....what was he so disturbed about? maybe did his perception change, and now he sees it as a seductive, "trouble-maker" type of smile? (in reference to the last scene, where the dad tells the mom that "there's something about the way she was smiling in that picture").
ALL men are gay; deal with it!!
[deleted]
[deleted]
maybe like the smile is fake like she knew something was going on but had to avoid it because she didnt want to cause conflict
~But that's just me~
[deleted]
Whoa! Neat question!
What if Natalie is a little bit of a man user?
She makes a snide comment to Richard about getting his job back.
She doesn't want Frank to stay with her but to be an architect already.
Her words(which she admits) and actions just always seem to come out wrong.
I think Matt is over his crush on Natalie at the end and ready to concentrate fully on the
beautiful woman downstairs.
P.S. I am too.
Same here! The kids' drawings made me sad and I didn't want him to kill Richard after that. Also, when he thanked Matt for letting him skip bail and go to a 'warmer climate', it was pathetic to me and I almost felt sorry for Richard.
Of course, if it were real life and if it were my kid that was shot, I'm sure I'd feel different.
*****************HERE BE SPOILERS********************
I think he was disturbed because he realized that the person he was going to kill was just that - a person. This guy had a wife and kids that he loved. He was seeing things from Richards point of view. Every story has two sides to it. For just a moment he understood how Richard was feeling. I don't think it had anything to do with her having a "seductive" smile. The smile bothered him because she was happy at one point with Richard and Richard still remembered her that way.
It is surely harmful to souls to make it a heresy to believe what is proved
- Galileo
www.sullivan-county.com/deism.htm
Your theory is the one I most agree with, not that Matt was secretly blaming Natalie or secretly in love with her. When Matt sees that picture, Matt sees Richard as a man with a family, instead of an animal who killed his son and is making his wife, Ruth, suffer. Richard is more than just a murderer. What he did was unquestionably wrong, but I think that it was hard for Matt to see Richard as a husband and a father, it was easier to see him as just a killer.
~ cada loco con su tema.
Yup, agreed SewerRanger. No offence to rtcnz, but I didn't get that at all.
He's disturbed by the smile, because it never even occured to him before that moment, that she might have been happy with this guy at one time. It never occured to him that they had been a normal couple, in love. He only ever saw him as a brute. He only ever saw her as a victim.
It's the only time he really doubted for a minute what he was doing.
“I always tell the truth…even when I lie” - Scarface
It's the only time he really doubted for a minute what he was doing
VERY well put :)
"Why Pinto?"
"Why NOT?!"
I agree with the statement above "It's the only time he really doubted for a minute what he was doing" and that is probably why he couldn't wait to kill him in the forest and just did it on the driveway, just in case he continued to doubt himself and change his mind.
I agree with you. In Richard's house we see another side to him; one where a father puts up his children's drawings and there is the photo of him and Natalie in happier days. However his intrinsic character which is noted by Matt's friend (talking about what Richard was like at school) which is ultimately that of a vicious, sly bully. I don't think there is anything else to be read into Natalie's smile.
shareWARNING : TOO MANY SPOILERS
I think he was disturbed because he realized that the person he was going to kill was just that - a person. This guy had a wife and kids that he loved. He was seeing things from Richards point of view. Every story has two sides to it. For just a moment he understood how Richard was feeling. I don't think it had anything to do with her having a "seductive" smile. The smile bothered him because she was happy at one point with Richard and Richard still remembered her that way.
Wow, You covered everything I was gonna say. Perfect answer.
This is what I had typed--->
He sees that they were once happy together. Also, Richard tells him that he was trying his best to work things out with his wife, and that Frank always came between him and his family. It disturbs him that he is able to empathize with the man he is about to kill. That's why he insists on not talking anymore.
The fact that they were once a happy couple is disturbing to the viewers too. Until that point, we would have seen only the cold/abusive side of Richard. This is the first time we look at him as a person with normal feelings.
It's too abstract. Matt was talking about Natalie's smile, not Richards. I don't see how Natalie's smile in an old photo suddenly humanizes his son's killer. He was bothered by HER, not Richard. He couldn't wait to gun him down. He is only realizing that she was not as innocent as he previously thought. His wife had her pegged from the start which is why she slapped her silly.
shareIt's too abstract. Matt was talking about Natalie's smile, not Richards. I don't see how Natalie's smile in an old photo suddenly humanizes his son's killer. He was bothered by HER, not Richard. He couldn't wait to gun him down. He is only realizing that she was not as innocent as he previously thought. His wife had her pegged from the start which is why she slapped her silly.Agreed. Even though Natalie was not directly responsible for her husband's behavior, she is quite capable of manipulating the men around her. In fact, after Richard comes over and tears her place up, she does not call the police. Instead, she calls Frank to come console her and at that point even he sees that things are getting out of control and wants to call the police and she stops him. She brought Frank directly into the situation which led to his demise and manipulates the situation into more inaction, right at the point of no return.
[deleted]
Here's one theory:
Matt gets into bed and is in a state of shock, not really able to talk to his wife at all. He comments on Natalie's smile. When Ruth asks what he means, he responds: "I don't know".
Earlier in the film, Ruth accuses Matt of encouraging Frank and Natalie's relationship out of a *secret desire for Natalie*. Matt dismisses this as being ridiculous and immediately attacks Ruth for being too overbearing, a charge which she is unable to answer - thus ending the fight.
Ruth cannot forgive Natalie (and even hits her). But Matt tries to phone her and, when he can't get in touch, he goes to visit her at work (lying to Ruth about where he is going). He is genuinely concerned for her and her sons. To my eyes, there was something between them: perhaps a strange understanding.
Then there are all the early perverse jokes Matt makes about Natalie. (E.g. Frank having his head in her rather than school, and so on.) Ruth brings up all of this when she accuses him.
The theory is that Matt really did have feelings for Natalie. And maybe this was one of the factors in him killing Richard (i.e. to protect Natalie and her sons from him).
[deleted]
It didnt hit me that way. It hit me that Matt, really for the first time, blamed Natalie. I think Matt looked at her as a victim just like his son. But he realized, looking at her pic smiling with her husband, that she wasnt the victim he originally thought. We already know what Matt's wife thought of Natalie...I took it that Matt was now on the same page as his wife.
Totally agree, torr. He saw that picture and was like "that b*tch is what my son died for?" For the first time, he realized this older woman was really the source of all evil. She's looking all happy in that picture with Richard, and he realized she had no business going after his son, having a husband and 2 kids.
shareI view it as a reflection of loss, and a shattered image of what once were.
Matt knew he was going to kill Richard who had taken away his son, but doing so he wouldn`t only kill his sons murder but also the father of two children.
Per se, he ruins a family as well.
The last point is very relevant and it should have been explored a bit more in my opinion.
when matt kills richard, it is made quite clear that he messed up by killing him too soon. i personally feel that the picture had the same effect on him as it did on me as a viewer. seeing this guy smiling with this beautiful and seemingly sincere woman made me sick and angry. i saw the anger in matt's eyes and in his expression too. at that point, i feel that he all of a sudden was having a difficult time restraining himself from killing richard, hence pulling the trigger earlier then planned.
shareI wondered if Matt was seeing what it was that Richard and Natalie once had, what Richard believed Frank was standing in the way of Richard getting back, and Matt was disturbed when he brushed up against understanding what drove Richard to being capable of killing Frank.
share[deleted]
Good point about the lobster, dude - I rewound after it finished to remind myself about the 'In the Bedroom' line. Said how two males will damage each other, and how a female with berries (kids) could easily take two males out. (But she's protected by the state...)
So I agree - she's kind of an unwitting femme fatale who doesn't know her own strength. Incidentally, Tomei was outstanding as usual - would've liked to have seen a bit more of her though
"Wait till they get a load of me!"
Wow...for some reason I never connected the lobstering scene to the characters relationships etc. Kudos.
This is such a great film. Maybe the best "acted" of the decade.
Well, there are TWO different interpretations to her infamous "smile", and both interpretations are very valid.
FIRST INTERPRETATION: Dr. Fowler sees the picture of Richard and Natalie. Both smiling. Married and very happy. The picture confronted his conscience because it added a more humane element to Richard's character. Richard was a murderer...but he used to be a loving father and husband, and Frank--Dr. Fowler's son--interfered with the relationship. For a moment, perhaps Dr. Fowler understands how Richard must've felt with his wife flirting with a college boy...perhaps Dr. Fowler realizes that Richard did something quite understandable. But he quickly looks away from the picture, uncomfortable with the idea.
SECOND INTERPRETATION: Natalie is the true murderer. In the beginning of the movie, Dr. Fowler, Frank, and Jason go out to retrieve the lobster traps. Dr. Fowler explains the traps to little Jason, saying how "if you get two of these male lobsters in the same bedroom" they will fight until death. Frank then shows a gigantic female lobster to them, and Dr. Fowler says, "Oh, this lady could wipe out both of these male lobsters in a heartbeat...but, the state protects her" and he throws her back into the ocean. When Dr. Fowler looks at the smiling picture of Natalie, perhaps he realizes that two men were going to have to die for her. Frank died because of her, and Richard was going to die because of what Natalie did...and she gets away...thrown back into the ocean...the picture disturbs him because that coy little smile is hiding the truth.
Silence is Golden,
Duct Tape is Silver
Perfect
You live and learn. At any rate, you live.
Perfect interpretations.
shareEvidence for the second interpretation: The case against Richard starts to fall apart when Natalie changes her testimony. We know she was telling the truth on the stand, she only heard the shot, but Matt and Ruth do not. I was a little surprised that they didn't make more out of this, it could easily appear that she was trying to mitigate Richard's guilt and reduce the time her kids' father spent in prison.
But ultimately I agree with the first interpretation. I think that taking the band-aid off and looking at his healed finger was meaningful. I doubt he'd be feeling too healed if he'd just come to the conclusion that Natalie was more to blame than he'd previously thought.
Also, I couldn't help but notice that, in either case, there were still things he couldn't possibly express to Ruth.