Me neither. What was the twist at the end - with him not having gone to school in Boston? I don't think she'd made up the whole story about him ... or did she?
shareYeah - the point was that he went to Ohio state and Julia Stile's character did make up the whole story to manipulate and dominate Stockard's character.
sharei dont think there was anything to get out of this movie - it is just a poor thriller desperately trying to look cool and artistic
shareFor me it's about control and trust.
What would it take for one of us to behave differently then we'd do normally and how far would we go ?
....and how easy it may be to manipulate someone into doing something that (s)he wouldn't do normally.
I don't know if we're supposed to "get a message" from this movie, but if it was for me it would be : "we are responsible and accountable for our own actions, so *always* keep thinking about what you're doing and why you're doing it".
My $ 0.02
*Spoilers ahead*
I've just finished watching the film and was actually surprised that it far exceeded my expectations. Here's my take on what was going on between Paula and Julie's characters (I noticed Channing's character's name is only used once; the woman is her job): Paula, being a nonfiction short story writer(?), is actually putting herself in the position of a shrink. She spends the first part of the film assessing Channing's character based on the details she gets through conversation and Channing's control fiend personality. Paula "diagnoses" Channing's problem as a long repressed hatred of the "s***" she's had to take from men to get where she is in her career. Paula sets up the "date rape revenge" scenario to give Channing a chance to really see how angry at men she actually is. And see it we do. That is what the pictures are for. Nearly caught in a criminal act, Paula offers Julie the freedom of being found out the bad girl in violence or the bad girl in sex. When push comes to shove Channing can't jump in either direction and goes back to being the bitchy boss, humiliating Paula: "You sing." That's what the "Loser" goodbye note was all about. Channing's failure to choose.
A smart, quiet film about the scary politics of friendship between women. I'm going to buy this one for my library.
I have to say this film was better than I thought it was going to be. I think Paula was raped (but not by Nick,) and probably had been abused as a child. When Nick was sitting at the table chatting with Julie, and Paula came back and saw them she was obviously jealous, giving her a reason to lie about Nick and an excuse to take out her anger and hatred at men.
share[deleted]
I agree with tfrazier. I too believe Paula was a victim of abuse and/or rape and had distaste for men. I also agree that she appeared jealous when she saw Nick with Julie.
The jealousy led me to believe that Paula may be lesbian and I suspect it with Julie as well. I felt there was a lot of sexual tension in the previous scene in Julie's hotel room. Paula seemed to be flirting very heavily with Julie and Julie seemed to drink it all in. Also, the way that Julie talked to her secretary on the phone seemed very intimate...more like she were a lover.