MovieChat Forums > The Bourne Identity (2002) Discussion > Sickening scene (spoilers)

Sickening scene (spoilers)

posted 11 years ago by popularsi
17 replies | jump to latest

The scene where Jason Bourne and Marie exit the apartment building after Bourne kills the assassin, and we see the old lady's corpse with a bullet hole in her forehead staring lifelessly at them. Marie's character responded to this scene by throwing up before they exited the door. Are most people okay with this scene?

FYI I'm not trying to be a big baby, I can handle war movies, some horrors, most thrillers, sci-fi, slasher films. I have seen lots of blood and guts that should desensitise most people. This is in case someone says "Don't watch these kind of movies if they scare you etc". Also, only this scene stood out in a shocking way, everyone about this movie was great.

[–] Skvoznyak 11 years ago

I had no problem with the scene and thought it was not only appropriate, but important to the story: it showed how far out of her element Marie was in Bourne's world.

[–] popularsi 11 years ago

I'm not use to seeing old ladies with a gunshot wound to the forehead. Who would want to hurt an old lady? To silence her and gain access to the apartment building....Normally old lady civilians are left unharmed in action/thriller movies because they aren't perceived as a threat. Maybe I missed something because the assassin that tried to kill Bourne in the apartment, smashed and entered through the apartment window, so I wonder why the old lady was killed. Was it to silence her in case she rang the cops while the assassin was trying to kill Bourne, from all the broken glass/damage noises caused by the fighting?

[–] Skvoznyak 11 years ago

To silence her, to keep her from calling the cops, to keep her from being able to identify him, or maybe just because she pissed him off - we didn't see the killing, but it could have been one or more of any of the above. No idea. I still have no problem with the scene; if I were to think of scenes which really bothered me, this one wouldn't make the list.

An example of a scene which DID bother me was the blurry scene showing the retrieval of the girl's corpse in Dirty Harry. We knew she was a hostage and the odds of her being saved with that much time left in the movie were slim, but they didn't have to show that scene - they could have just told us that she was dead.

[–] popularsi 11 years ago

I might be going off in a tangent here but have you seen the movie "The Fourth Kind" starring Milla Johovich? It's a thriller/horror in my opinion. Anyway, there's a scary scene in it and I stopped watching it because of that. There were many scenes where Milla is the "shrink" and lots of patients freak out during the meetings when they retell their stories to Milla.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1220198/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

[–] Skvoznyak 11 years ago

No, sorry, I had never heard of it until you mentioned it.

I do share the tendency you have in having a limit as to what I'm willing to accept violence-wise; my limits obviously aren't as strict as yours, but they are there. The scene I described in Dirty Harry was, in my opinion, essential to the plot because the idea was to stir up outrage in the viewer, but that scene was still too much for me. Sorry, though - I had no trouble with the Bourne scene that bothered you so much.

[–] popularsi 11 years ago

That's okay. It's nice to share viewer's experiences and different viewpoints with other IMDB users.

[–] Babyfat101 (221) 5 years ago

Since the assassin came in thru a window...when was he in the lobby to kill the landlady?

[–] Kel_Vernsen 11 years ago

I'm okay with it. I've seen worst on other movies.

[–] Etherdave 11 years ago

It fits in well with the grim, uncompromising world of Jason Bourne. Moby's lyrics in 'Extreme Ways' actually says it all, and was a very good choice as Jason Bourne's unofficial anthem.

[–] henrikmk25 10 years ago

I think it's appropriate for you to be sick and quite OK; It's the same response as Marie and I tend to think of Marie as representing the audience in the film, an ordinary person, who is thrown into Bourne's world. Marie is the only way we really learn about the human behind Jason Bourne.

[–] Tsotha-lanti 10 years ago

You can handle death but not barf? ;D
It was important to show Marie's reaction. I just hope she washed her mouth before kissing.

[–] michaelexarkun 9 years ago

Marie's reaction wasn't just to the old lady's corpse, but to Bourne fighting the assassin in the apartment, his having her picture, and the assassin jumping out of the window to commit suicide.

She was in shock and disbelief, so her throwing up was a normal reaction.

[–] smoko 9 years ago

@michaelexarkun That's how I saw it as well.

She might've been able to handle the sight of the dead old lady on its own; but after the barrage of shocks she just went through, the sight was the final straw that was just too much for her system to handle. I can't say that I blame her.

[–] Captain_Wesker 9 years ago

Was it truly that bad?

---
It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing .

[–] Captain_Wesker 8 years ago

Hm.

---
It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing .

[–] Captain_Wesker 8 years ago

Hm.

---
It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing .

[–] imranbecks 8 years ago

Her reaction after seeing the body at the lobby was realistic. Any normal person who has never seen such stuff would probably barf as well. Before this, she had never gone through such things. She was clearly in shock and was barely able to walk on her own. She just saw a man casually jump out the window after being beaten by Bourne. And then she sees the women who greeted them dead with a gunshot wound to the head.