Kinda similar, don't you think?
Also, what's the deal with the two guys at the beginning who conk him on the head? What's the story there?
I *did* like it however...
Haven't seen that movie yet...
But I think the point was to set up the character... show where he is coming from, how he is etc. Thought it worked rather well. Also it kind of mirrors what happens in the rest of the movie, i.e. he is cheated, then he cheats, etc.
Good question.
I thought the 2 guys at the beginning would appear later in the film but they did not. (They could have killed him but I didn't see any gun. Anyway, they got what they wanted from him). Apparently their scenes are just to establish that Thomas has been associating w/ thuggish types and he's struggling financially. The film doesn't try to tug our heartstrings about that. It just presents it as a fact about this character.
I liked the film too and consider it a veritable remake of Postman Always Rings Twice.