Did you think Rhodes was Guilty?? SPOILERS....
....Noooo!!! No,you did Not! Fine,to avoid being condescending,I chose to go with that it was your initial reaction when Paris saw the file but when both guys were dead,you KNEW this theory was nonsense...Mangold took his time with delivering the first twist and it payed off. The third was clever enough while being slightly expected for those who payed attention during the opening credits....but Rhodes,that was just a HUGE misfire on ALL levels...
Even though they´re not real people,we work with what we´re given and shown,which for a long time is as much as Malcolm;even when bodies start to disappear and reality gets distorted,they still act accordingly(I mean as if they are in the real world) to those mindfu--s....but WHY should we suspect Rhodes? For instance...
1. He notices the keys on Maine,Suzanne and Alice York. NO ONE is even present except us,the audience,when he finds Alice´s key and he looks spooked and pissed.
2. Rhodes suggest they ALL stay inside,actually threatening everyone at gunpoint.So he is scared and paranoid,then...
3. We get to see the blood on the back of his shirt very early on,as if letting us know,this is NOT the answer to all upcoming weirdness and psychotic predicaments,since that would be too obvious.
4.Rhodes is shown BY HIMSELF,out in the rain,looking for the killer...
5. When the killer is trying to kill Ginny in the bathroom,Rhodes is just outside,aiding her when she gets out the window.
6. He did in no way put little Timmy in the middle of the road so dad could get run over,in fact,he tried to get the kid out of harms way.
7. He was trying to prevent Timmy and Ginny from getting in the car...and even if he did Not,those deaths could not likely be by His hand.
8. He is actually the most paranoid and dedicated to finding the killer....although he is one himelf. It´s very logical actually,given his nature.
9. When Paris sees the file and we find out what happened and all that telepathy between Ed and PAris occurs which only goes one way(Ed suddenly knows what Paris knows and she thinks she´s real,Ed knows he is just a figment of someones imagination and can read her mind,not vice versa),we´re suposed to think Rhodes is THE killer resposible for alotta amurders cause...he is a convict and a killer? Isn´t it safe to Say that the chock or surprise isn´t that Rhodes is one rather then it being pretty surprising that only TWO(At that point,one) of eleven personalities are killers to our knowledge? I mean,Malcolm was pretty psychotic and dangerous,the chance of more then One personality being violent seemed pretty high.
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10. Ray Liotta. That´s it,that´s the whole point. Sort of. Mangold knew who most would suspect no matter What the character did and"the revelation" sort of felt like a test....would more then half the audience go-"I KNEW Liotta was the baddie!! I mean...very little SHOULD indicate it but I Just knew it!!"? Yes,they would.
11. Once it´s time to put the killer Down,we get NO motive at ALL on any level,NO speech,just a dead silent,poor overly(On purpose?)anti-climactic shoot-out leaing both men dead,the personality responsible for all those murders is found and put down and it was Ray Liotta cause....it had to be Ray Liotta?
MAYBE if Mangold had directed this part differently or had inserted a few lines of dialog,preferably vague,cryptic or decent red herrings,it could fly....but as it is,to Me,it feels a bit like Meta-humor or so ironic and on the nose we´re supposed to first go-Ooooh,damn...then 10 seconds later- "Hehe,naaah... they´re just messing with us. It was funny cause it was way too obvious!"
So did you think Rhodes was the murderer? For more then one minute,that is.. The feeling one gets when he´s killed is not exactly the kind this sort of psycho-thriller usually(If it´s a good one)imbues in its audience...There was no sense of relief or slightest satisfaction. The character And actor both became patsys,simly thanks to casting,which I guess can be fun on some level.