MovieChat Forums > Premonition (2007) Discussion > Regarding Bridgette's Cuts -- SPOILERS

Regarding Bridgette's Cuts -- SPOILERS

posted 15 years ago by wordswork02
7 replies | jump to latest

The story that's in the DVD extras is that Linda is experiencing the days of the week out of sequence. I guess the title screws with people who want to believe there is some kind of precognition going on. And I guess if you experience something horrible one day, then go back in time, you would try to have that horrible thing not happen. And I guess it would seem like a premonition when you go to an earlier day, but it's really not.

But my question -- among many -- is why, when Linda experiences something in the future, goes to an earlier day, then goes back to that day, the people who experienced those things with her don't remember?

For example, why didn't Dr. Roth remember meeting Linda and giving her the lithium prescription? Why didn't the sheriff remember either telling Linda of Jim's death or stopping her at the intersection? I'm not sure which of those events took place first in Linda's "reality."

And why didn't Linda's mother know about Bridgette's cuts? On the night of the accident, as Jim is sweeping up the glass, he tells Linda he called her mother to come and stay with Linda and the girls while he's gone? I doubt he would have made such a request without telling Linda's mother what happened to Bridgette. So Linda's mother's ignorance about the cuts and her subsequent contacting of Dr. Roth really makes no sense.

It seems as if some events in the film lend themselves to the theory of "premonition" and some lend themselves to the theory of a "week out of sequence" and the writer/director couldn't decide which. Because, in my view, it can't be both.

But I can buy the notion that when Linda experiences something in the "future," then goes back to a prior day, what she experienced before seems, to her, like a premonition.

And this is why things like the clock reading 2:20 and the lunches in the back seat of the car grab her attention: she knows they are significant observations, but isn't sure why.

[–] ex250 15 years ago

I have to agree with you on this. I really feel that there is something that I'm missing in this film. Somewhere there must be some clue that creates another possibility. Granted, I've only seen it twice, but I find it difficult to buy into the Days out of Order premise because that would just seem like really lazy writing to me. If the movie is called "Premonition" then there should be a premonition somewhere, not some supernatural messing with the universal space/time continuum.

I should probably watch the film again, but my major problem with the film is how does the plot get from Sunday to Wednesday in one day? Let me explain:

In reading others posts here, it seems the consensus is that Mon, Tue, and Wed are real days and Thurs, Fri, Sat, and the previous Sunday are premonitions or imagined.

Here's my problem: If Mon, Tues, and Wed are real, then those days should come in order. My problem is that on Sunday she knew everything that was going to happen throughout the rest of the week. At that point the story doesn't make sense, she's telling him on Sunday not to take a trip on Wednesday. What happened on Monday and Tuesday if those days are real?

If it's a premonition, when exactly did the premonition or premonitions occur? And, how does it fit into reality? If there is no logical reality then how can there be a premonition?

So far, the biggest clue for me, and I'll admit I should really watch the film again, is that she tells him on Sunday that she "had a dream that something bad was going to happen." So, the dream should be the premonition. And, it occurred prior to Sunday. If it didn't then the film has no foundational reality, and there was no premonition. Just a woman somehow living the days out of order, and that's just too hard to swallow, just lazy screenwriting.

The way I see it, the days of Sunday and Wednesday in the film needed to be consecutive days. The conversation on Sunday about the dream with him leaving for his trip on Monday, or the conversation on Tuesday with him leaving on his trip on Wednesday. It doesn't make any sense for there to be two full days to go by before the trip.

If the writers didn't include some way to blend the premonitions into the real world then I just want to strangle the writers for their laziness, because the film should have started with a reality, interspersed it premonitions, and then ended with a reality so there there was some continuity to the story at some level. But, I can't find it.

The only thing I can sort of see is that the entire premonition occurred on Tuesday night, which would make Wednesday the only real day. And, that's even worse, although logical. At least, then it would really be a premonition, but then she would have had to live Sun, Mon, and Tues for real in addition to the "premonition" days, and she would be able to tell them apart.

Sorry, if that was confusing and hard to follow. I've wanted to try and make this point for a while now, and this just seemed like the right time to try and get it down.

I suppose I should watch the film again, now. I have to be missing something. Anyone have any ideas?

But that's the fork I knew.

[–] wordswork02 15 years ago

Another poster came up with a "chronology" of the days as they play out in the film. And after watching the film several times and even taking notes based on Linda's chart and my own observations, I've come up with one, as well. I think mine jives with the other poster's chronology.

I think the days play out this way:

1)Thurs - Linda learns that Jim died on Wednesday

2)Mon - Linda wakes up to find Jim in the kitchen drinking coffee; Jim hurries to leave for his "Monday" morning meeting; Linda is stopped by same cop who tells her Jim is dead; Linda shops with Annie; Linda trips on dead bird in backyard

3)Sat - Jim's funeral; Linda calls Dr. Roth's office; Linda is committed by Dr. Roth

4)Tues - Bridgette's cuts; Linda meets Dr. Roth; Jim & Linda argue in kitchen; Linda starts chart; Jim tells Linda he asked her mother to come; Linda finds dead bird in trash; Linda visits Jim at work and meets Claire; Linda throws lithium into sink; later that night, Linda covers the mirrors

5)Fri - Linda finishes chart, goes to Claire's house, visits Annie, finalizes funeral arrangements, meets guy at lake

6)Sun - Jim takes girls out; Linda talks to priest at church; the dinner; make-up sex, etc.

=======================

Having said all that, I'm not really clear on which days would/should be "real" and which would/should be premonitions. As I wrote in my OP, I think there are places where the film lends itself to premonition, and some places where it lends itself to the "days out of sequence" theory.

But if the days were merely out of sequence, Bridgette should have had scars on her face on the day Jim took her to school and Linda wakes up and calls Annie to find out what day it is.

I'm not sure where the filmmaking went wrong -- either at the writing stage or the editing stage. But the fact that there's so much confusion means that something isn't clear and something went wrong somewhere in the process.

And in case you're wondering, the answer is yes -- I have too much time on my hands. lol

[–] Amry0217 15 years ago

The confusion experienced and the questions asked here remind me very much of the aftermath of everyone who watched The Lake House.

==============================
He lifts me clear to the sky, you know he taught me to fly.

[–] markfilipak 15 years ago

_Cross-post warning_

See: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477071/board/nest/140908299

Interested in collaborative work on a new type of film rating system? Contact me

[–] Heidi_Smiles 14 years ago

Linda's mom called Dr. Roth because she was convinced that Linda was too crazy and dangerous to the kids; possibly even that she hurt Bridgette on purpose. Even the husband seemed to be a bit suspicious about what happened.

Imagine you're Linda's mom. Linda is going absolutely bonkers for several days. (I don't remember if there were any "pre-Wednesday" scenes with Linda's mom, but surely at the very least, the husband told her about Linda's craziness. That's WHY he asked her to come "help out.") This horrible thing happens to Bridgette. One day, Linda is saying "she ran through the glass door," and the next day she is completely freaking out and claims to have NO idea what happened. Meanwhile, the only other witnesses are two young girls. Bridgette is now really messed up about her dad's death, and the other girl is so little ... neither of them are reliable sources of information. If, say, Linda had hurt Bridgette on purpose, both of the girls would have just corroborated her "story" about the window.

Si no puedo estar contigo, Ya no puedo estar sin ti...

[–] serendipity99 13 years ago

I just watched the movie again and noticed some things I hadn't noticed before. First of all, it's true that Bridget does not have cuts on her face on Thursday, but if her accident happened on Tuesday and Thursday is a real day they should be there. Also, if Linda was at the scene of the accident there would be no reason for the police officer to come to the house on Thursday to inform her of her husband's death. Because of these issues, I think Thursday was a dream or premonition. I also think Saturday was a premonition because it's obvious that Linda will not be committed. Friday must also be a dream or premonition. Remember, the week for Linda ends on Wednesday. We never get to see what happens on the next day or even find out what day comes next. We have to assume the next day is Thursday and it's a real day. If Linda hadn't gone to stop her husband and try to prevent him from being killed, her premonitions about Thursday, Friday and Saturday may have come true, in which case the officer would have come to the house, but Bridget would still have her scars and Linda would know how Bridget got them.

Sometime during Wednesday, Linda has flashbacks about the events that occurred that week, BUT she also has a flash forward of her, running in the street where her husband dies, wearing the clothes she is wearing now. If she had paid attention to that flash forward, she may have realized she should not go to try to rescue Jim, because that would cause the accident. The question is, would Jim have died if she hadn't gone after him?

Maybe the days aren't out of order at all. Linda could have had a normal Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (except that Bridget would have gone through the glass door on Tuesday), and then Tuesday night dreamed all the days from that week out of order, starting with Thursday. the inconsistencies we notice that happen on Thursday would then just be part of that dream. We never see the trashcan, the glass door (which would still be broken), the dead crow, or the bathroom sink and no mention is made of Dr. Roth or Linda's mother at the very end of the movie.

[–] kobrakai1 9 years ago

The Grandma knew about Brigittes cuts. The reason she was concerned was because Linda didn't.