MovieChat Forums > The Slaughter Rule (2002) Discussion > Help please! Questions about the movie?

Help please! Questions about the movie?

posted 21 years ago by skim777
22 replies | jump to latest

Yes, the movie was trying to be "questionable" and "disturbing" on purpose, which seems to be the trend nowadays. In fact, I really agree with what someone said on the user comments: "It's all very unsatisfying -- a string of anticlimaxes without focus, without the sense of an ending."

However, I personally HATE not having a sense of closure!

1)Can someone tell me if they think that the coach is homosexual or not? I personally think so, but my friend disagrees. A) He smelled Ryan's hair in the tumble scene. B) Studebaker acted just like a jealous lover would in the bar scene.

2) Is Tracey paralyzed? I know his neck was broken, but does that mean he's paralyzed for life? If so, how awful... I liked Tracy's character even though he bailed out on Ryan Gosling when the sh*t hit the fan...

Would appreciate any insight that others have on the above topics? Or even opinions?

[–] sundancekid38 21 years ago

The movie was pretty good but I felt like it dragged at times even though most of the acting was stellar.

1. I think Gid is gay but that he doesn't understand that he is. All he knows is that he "prefers the company of men." I think he has been denying it for som long he just thinks what he does is normal. (I agree about the angry lover comment referring to Studabaker, I noticed that as well.)

2. I don't think Two Dogs was paralyzed. They said that strong ppl usually survive these things and Two Dogs is as strong as they come. I think he eventually recovers.

[–] oTinkerBell138o 20 years ago

I personally thought Gid was just lonely and wanted someone to be like a son to him more than he wanted a lover. I think he wanted someone that he could feel like he was bonding with and taking care of.

[–] niobe484 19 years ago

I agree with you. I think that Gid was lonely and isolated. He needed someone to take care of--to care for--and when his odd diabetic friend died I think that it caused him to overreach in his delicate relationship with Roy...with nearly disasterous results. I found it quite absorbing yet somehow unsatisfying. After all the drama, at the end everything just tied up all nice and tidy. Left me feeling a bit deceived...it just didn't ring true. Still, I'm glad I watched the film. Wonderful images and memorable characters. That's what counts the most with me.

L.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] lazarillo 20 years ago

The filmmakers intentionally leave the coach's sexual orientation rather ambiguous in the movie, which I personally appreciated since in real life sexual orientation is a pretty ambiguous thing.

Besides, closure is overrated. I have heard the same criticism about another brilliant, ambiguous film, The Virgin Suicides. Life is full of mystery and ambiguity, and this is reflected in most great art. Why do Hollywood movies have to beat you over the head with their plot points and tie everything together for you in a neat little package after 120 minutes or so? This is one of the those rare American films that seems like it wasn't written by a Hollywood test audience. Try to appreciaeit for what it is.

[–] tnsaint 20 years ago

yes Gid is gay. or should I say homosexual.
"gay" is more a lifestyle and thus he is not gay in that manner.
can you imagine living in red neck Montana and having feelings for men?

however, what about Roy???
really, think about this long and hard.
guys in Montana would never even realize they have "feelings" for other guys.
the sex with his "girlfriend" was pretty bad.
and she even admitted that something was missing.

I have no doubts that he grew to have feelings toward Gid

[–] hcbfc 20 years ago

Yes, it did seem that Roy was confused or 'changing' in the movie. After that first hug, wouldn't Roy have had nothing to do with Gid? And his girlfriend said something wasn't right about their intimacy. When Roy tried to explain that he hadn't been around women much, she said something like, "That's obvious." It's an interesting, open-ended ending that's thought-provoking.

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] montana_molly 20 years ago

I just saw the movie today. It was filmed at my high school and where I was married 2 years ago. I just wanted to stick up for Montana a bit and say that we're not all rednecks, and that homosexuality is accepted in many places. Even in small towns, it's the kind of person you are that matters most. That said, Gid's behavior would be considered questionable and people probably wouldn't be comfortable around him. And since this was supposed to take place in small town Montana, the kids' group reaction to suspected homosexuality was probably accurate, as was Roy's one-on-one friendship with Gid despite his fears.

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] Michaelamarie84 19 years ago

What no one has mentioned is during the scene between Gid and Roy, where Gid smelld Roy's hair, he called him by the other boy's name. And during the ice fishing scene, he told Roy that he reminded him of the other boy. I personally do not believe that Roy is gay, I think he understands that Gid (gay or not) is emotionally damaged, and Roy just does not know how to have a relationship with Gid. At the end Roy seemed to stop trying to figure their relationship out, and stopped trying to make it "normal" and was able to just relax.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] jaydude5000-1 19 years ago

I've got a question.

Did anyone notice that when Gid and Ryan are having the scene where Gid wants Roy to "get by him"?

Well if you look, before Gid is about to tell Roy to get by him, there's a door behind him. If you look you can see someone that was going to enter, but didn't. Watch the crack between the door and the wall.

Then Two Dogs (that right?) bursts in. I'm assuming the head outside the door was Two Dogs about to enter, but then not.

Something that should have been caught in the editing room, unless the cut of the scene was so well done that they learned to live with the "head appearance behind the door".

[–] sjeep89 19 years ago

i think that was on purpose because he was waiting behind the door listening to their conversation. how else would he know about the "ass-grabbing" or hugging that he talked about because he would have missed that if he hadent been standing there listening.

[–] Brutalfan 18 years ago

I only watched this movie because I have been a fan of David Morse for a very very long time. I definitely felt uncomfortable during parts of his scenes, I wasn't sure how to feel so to speak. I don't think he was gay... I mean he said he had never been with a woman that he didn't have to pay for outright (wasn't that the line?) and he told him that he hadn't been with anyone, and that he wasn't a man that liked to be with other men, he just liked their company, because that is all he knows. I felt bad for him. I am still stunned at the scene where he was at the game and grabbed the boy by the privates as he was yelling... not exactly sure what was happening there.

Overall, I loved the movie, because it showed David Morse in a different acting light, different from all the Cop and Detective roles that is normal for him. He is so very handsome, even in this role~

My Green Mile Man Brutal, (David Morse), I love that thing you do!!

[–] geotalker-1 16 years ago

I don't think he was gay.

i have not seen the movie, yet, nor am i a shrink, but reading and seeing the pics, he smelled the young man's hair during a hug, speaking as a layman, actively taking in another's scent is a CLEAR sexual sign.
i will post more after i have seen the movie.

[–] Jaythestingray 15 years ago

Well you really dont need to post if you havent seen the movie. Save your psycobable.

[–] geotalker-1 14 years ago

and you can save your insults and putdowns! completely unneccessary!
this is not an action, thriller or comedy story, its in fact the kind of drama film where talking in psycobable is more than acceptable because the meaning of the relationships is so much in the air.
all i said was taking in someone scent is a clear sign of sexual/romantic interest.
i now have seen the movie, actually a long time ago now, and it's exactly what i said and expected, even MORE so, he took a really deep sniff. he was clearly smelling the boy's hair so he can fantasize and indulge in a solo sexual release later on.
if gideon has been in greece 2000 years ago, he would have been totally at home, having a youth as student/lover was very common.
gideon is an incredible character,very sympathetic and vulnerable,yet a little creepy and scary. its heartbreaking when he says he has never been kissed. he is definitely gay, although i think a close friendship with a woman would help him heal some parts of himself, as well as with adult gay men. i would still not want to see him with male teenagers
also the writer made gideon's social status very is a few steps away from homelessness, which also makes his sympathetic. if gid has been financially successful, with a nice apt or house, his own car, better grooming and clothes would his interest in the kid have been more apparent to the audience? i think so.
i occasionally like open ended plots, but this movie should have had a scene to tie up a few more questions. does gid understand himself better and what he needs and what he can and cannot get from young men? does the kid make it clear what gid means to him? too many questions left in air for me to be satisfied with this movie.

[–] Jaythestingray 14 years ago

It's not insults when you post on a thread about a movie you havent seen. "he was clearly smelling the boy's hair so he can fantasize and indulge in a solo sexual release later on" REALLY? So he was clearly doing this? Someone with a history of pedophilia would not act on it? Liking young boys is something more than just homosexual.

[–] jeremy-hogan 15 years ago

>> He smelled Ryan's hair in the tumble scene.

He also called him by the other kid's name. Gid has no idea what the bounds of love and intimacy are. As he says, he's never kissed, he's only ever paid for sex. He knows he lost something (and someone) he can never get back. He's using Roy to redeem the death of another kid Roy reminds him of.

So is Gid gay? He's barely sexual at all, but it seems like he'd perhaps engage in homosexual behavior if that was what it took to really connect, love and be loved, etc. Gid adopts the hobo as well. He's trying to undo the death of the other kid and live up to his potential, find warmth in a (literally) cold world and to live up the idea of true manhood, whatever that is.

Roy also can't distinguish between sex and intimacy or between love and friendship. Lost his father, so they bond on that mutual need. Once he starts to scratch at the truth of his own wounds, the growing intimacy between he and Gid is frightening and unfamiliar. I don't think Roy is gay either, per se, but he seems to be coming from a similar place as Gid.

I think it's more about frustration in the search for true intimacy. To connect, to belong somewhere, to belong to someone.

>> Is Tracey paralyzed for life?

We'll never know, but we're left with the hope that "tough people overcome tough things" meaning he will survive either way.

[–] blitzhard56 14 years ago

After just viewing this, I would have to say that jeremy-hogan's answer is perfect for anyone looking for 'closure' to this movie.

It's not as simple as just saying "Gid is gay." It's much more complex.

I really enjoyed this movie ... Gosling and Morse are both fantastic.

[–] shawn_381 14 years ago

1. Gid is gay.

2. Two Dogs survives unparalyzed.