MovieChat Forums > Snowtown (2011) Discussion > Anyone hate Jamie the most?

Anyone hate Jamie the most?


By the end of the film i hated Jamie more than the other three, he was an unforgiveable coward at best... A willing murderer at worst. I like to think anyone, even an abused kid - if they were inducted into that Faustian pact would have found courage through utter moral rejection at what they were introduced to - to put a stop to it.

I guess we the viewers amidst all this unrelenting horror and darkness were hoping he would find it within him to be a hero and pull back the filthy curtains - letting light into their vile world. He was our only hope throughout the movie so to see what he becomes later on is crushing, evil's victory is complete. In his defence earlier on he was abused and abused children shut down emotionally but the last murder disturbed me the most because it truly damns Jamie... If we could maybe find pity for a messed up abused child before we cannot anymore.

This movie will confuse both the hard right and the hard left on crime and punishment issues, on the one hand these murderers make a cleaner case for the death penalty than you will ever likely see, on the other hand they only set out as murderers when inspired by the notion of savage revenge against other evildoers - casting themselves as the moral guardians of the neighbourhood - hunting down suspected paedophiles with the enthusiasm of a Texas judge... their story is thus a slap in the face of the certainties of those who are pro capital punishment.



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That last para is a really good point. I've been turning this movie over in my head ever since I saw it, it's certainly one of the most affecting things I've seen in the last few years, and maybe it's because it doesn't offer any kind of answers at all. As 'true story' movies go, this was the closest thing to a nightmare I've ever seen.

I can't really agree that I hated Jamie most though - with all congratulations to Daniel Henshall, John Bunting is now officially my most terrifying monster in human form.

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I didn't hate Jamie, I felt very sorry for him! He had a terrible life, being abused by his older brother and growing up in what can only be described as a slum town! He then has a father figure in the shape of John come into his life and literally groom and condition him to the point where he is scared to act against him. I really liked this film, I wouldn't say enjoy because it's not a film you can enjoy. It's one of those films that will replay in your mind once it's finished and that by my standards in the sign of a great film. 8/10

The good news is your dates are here. The bad news is…they're dead!

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It's a shame Jamie didn't seem to have a strong enough moral compass or was scared for his own life if he didn't go along with it. The situation says a lot about adults brainwashing youth with their bigotry and hate. I think most people would've ran during the first murder and ended up dead themselves, If they didn't get away. I doubt John Bunting would've cared that much about killing Jamie the way he was going about killing people. I disliked most of all of the peoples actions in the movie but agree that Jamie helped lure people to their deaths which was just as repulsive as the other actions. It is probably rare to have so many people be involved in a group who all seem to have such a disregard for life. I hope that Jamie is never let out of jail for his part in these murders. It is a shame the death penalty doesnt apply for people like John Bunting, Wagner and Haydon. It's hard to say if Jamie deserves the death penalty also so I guess where do you draw the line? I did find the movie interesting and thought provoking also yet scary that I live nearby and it isn't all slums lol

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I'm sure it's not all slums, I live in UK and have never been to Australia! That town looked so different to anything I have ever seen in real life. I watched this film again last night and have to say it's better on a second viewing. I've read many people complain this film is hard to follow and it many ways it is. It's a basic story but there are so many characters that sometimes it's hard to keep track. The second viewing solved all these problems for me and I have to say this film is up there with one of my favourite films of the year. I watched it the second time with a mate and he complained it was "slow and boring", How a film with so much creeping dread and tension is boring i'll never know.

The good news is your dates are here. The bad news is…they're dead!

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I actually looked up John Bunting on wikipedia and followed it by the list of victims, pretty wrong i guess of me but it helped me follow that part of it. Yes these areas are in a typical lower socio-economic area that are found in all cities and there is a lot of government housing, semi-detached houses (houses with one common wall in the middle). A lot of these houses are being renovated and knocked down and fixed up and a lot of newer housing is going up in these areas. I am sure it is the same in the UK, you never expect a Fred and Rosemary West to be living down the road.

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Ahhh Fred & Rose West happened about 45mins drive from where I live in a town called Gloucester, I live in a small town called Hereford. I'd love them to make a film based on Fred West, that would be great lol

The good news is your dates are here. The bad news is…they're dead!

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There was a two part on Channel 4 about Fred West shown a couple of months back - starring Dominic West. It focussed more on his "responsible adult" (which I think was tha actual title of the drama) though and didn't really explore his motivations or the background to the victims.

I was quite disappointing IMHO - very lightweight - but you could probably find it in the Dominic West IMDB page if you're curious.

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I have to see it as a child who has been so brutalized with no mental health help being pushed into the one direction any victim of a violent crime can and some do turn to. Jamie wouldn't see his actions as weak at all. In his mind he is now strong enough to act when even law enforcement refused to punish such heinous offenders. He has now been taught that no one cares about children who are sexually abused and he has no hope of ever stopping this from happening to others. Unless he acts out on his own.

You could easily say this was Jamie: The Making of a Serial Killer. Jamie was led to become a criminal by people who say the law is on their side but then either refuse to strictly punish sex offenders or are fed up with the terrible lack of legal grounds they can depend on stop serious crime from reoccurring.

Police get angry too when they arrest sex offenders only to see them out on the streets too soon or never punished at all. That makes their psyche a little more messed up as well. Who wants to keep picking up the broken up pieces left behind by sex offenders on a regular basis? It has to affect them in a negative way.

That was the main point of the movie. What drives some people to kill. It was one of the few movies where the killers actually murder their own offenders. Which Jamie might not have had the courage to do if not for the support he had from John. These cases are all over the place so you really cannot positively say Jamie would not eventually become a criminal. What kind of criminal based on his personality? Again, the range is too board to say this type or that kind of criminal. Maybe he wouldn't have acted out on his own at all? There is no way such horrible treatment though would not affect his life through the years. The nightmares of those horrible events are burned into his memory. Just like good memories, the bad ones pop up too often the same way a good one will. Except the bad ones do not fill you with joy or laughter. Just the ugly pain and suffering.

For those victims that block out certain details subconsciously or by choice believe me, it won't last forever. Those memories will fight hard to resurface. The good news is once they do, you can deal with whatever made you block them out in the first place which is very important to do.

Victims have to find healthy ways to channel their anger. These bad memories are why so many victims either become drug, alcohol abusers or suicide victims. Who would choose to live the rest of their lives constantly being reminded of the worst day or days of their lives? It takes a lot work to build up that kind of thick skin. Those who don't will act out in some violent way. Too often against people they believe are weak or non-threatening to them. A few see resistance as a challenge as we see in this movie. It only feeds into their rage and anger. To them it actually feels good to let out that pent up steam on someone. Anyone who reminds them of how that pain begins. Few actually go after their perpetrator. I suppose because they are afraid of being put back into that horrible situation again with them or do not feel confident that they can turn the tables on their abusers? Or they misplace their rage onto people who they feel they can hurt that will really make them feel the pain that the victim is trying to cope with in a negative way. People, families or a society they feel have wronged them in some way.

It can be a community, someone in law enforcement, there is always a reason, even it if it is more opportunity then actual stalking of a victims. Catch a victim early and they can be taught how to become a part of the solution instead of add to the problems of sexual abuse.

Again why if you don't want to see more of this kind of crime? Do people think going easy on a sex offender is fair or even just? Few dare to put themselves into that position because it takes someone who capable of such extreme cruelty to force themselves onto an innocent person. So much so that many refuse to actually put their victims into a real person scenario. They create these insane fantasies to aide them in their assaults to convince them that such an act is for them to act out upon. They must completely convince themselves that the object they are abusing is in some way consenting or numb themselves from them in such a way that they can act out this kind of crime. They are insane but not so much to not know what they are doing is wrong or cruel. Some learn to use the cruelty of the act feed their anger. It reverses in their warped minds the position of being a victim with not control to a perpetrator with complete control over their victims. Which is why they have to be locked up tight with no access to anyone they can convince themselves will be a victim to this kind of violence. It goes so far beyond just beating someone up. It is meant to destroy their victims self-worth and any thoughts that they might have that they have some control over what happens in their life. And yes, it can turn good people into monsters.

We have no one to blame but ourselves. And the hundred of excuses we like to make when it turns out to be someone that we know and why we will even break good laws to protect the criminals in our families. Because too many people cannot help it seems to not project another persons character onto themselves. You may or may not have been a culprit in making a sex offender what they have become. The how doesn't matter as much as putting that person somewhere where they will not hurt anyone like that ever again. You need to make laws that stick and punish sex offenders severely. Protecting sex offenders is insane. Preventing victims from becoming sex offenders, murderers, or ending their lives needlessly should be a priority in everyone's life.

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I empathised with Jamie. He had nowhere to go, no money, no resources. He could have left, but, he didn't have the courage or confidence to.

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Great post, OP.

For my part I didn't consider the film to be about crime or punishment ( which would have been an easy avenue to go down, contrasting the killers' crimes and punishments against their own twisted logic of justice toward pedos and gay people ). Their punishments were not portrayed on the film other than with the text cards. For me the film was simply a portrayal of the banalities of evil- that this horrific events became commonplace and eventually became a routine and unacknowledged as the squalid environments in which they took place.

I don't hate Jamie- it became apparent his moral compass was missing from the outset- though through the horrific and very well presented closing act I ( and I hope other viewers who weren't familiar with the case before they saw the film ) desperately hoped/wanted him to call off the final murder or go to the cops. The chillingly blank way he closed the door was more terrifying than all the Hannibal Lector clones I can think of.

I couldn't hate him because I don't think he had a choice- or one that he was aware of anyway. Everything about his life seemed beyond his control and though he was shown to resist this horror, eventually it became so commonplace he accepted it an perhaps needed it ( Jamie thought he needed a father like John and- chillingly- vice versa ).

Not that I excuse or condone his actions or believe they should be unpunished, I'm just saying I didn't hate him during the film.

Incidentally, one of the other short exchanges that stuck with me is when John is planning to confront Jamie about the drug abuse and prior to this he says goodbye to his other partner in crime, the blode fella. He says something like "Take the night off, spend it with your family". As if their horrific trade is simply a casual job.

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SPOILERS (dunno how to do that red tape thing)

I totally felt sorry for Jamie through the whole film until the end. He was weakened by a horrible life of abuse and loeliness and an easy target for the likes of John Bunting. After the final scene, though, I must admit I thought, 'Right, that's it, he one of them now.'

Bunting was the outright winner of the most hated character for me.

"Exterminate all rational thought..."

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Yes I did hate him the most, especially in light of the fact he lagged and got away with a lesser charge after using all these excuses as to how he was supposedly strongarmed into taking part. No excuse, in my book.

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The turning point for me in sympathising with Jamie to hating him was when is brother(?) - it was confusing as who was who (my only real problem with the movie) - was being strangled with the wire/piping and Jamie shouts "Just do it!" and not "stop for *beep* sake!" and finished him off...thats when he fell down the rabbit hole

very good acting and film overall as i really wanted these people to die (not the suspected paedophiles and pervs) but the self appointed judge jury and executioners

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Yeah, that was his half-brother. The other brother, who is killed at the end, was his stepbrother.

You two are weird. Would you like some cocaine?

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