After Elvis has disposed of Paul's body, he's driving Paul's car back to their father's house when he passes a clown walking away from a broken down car. Does anyone know what this is about? I remember a similar scene in Body Heat (in which William Hurt also appears) in which, while planning a murder, Hurt sees a clown driving a car.
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Here are a couple of my theories:
(1) After the murder, I thought the film would play out like a conventional thriller. When I saw the clown, I thought, "Ah, after the police drag the river for Paul's body, that man-dressed-as-a-clown is going to be a witness who will place Elvis in the vicinity."
But of course, the film never did play out like a conventional thriller, which leads me to think that the director purposely placed the clown in the scene to lead us to that particular expectation (that the clown will later be a witness), only to then subvert our expectations completely. This makes the film more twisty and unpredictable for the viewer. In other words, the clown is a deliberate red herring.
(2) Elvis is mentally ill, probably a sociopath. In retrospect, maybe we're meant to wonder if this garishly dressed clown person was actually walking down the street or if he was just a figment of Elvis's troubled mind. Remember, Elvis had lugged Paul's body to his vehicle, drove to a remote location, disposed of the body, drove back, and then had to return on foot to his own rooming house. He was probably physically and mentally exhausted.
..." if he was just a figment of Elvis's troubled mind."
That's what I tended to think too.
In retrospect, the scene isn't vitally important and I think could also serve as a bit of a red herring, as others have alluded too.
I thought it was just trying to bring up the whole "pagliachi sad clown" trope.
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