MovieChat Forums > Burn After Reading (2008) Discussion > I didn't get the scene with Ozzie's fath...

I didn't get the scene with Ozzie's father

posted 8 years ago by Karma-For-You
9 replies | jump to latest

At first I thought he was dead and Ozzie was just imagining the conversation he would have had if his father was alive, but then dad is shown being pushed in a wheelchair. What was the point of it?

[–] franzkabuki 8 years ago

The point? Idk, to give Ozzy a chance to wax (ridiculously) poetic about his life and times? Either way, it has always struck me as kind of a parody of the scene(s) in No Country For Old Men from the previous year where Ed Tom Bell visits his ex-lawman uncle (I think) to ruminate on the nature of being a policeman now vs then.

"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan

[–] Karma-For-You 8 years ago

What I didn't get though is they made the father appear to be dead (to me at least). The first time I saw this movie, I thought the father was dead and the conversation was all in Ozzie's head, but then Ozzie is wheeling his father on the deck. I just didn't get it. If the father had talked or even moved, then it would have been a non-event, but he just sat there like a corpse.

[–] franzkabuki 8 years ago

I thought he was kinda funny-looking. More than most people even.

"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan

[–] rinoheliassen 8 years ago

No one care about Ozzie, not even his father. It is under-explained, his father might be dementia, or he might be sane and not give a *beep* Either way, no one in Ozzies life care, which makes his memoir even more pointless - which again makes it even more pointless that Chad and Linda believes them to be so important.

[–] fanaticita 8 years ago

It looked like he was being wheeled into some sort of care home, so I would say Ozzie's father had dementia or some other health issue, . . . .or he really didn't like Ozzie?

[–] StevenSmithNYC 8 years ago

To show that he has no one to talk to anymore that understands him. His wife treats him horribly and won't even listen to his concerns, all she does is criticize and should disappointment in him. His employer didn't appreciate it and ended up in him quitting his job.

[–] andyd-1 8 years ago

I thought that Oz's father was meant to be being shown as somewhat disappointed or maybe feeling sad due to the failings of his son. Is it mentioned in the film that Oz's father was also in the CIA, suggesting that that is how Oz came to be in the CIA, and therefore not really able to cope with the job

[–] bhoover247 8 years ago

I wonder if the type of people attracted to the CIA are the type of people that have a hard time relating to anybody else. If you move up high in the organization you have to keep secret what you do. Maybe the fact that they can't confide in anyone attracts them to the job.

[–] pac52 8 years ago

I think his father was just out of it.. senile, alzheimers etc...