so....tommy disappeared from the diner & all hell breaks loose since a cop's kid was missing? but, then, at the end we find out that diploma killed him while they were watching fireworks? are we supposed to believe that tommy was behind the diner with diploma....all day until it got dark enough for fireworks and no one found him? am i missing something?
shareI wouldn't say you missed anything.
I think it can be assumed that Diploma abducted Tommy, Jr. bringing him elsewhere, to watch the fireworks.
After killing Tommy, Jr., when it was dark, Diploma buried him by the tree behind the diner.
Remember, Tom, Sr. sees the red balloon hanging in the tree not long after Tommy, Jr. disappears.
Having said all that, who can say what actually happened. You'd have to take Diploma's word as gospel.
BUT we see Diploma walking off with Tommy at the end. So in the seconds it took Hamm to pee (unless he has a serious prostate/constipation problem or something) Diploma lures the kid out of the restaurant, abducts him, secures him somewhere (where no one who is looking for him will find him all day), attaches the toy, lets the balloon loose in the tree and RETURNS to his spot outside the diner to sell more balloons.
Sorry, this movie has more holes than a pound of swiss cheese. Like how did Diploma get from the center of town to the job site, shirt off, sweaty, working, etc.?
And how did he manage to have stubble in the bar, clean shaven when he abducts John, and the stubble again when they are looking for the boy?