What do you think?


In another thread there is a discussion about whether or not he really believed his "wife" was dead---was the scene in the police station just one big act. Personally, I don't think the whole thing was an act. It would rely on way too many coincidences. What is the likelihood that, even in a small town, that the woman with the daughter from the earlier bathroom scene reported not only an incident to the police but also his car and license? And really, unless she stood at the door to listen to their conversation and then what took place after, the only thing she really had to report was him going into the ladies bathroom. Then he "kills" his wife and runs off in the car to be caught by a p,olive woman who is aware of the bathroom incident? Also, she says that his wife is missing, but she wasnt dead or gone for any length of time to be considered missing. I really think the woods scene was acted in such a way that he believed that she was dead. I'm aware of his behavior when he starts clapping and that suggests something, though I'm not sure what exactly.

I'm just thinking, if that was all one big game it would have relied on way too many coincidences for it to work--like a cop sitting around waiting for speeders in this small town and he speeding by her at the perfect time. What are your thoughts?

reply

I'd say it relies less on coincidence than it does on (unseen) planning, timing, a knowledge of human nature, and the ability to predict people's reactions accurately - this is the essence of running a con, which we all know happens very successfully all the time.

For example, I imagine the couple waiting for a mother and young daughter, heading east on the road, to enter that rest stop bathroom first, then having the wife go in to wash her undies in the sink.

So, we have a mom cautious enough about her daughter's safety to not only accompany her to the rest room but share a stall, combined with the woman washing things in a rest stop sink; i.e., we have people hip to danger being shown a provocative act meant to draw attention.

The lady washing her things is clearly disturbed, so it's natural for the mom to ask how she's doing and if she's ok. When the man enters the bathroom (after listening through a vent - these bathrooms are lousy with them), the woman urgently hisses to the mom to leave them.

When mom does go, she and her daughter are forced to squeeze around the man's bulk, which takes up most of the exit doorway; that he doesn't make way for them is a sign that he is disrespectful to women and/or focused too dangerously intently on his wife.

To the right mind-set, the undies washing, hissing entreaty to be left alone, and physical intimidation of the man would constitute a series of red flags that would cause a cautious person to make note of car make-n-model and license - you bet! So the mom probably waited for the couple to exit the rest room so she could get that info...but they stay in there long enough to screw, making mom even more nervous about what might be happening in there. When they finally emerge, she keyed up enough to actually write the info down instead of trusting to memory!

Immediately, the couple report the woman "missing", her appearance, and where she went missing (around those woods) to get the cops involved and on the scene (enabling the man to come into contact with cops in his car later) - but the cops have to wait until someone is missing 24 hours to do anything about it. So the couple then goes to the old folks home and do their thing there, followed by the woman's "death" in the woods.

At some point between these events, the couple also alerts local news that the woman is "missing". The mom from the rest room was "heading east to see the in-laws" so by now, not only is she still in New England, she is most likely at her destination - not travelling - and likely to see the news. When she does, she remembers and reports what she saw - the woman's appearance and car make/model/license.

The thing is though, what the mom saw and reported is simply corroboration of what the couple reported when they reported the woman is "missing"...the plan will still work if the mom doesn't see the news and call in, but it works so much better if she does.



"...if only you could see what I've seen with your eyes!" Roy Batty

reply

I agree. I think she was pulling a fast one on her buddy. She was probably just messing with him in the same way they mess with other people. He looked genuinely disturbed. You can see the tears welling up in his eyes as he was recklessly speeding down the road. A tear even goes streaming down his face. At the police station, he was probably clapping like that because he knew his partner in sociopathy got him good. Later, when he sees her, he may have been acting extremely relieved to see her as if he truly were a husband who thought he had lost his wife just to keep the ruse going.

reply

I really don't think that's right. There was a point after she returns where he again grabs her by the throat but this time she shows that she likes it. The whole scene where she "dies", he drives off and "cries", he is still in character. Just like they were both in character in the rest room after the lady and her daughter leave. It seems they are both happily married parents (separately) - perhaps they are both aspiring actors who found each other and while home life stifles them both, their liaisons allow them to be whoever they was to be.

It's a remarkable film.

reply

It is a remarkable movie. I'm surprised by reading the reviews on various sites how many people missed crucial details in their relationship, such as the nurse's statement in the elderly home ('When you have nothing, you just make something up.") and the end when they go quietly back to their lives- after she leaves the lipstick kiss on the window, they pass several people on the road home who are talking, laughing, and share a simple belonging with each other. They are just two people enjoying each other in anonymity, not even trying to pretend their relationship is anything more. It's really brilliant if you can see it as it is.

reply