MovieChat Forums > Tony Discussion > Tony's childhood trauma.

Tony's childhood trauma.

posted 14 years ago by LisaVHeard
22 replies | jump to latest

I just wanted to add that there was some hint to childhood trauma as I read on one of the reviews here that the film lacked a 'reason' for Tony's behaviour. In the bathroom scene where he is bagging up body parts and washing knives etc the voice-over is clearly Tony recalling the abusive things his father used to say to him.

Just thought I'd clear this up as I couldn't find anything insultive to say of this film. I loved it and just wished it was longer. I feel compelled to watch Tony and his life in a twisted way.

[–] spacemouse 14 years ago

Yes it did touch on a motive - not that there has to be one. Sometimes killers are just born that way.

fM

[–] romeros-zombie 14 years ago

I took the voiceover as being him recalling the insults delivered to him from the characters met throughout the film itself eg the smack heads and the Ricky Grover character Paul. I think to read to much into this particular voiceover would be taking away from the simplicity of the story itself thus adding weight to the theory that no one really knows why serial killers do what they do.

[–] roell29 14 years ago

Oh but they do. The vast majority suffered extreme abuse in childhood. A few snap as a result of experiencing extreme violence in the military, and a very few become violent and disinhibited as a result of a physical brain injuries. Some will not remember what happened to them in childhood and/or instinctively protect their parents. Dahmer, for instance, revealed early on that his father had raped him at the age of six, and then later retracted (conformed). The media will never lend credence to such accusations against the parents, especially if they are "law abiding citizens", since it would make them vulnerable to accusations of making "excuses" for a murderer, not to mention the extremely powerful taboo against criticizing parents generally, also known as the 4th commandment. Personally I believe that extreme behavior generally has an extreme cause. Isn't that how the universe works? In the past few years, movies about serial killers have finally begun validating some of the painful realities of extreme childhood trauma in relation to serial killers and how these experiences helped to directly twist their psyches, marking a real sea change in perspective and one much appreciated by me since "there but for the grace of God go I".

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[–] Littlemermaid88 14 years ago

I'm massively interested in serial killers and why they do what they do. I read The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer and it didn't mention him accusing his father of rape aged 6. Just curious where you read this? Not disputing it, just interested! :-)

[–] roell29 14 years ago

It was a news report I remembered hearing at the time, which was just mentioned briefly and given no credence (Dahmer's claim), but can't find any trace of it now on the web. It was after that point, as I recall, that his father entered the picture, going on the talk shows trying to protect his reputation and writing his schmaltzy, self-serving book, "A Father's Story: One Man's Anguish at Confronting the Evil in His Son" (yeah right, I'm sure he had *nothing* to do with it). I did find this little snippet from the alt.true-crime archives regarding Dahmer's childhood, which is pretty extreme if you ask me -

"his classmates recall him having a severe drinking problem by age
twelve. he would bring a hip flask full of alcohol to school and drink
till he fell down. to everyone's great surprise lionel and joyce dahmer
somehow managed to have another child, when jeffrey was about ten or
twelve (i'm not clear as to the age difference, because i gave away the
book with the facts). shortly thereafter, lionel dahmer left his wife
and children for some born-again christian girl about half his age (ok,
i exaggerate somewhat, but only slightly). joyce dahmer then took
jeffrey's little brother, packed their stuff, and left for california.
jeffrey, then 17, was left alone at home with no money, no food, and no
way of getting any. he had a car - perhaps his father's, so he could
drive around. that was when he murdered his first victim. a
hitchhiking teenager whom he picked up, going home from a rock concert.
when asked why he murdered the victim, jeffrey said "he was going to
leave me. i didn't want him to leave." telling, eh?"

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[–] Littlemermaid88 14 years ago

Ah I see - yeah that's interesting!

Yeah the book goes on about how his mother had depression/schitzophrenic tendencies and that they just packed up and left Jeffrey aged 17. Obviously it was a very unloving/mixed up upbringing but it's not extraordinary to what many people go through across the world. I do believe people are born that way - an imbalance genetically but I also believe nurture also has a lot to do with it.

Thanks for that! Yet more info to get my teeth into :-)

[–] roell29 14 years ago

Littlemermaid, you might be interested in a fascinating book I read recently called "Programmed to Kill: The Politics of Serial Murder" by Dave McGowan. He uncovered information never before reported about serial killers - many were involved in networks of satanic cults run by military intelligence and used to do their dirty work (mindblowing but true), some spent time in military or university hospitals with links to MKUltra (the massive government mind control program that involved thousands of unwitting participants), some were used to kill people that had gotten in the way of the powers that be, some were completely innocent but brainwashed into believing they were guilty, and much of the evidence used to build the myths around them was fabricated, contradictory or highly suspicious. In general, they were not the lone nuts they were made out to be.

He's done some amazing investigative work on a variety of subjects, mostly free on his website - http://www.davesweb.cnchost.com/

Programmed to Kill - http://www.amazon.com/Programmed-Kill-Politics-Serial-Murder/dp/059532 6404/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268408612&sr=1-1

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[–] phillip-harrington 11 years ago

Sorry, but that is an absolute load of tosh. If you want to believe that, fair enough, but its not far from Ickes lizards in terms of credibility.

[–] EmmaPopell 9 years ago

littlemermaid88: Reading this thread and thinking you may want to check out a book called "Sociopath at the Breakfast Table". It is a fascinating read on people who think differently than the "norm". They just think different, thus act different. Sometimes in deadly ways....
This book claims that probably one-fourth of the population is sociopaths. It is a good book to help you be aware that you are dealing with one, anyway....

[–] Boutros_Boutros_Sirhan_Sirhan 10 years ago

To be fair, serial killers tend to lie a lot, so one can certainly question the truthfulness of anything they state.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] jon-uk-666-940339 14 years ago

I'll just say now this post contains a few spoilers so if you haven't seen it don't read on :)

I think the main reason for him committing the murders are because we see throughout the film his day-to-day life, people ignoring him, treating him badly because of the way he is.

The lad on crutches is a good example, he gives Tony a bit of respect and his life is spared...again with the lady borrowing the plaster...the film made out a few times that Tony didn't really understand how the world worked, and sometimes had motives for killing that no one else would understand, like when he kills the TV guy, all he was going to do was give him a warning for not having a TV license, but Tony understood the situation almost as if the TV guy was a police officer because of the choice of words he used, Tony panicked and killed him..

I enjoyed the film but wished there was an ending to it, something solid, it kinda just finished and made me think, was that the end?

[–] beefknot 14 years ago

I enjoyed the ending, he'll probably never get caught because nobody pays attention to him. It's much scarier, to me, that way.

[–] motivator52 14 years ago

just for the record, jeffrey dahmer had no motive or reason at all. he was from a good family and had nice parents who treated him well. his parents split up but this was only after his parents had already noticed jeff showing an unnatural interest in the bodies of dead animals and roadkill. many serial killers have screwed up backgrounds but not all of them do.

[–] fantasyescapist 14 years ago

I though he killed the TV license man cause he was gonna confiscate his beloved telly?

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[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] onesunday 14 years ago

dexter > tony

[–] vis666 14 years ago

High budget episodes =! independent British cinema. Duh.

Eleven. Exactly. One louder.

[–] projectcyclops 14 years ago

Yes, that was my review and I didn't realise that it was his father shouting during the bathroom scene. I talked to the director the next day and he explained it to me. So yes, my bad. I interviewed Gerard for film site quietearth.us and the article will go live some time before the American dvd release in April.

---

He left a note. He left a simple little note that said "I've gone out the window."

[–] elenamuti 14 years ago

The director said that the voiceover is Tony's abusive dad. And that he didn't want to explain too much about Tony's childhood and his traumas because the spectators are intelligent enough to take hints and think for themselves what could be the reasons for Tony's behaviour. He doesn't like movies that explain everything. So Johnson said (he was speaking at a festival in Lisbon).

[–] Xeokym 10 years ago

That is pretty interesting to know that.

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[–] roell29 12 years ago

It's true that most who suffer extreme childhood abuse do not become killers and many are able to break the cycle of abuse. I never claimed otherwise - only that the vast majority who do become serial killers suffered extreme abuse. A major factor is whether there is a single compassionate witness. It only takes one for a child to latch onto and gain some perspective and hope (that it doesn't have to be this way). But sadly, even that is often denied to victims of child abuse.

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