MovieChat Forums > Gone (2007) Discussion > What was Taylor's motivation?

What was Taylor's motivation?

posted 11 years ago by MikeGrossman34
4 replies | jump to latest

I think this is the most unsettling unexplained thing about this film. What was it that Taylor really wanted from these people? Some have speculated that Taylor was actually interested in Alex, but I think that is a stretch to say the least. You'd think Taylor would have killed Sophie and not Alex if that was the case. Okay, so Taylor wants what Alex has? And what does Alex have? Money? No. A "sort of" girlfriend? Maybe. But geez, he didn't even know Sophie existed until after he met Alex. Was his original intent to rob Alex? It just makes no sense, which leaves us with the explanation that Taylor was some sort of sociopath who just stalked his victims at random. He sees Alex with an Australia guidebook and realizes that Alex is vulnerable and out of his element. Of course, Taylor was not Australian either, so how the hell did he know where to go? I mean how long had he been there. Supposedly, he had been in Thailand and screwed someone over back there. So does he just travel around picking victims here and there?

I think this film could have been more interesting if there were some basis for Taylor's behavior? A traumatic childhood experience for example? blah blah blah. I guess I can accept the psychopath thing, but if that's the case, why not just kill Alex straight away. Why put us through the hour and a half wait?

I'm just sayin'

[–] deborahkerr1992 11 years ago

Taylor is a psychopath. Psychopaths are empty, they lack a personality, they never have ANY friends, and they are perpetually miserable. The only way they can be happy is by attempting to make someone else feel as empty, worthless and miserable as they truly are. Some psychopaths are motivated by money but usually it's the feeling that they are putting one over on someone else or mentally/physically destroying someone else that makes them feel "powerful" and temporarily happy.

[–] yamichik 11 years ago

Yep, I think it's obvious that Taylor was for whatever reason, obsessed with Alex right from the start. It's mostly obvious from his little speech he gives Alex when he gives him the "paracetamol", he's clearly trying to show that he is the victim of Alex's "lying and treating people badly" or whatever he said. I personally don't think he even really cared about Sofie, lol. I've seen some people suggest it's a gay thing, but I don't know.

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Hey Jin! You better not be cheating on me!!

[–] TheatreNachos 11 years ago

Deborah, your description of a psychopath is completely off. Psycopathy is a mental affliction, and does not necessarily mean someone seeks to make others feel "empty". Yes, psychopaths lack the ability to identify with anyone but themselves and lack empathy, but many fully functioning psychopaths have friends. Your description of a psychopath is completely non-sequitur. I suggest even taking a cursory look at psychopathy in Wikipedia just to get a real idea of what your talking about.

[–] MikeGrossman34 11 years ago

Woof. Spoken from someone who clearly knows what he is talking about.