I thought the guy crashed... but in the ending you see him passing the guy... whats up with that.. someone interpret for me pls.
At the beginning, you also see him pass the bread truck. The bread truck arrives at the scene of the accident a short time later.
shareThe story is a circle... it starts there and ends where it started... you're thinking literally, think of it a novel, you find out in the end what the beginning was all about, also you find out that Goodman was in jail prior to driving on the road... get it? I thought it was awesome... not like all that other Hollywood fodder!
Yes, it was a circle, and it was somewhat ironic to discover his past, but how did he crash? Why didn't the truck stop to help, if the truck sideswiped him (as might have been the case due to the marks on the car)?
shareThe trucker may not have looked in his rearview mirror to see what happened, may not even have been involved... apparently Goodman's character didn't get the car back in his lane soon enough or otherwise was distracted, lost control ('fishtailed').... so he hit the upcoming concrete median in between the lanes. The trucker did honk at the bread truck for little reason... ?
--SPOILERS--
I thought it was interesting to see the jail history, and Lisa... with us knowing he died with a dream unbroken by the failure of Lisa to show up... and Lisa finding out someone cared... but didn't possibly have her life ruined by what appeared to be a career criminal (armed robbery... then back to car theft ...the 'left turn' he took).
After the bread table sex, seeing Samson's face, it finally dawned on me that the Samson actor (Elden Henson) just might be little Steve, now grown up in another role... I watched the 'short' (pretty long) previous version on the DVD before I watched the newer movie 'version', different story actually.
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It is of course open to interpretation, but I thought the crash was a one-car accident as reported by Frank over the phone when he called 911. I assumed Steve was so excited to see Lisa, and in such a hurry, that he was speeding and lost control, hitting the barrier.
And I agree, discovering his past added such an amazing level to the film.
Agreed. I loved this film. Also I was impressed as it had a lot of my favorite actors: Robert Carlyle and Donnie Wahlberg in the same movie just seemed too good to be true. Add to that Marisa Tomei, Adam Arkin, Miguel Sandoval, Mary Steenburgen and of course John Goodman and the rest it really is quite remarkable. I think it speaks to the quality of the script and director that it attracted all this talent.
It's actually quite well done.
Having seen Goodman die earlier you assume his character is done with. But as someone else already mentioned, the story is brought full circle, but in a really unique way - they give you the beginning of the story as the ending, showing you the prison details leading up to the road scene and accident. That final scene of him passing the bread truck and smiling at our hero is the circular link - you know what happens from there on, because that is what you saw at the very beginning.
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I rented this movie on the advice of the clerk at the video store. I had never heard of it but the cast reads like a who's who so I figured it was worth at least one watch. Even so I had it for a week before I finally watched it. It blew me away. Every performance in this movie was utterly fantastic. They make you laugh, make you cry and make you sorry the movie is over. This one definitely goes on the must have list.
Matthew 28:19-20
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lol i didnt even see the beginning but i still figured out he crashed just after that !
shareHe says it is fate, and it is due to the fact his actions lead to the resolution. Everybody's life is changed because he had meet his destiny, including Lisa's. The woman came across as one who never had anybody care for her, and then, with one knock...she does. I tought it was very well done.
shareI thought there was a line Goodman said to Devito, something like "if I drive straight through, I can make it", so I'm guessing he got out of jail and drove the entire day and by the time he got to where the bread truck was, he might have been fatigued and overly excited, and just lost control of his car. Hence the crash.
Shakespeare did MORE than make us feel ... he INSTRUCTED us.