When John first showed up, did Warwick really believe that he had met Julia in Australia? I guess Warwick really does believe all those people are in his life, but is he so sure that Julia is in Australia that he believed this man knew her?
shareI didn't think he did. Warwick questioning him sounded more like complete disbelief.
shareThe way Warwick whipped out that stack of postcards and started writing a new one in front of John, I got the feeling he used them to lure his victims. And wanted John to know he walked right into Warwick's trap.
Not that it makes much sense, as it doesn't seem like it would attract too many victims. But that's still the distinct impression I got.
Maybe because Officer Warwick was already planning to capture John the bank robber before John even happened to come to his house. And the same day he planted a postcard with just enough information to make John think he could use it to talk his way in.
I have no clue how he could orchestrate that, but it can't be a coincidence. Warwick wants John; John walks right to his front door; Warwick leaves the postcard that makes John feel this house is his best option to approach.
Hmm, I thought he really did believe in Julia or was accessing that part of his character when he was writing the postcards.
During the writing of the cards, Warwick had a "slip" where he noted he was travelling instead of Julia and John called him on imagining her as well as the other guests. This sort of rattled Warwick for a moment, so I think this was John's first inkling that he could "best" Warwick: re the chess game later.
To think that Warwick planned everything you noted above...I don't know, what if the Jehovah's Witness lady had let John in her home? If that happened he never would've stumbled on the postcard, etc. It's just easier for me to believe that Julia was part of his house-guests who is touring the world around the time of the movie's story-line and that John stumbling upon Warwick's house was coincidental.
I'm a fan of "A Clockwork Orange" and Alex has a similar coincidence, so I like to think that maybe this movie was paying homage to the Kubrick classic.
this. and taunting John with the postcards was just another way for him to have fun, to let John know he was onto him from the start.
there is no reason to believe the post-cards were a set up - Wwarwick knew one was out in the box, read the con immediately. he's crazy, but not stupid.
the guy is functioning as an LEO, so he has to be able to keep the details somewhat in order. all this requires a good deal of suspension of disbelief, of course. that said, you can find some pretty incredible stories of crazy killer cops on-line IRL.
When Warwick took the postcards out in front of John it seemed like he wanted him to know that he knew John was lying from the beginning
shareI have no clue how he could orchestrate that, but it can't be a coincidence. Warwick wants John; John walks right to his front door; Warwick leaves the postcard that makes John feel this house is his best option to approach.
Although the movie's director claims Warwick is taking things to the next level at the end (implying that he is indeed planning to kill Morton), I like to think he's just planning to humiliate Morton into silence. There were side-references to Morton's gambling problem at various points, laying the seeds for Warwick to blackmail him after victimizing him all night.
As for the postcards, Warwick sort of slips back and forth between fantasy and reality, depending on his medication (they mention it the next morning at the pool).
But I don't think Warwick thought for a moment that Julia was real, or that John had actually met her. He also know John was in the general area and on the run. Must've just seemed like an early Christmas present that John stumbled into Warwick's party.
No, he was playing with him. We have another scene where he writes another postcard to himself. He's Julia. He's all the guests. There were no guests, and there was no Julia. A fellow shows up to a policeman's home claiming to have just left Julia -- who doesn't exist -- and even if he doesn't have a TV, he's going to know there's something up with the guy. He had him pegged from the moment he heard his story.
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