment in time he had one objective that he was going to carry out regardless. Protecting his family in probably the only way he knew how. Simply put: "You can't go in there". I think he was far from being a wimp.
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Whatever you may consider him, he achieved his aim. His family were safe I dont think he cared much about how he was percieved at that point :-P
I Hate Squeak
I dont see how he achieved his aim to be honest. Joe saved his skin and got rid of Morrell which he was unable to do. If Joe had not turned up what aim would he have achieved by being battered with a hammer? leaving his family exposed to the freak.
"Ye didnt weigh the chain did ye doc"
He achieved it by buying his family time which was all he could offer really. Besides if Morrell had taken his anger out on him, he wouldn't have gone after the family also. You have to remember that he wasn't as strong as Joe so he had to find another way to keep Morrell from the house. Mainly distraction.
I Hate Squeak
Just seemed strange to me when I saw him kneel down and not try to do anything. I dont think its a fair assumption that Morrell wouldnt go after the family if Joe hadnt turned up. Perhaps the idea was that he was dazed after getting punched by Morrell minutes earlier. In any case loved the film.
"Ye didnt weigh the chain did ye doc"
Yeah I did think that may be the case also. Anywhoo that part was damn near excruciating to watch :-/
I Hate Squeak
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I'm not positive but I thought Gavin's father looks out the corner of his eye and sees Romeo's dad pull up in his camper van - so he humours Morell knowing Romeo's dad is about to come at him from behind.
share"He almost showed great courage (in my opinion) but basically just ended up being stupid. Sure, he wasn't a boxer or anything, but how about at least raising a hand against the scrawny little freak? How does getting your head bashed in, in front of your family no less, help the situation? The stuff of great literature is the story of those who fight despite being hopelessly outmanned and outgunned - not those who get on their knees and give in to those forces, IMO."
I find this almost offensively ignorant.
Edit: Whereas I totally agree with the last two posters.
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it seemed quite clear to me that he was mentally unstable, and a bit of an oddball at the best of times. His strange patterns of speech, his lack of responsibility for his family, his glee over keeping the kids football. There is clearly something wrong with him, so therefore his reaction in a situation of extreme threat is to behave in an innapropriate way.
sharethe way i see it is he's a big man when it comes to bossing about little kids but when it comes to a man of similar age; size etc he shows what a coward he really is ;and bottles it
shareI kinda read it as another aspect of realism/drawing on life experiences on the part of the director/writer: I've seen stuff like this happen (not with hammers mind) but when you're squaring up to someone who you're *beep* scared of you're trying to force an outcome without pushing it too far.
When he's saying 'I don't know.' It's like when someone's bullying you - if someone says 'Dya want a hammer through your head' - what do you say?
'No' and it's inviting further confrontation, 'yes' and you're totally giving in.
I thought it was an excellently realistic scene - seems unbelievable but 9/10 that's how people end up reacting - you're never expecting to end up in that situation!
Ive known many people like Morell here in the UK.
All talk and no action.
Gavin's dad was a bit of a wimp agreed.
But Also I have to say....There is no way in hell Morell would have actually put the hammer through his head. He was talking *beep* guys like Morell are *beep* morons, a tad insane, but they are ultimately all talk and no balls.
This is seen by the way that Morell gives it the "big'un" in front of the boys and Gavin's weak father, whom he knows wont do anything, and then just walks off sulking when Romeo and Ladine's dad gives him a kicking, without going "all dark" on him, like he promised he would do (lol)
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He beat the hell out of some kid because he was mental.
But I dont think he was psychotic.
I really dont think he would have killed Gavin's Dad, it was all macho posturing *beep*
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I think it's the typical matcho view to see him as a wimp from that scene. It's the old 'you're a man, you have to be physically able' type view.
He was up against a psycho, he knew that he couldn't overpower him and that was his way, but he supplicated himself like that to stand in front of his family was truely heroic.
The way he kneeled down was a highlight for me.
Romeo's father was not brave in this scene, the only person who showed courage was Gavin's father, bravery is to feel fear but to ignore it. Romeo's father knew he could beat the living daylights out of Morell so his actions involved no fear.
Morell had a hammer in his hand, when somebody holds a weapon to you, you comply and that is what Gavin's father did. However to remain outside as a final barrier for his family was a truely courageous action, he was clearly terrified and yet stood his ground, that is bravery for you.
The main issue on his mind was to keep Morell away from his family not his own safety. He may be a terrible person that displays a lack of interest when it comes to his family but this redeems him partly.
No man i know would allow somebody to attack his family (come to think of it no woman i know) whilst there was still breath in their lungs, its instinct.
And as a reply to a poster that claimed that because his wife comforted him and another man attacked Morell, means he isnt a man, im sorry but since when is bravery solely a male pasttime?
Besides he had just had a neardeath experience and i dont know about you but id be upset, and it is clear by Romeo's dad's reaction to him that he did not think any less of him. Both men protected their family in the only way they knew how.
He in my opinion acted like a 'man' and protected his family form a maniac, who , for all he knows is capable of anything.
Thats all.
He was a big kid though, wasn't he? Throughout the film he showed childlike behaviour that frustrated his wife. Look at him in the hospital, unable to sit still or focus on his own son, or with the kids' ball when he ran out to take it off them. I saw the end as an almost childlike attempt to stand up for what he thought was right, protecting his family. His repeating of 'I don't know' reminds me so much of what kids say when you ask them direct questions.
Seems to me he found out who he was in that scene.
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It's his way of redeeming himself for all the poor parenting he's displayed throughout the film up to this point.
It's Shane Meadows showing that despite the fact he struggles to connect with Gavin and isn't interested enough in his son or show him enough affection, that when it comes down to it he's really a stand up guy.
I think Morell would have smashed his head in with the hammer. Normally he's all mouth and no trousers, but he'd just annihilated that other guy, he'd assaulted Gavin's dad moments earlier and was clearly in a foul mood.
As I Hustle In The City, For A Paper Stack, Lord Knows I Got The Devil On My Back
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