The movie wasn't great, but sometimes I just enjoy certain actors walking and talking and delivering lines, and I don't expect much. I like Mr. Quaid, Dorff and Ms. Stone and even Juliette (wow, she's aged, that's mean I know, but jeez, she's lost all her appeal to me) so I liked the movie for that fact.
Something I caught that I don't see anyone else mentioning, which would explain a lot, I got this from the very last shot, where the house seems kind of menacing and after the seemingly peaceful "Cooper" is driven to homicide (justified, perhaps, but killing none-the-less)- I thought perhaps it was supposed to be that the HOUSE was evil, had driven Dale to kill his family and had worked on Cooper and his wife as well, and that the end was a fore-shadow that perhaps Cooper would eventually go insane and kill HIS family as well.
Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but it would explain a lot. There were shots of the house that looked sinister as well, to me, like when they are playing in the pool and Dale is mowing the lawn, it's like the house is a presence.
Seems like director Figgis could have made more out of this, though, if true. It would also explain the girl putting flowers on Dale's grave, he was a victim of the house also, not the malefactor he seemed.
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gill_welch
12 years ago
TBH there was a few things i wondered about throughout the movie. Most noticeable was the dilapidated state of the house mixed in with the timeline.
Dale was sent away for manslaughter....are we ever actually told how long for? It has to be at least a few years right? At least in the UK it would be. If it were only 18 months or so, that would explain why Dale was still in possession of the property when they trespassed (if you remember he said he didnt press charges and that he still owned the land when they did so) but it wouldnt explain the state the house was in.
The state the house was in gives the impression that it was empty maybe 5 years or even longer.....if this was the case, why did the bank wait so long to sell it? Here you miss 2 or 3 mortgage payments and they'll be on your ass.
I think the weapon he used on his family was one of the killing hammers.....it's said during the film theres "one missing". If it was, it gives the impression he killed the wife and kids in a rage, as we see the retainer and what is supposed to be teeth (looks more like teeth shaped pebbles to me), if he had used the side that pierces the brain, her teeth wouldnt have been knocked out. So he must've used the blunt end.
Throughout the film I tried to ascertain whether the character of Dale would be a sociopath or a psychopath. He displays a good deal of characteristics for both.
As for the dad.....why on earth would he stay quiet for years and then tell a random person that his son had killed his family? I think sometimes, in trying to keep a "reveal" till a good part in the storyline contradicts with making a story believable.
Shamefully, they could have done so much better if they'd put a little more effort into it.
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rdescartes101
12 years ago
The film seemed to have been edited so badly as to ruin the continuity.
The denture guard, did Sheriff Ferguson ever get anywhere with that ?
The Killings.. Dale would have had to kill the children, They could easily go to the Sheriff and make claims against Dale. They could have been witness to the event.
The change on the bar owners friendliness while Cooper was in the bar.. big and effusive welcome but in the bar almost silent..
The voice on the radio... Dale must have attacked the Sheriff in her office, How did he know to take the radio....???? the reply to Cooper was in her voice but Dale appears from the woods in her cape and hat.... and all the time Ruby was waiting outside her sister's office.
Which... surely Ruby would have heard her sister moaning.. Nobody walked into her office for paperwork or messages... strange.
The conversation with Dale and Dale's murder of his father.... No reaction or comments from the nurse? No doctor's presence...Patient suddenly dies while Dale is in the room. No nothing.. But, I liked the spiteful remark to Massie senior..... "man's bought cold creek manor".. That didn't help his blood pressure
Who would have been strongest on the roof.. Dale in his maniacal rage or Leah..holding onto the roof.... .... the plot line suffered badly and made for a very weak and un-substantive story line.
The film centred around the three main stars... with detrimental effect on the story line....why did Leah admit to the incident with Miller.. on the plane but had rushed home because of Jesse accident. Why didn't she ring home earlier... ???
A potentially good movie ruined by bad editing and bad direction
LOL just as an aside... Leah in the Pool Wooo lots of cleavage but a later shot in the small Family grave yard... nothing... well almost ... Inflatable??????
LOL
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IL_Maestro
10 years ago
Well Dale said it was 3 years, which was stupid to not talk abt this accident a lil, they mentioned the accident but never revealed anything abt it
and also I agree with whoever said the cheating thing shouldn't be on the movie, at least she didn't apologize for it and only apologized for not believing Cooper
not showing what happened to the Sherrif was also a mistake
and I wonder why Ruby would put a rose on his grave after what he did to her sis!
the movie was ok, not gonna watching it again though.
"It is never about what happened, it is only how you look at it!"
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