Why burn down the hotel? I understand the owners were dicks and he needed the food. But he had the food, he ran off their horses so they couldn't come after him, I see no reason why he killed them by lighting the place on fire and trapping them upstairs. It just seems out of character. I realize he's sort of an anti hero and all but senseless murderer? Just a very confusing part to an awful film.
share[deleted]
The servant girl in the hotel, and the barefoot girl at the town are not the same person.
Now, to the concept of burning this place. Most here simply wouldn't understand this. Too much "hollywood" and not enough real world experience. And no knowledge of what life was like in the real old west.
It was already an affront to the sensibilities of man and God (as defined by the simple yet complex mind of the "westerner" mythos). That Character would have thought exactly that as he rode up tot he front.
The baby blue, brand spanking new, hotel sitting in the middle of already plotted lots, with a smooth-talking developer, just waiting to see his investors, was a stink unto the nostrils of any person who called himself a man.
Next, while he was insulted by the card-players, no one stuck a gun in his back, and threatened him there like was done at the blue hotel. I know he was the first to pull a weapon, and at that point he was ready to do the deed himself, face to face (again like a man of the west).
No one there had sympathized with the plight of the women in his charge, and at least offered to provide him with supplies, perhaps some blankets, and perhaps a change of livestock. No, they turned him out into the cold, with three starving women. Alone, well, no problem, he had stood up to deprivation, and hardship before. But these were helpless women.
These men had no heart, and their souls were forsaken.
The place NEEDED burning. With them in it.
Someone above stated that humans can only choose between vengeance and justice.
He chose justice. Cold, hard righteous justice.
This philosophy was voiced once by "The Shootist" when JB Books said "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on..."
You got issues bro
shareYou answered your own question in the first sentence. He burned it down because the owner was a jerk. You have to remember that the story takes place over 100 years ago. In modern times what he did would seem excessive because we've become a liberal politically correct society where people get away with a lot of behavior that they ought to be losing their lives over. The owner of the hotel was a jerk so Tommy Lee Jones burned it down with him in it. End of story.
shareI don't suppose the intent of this comment was to be humorous...
It made more sense in the book - as often happens.
shareRevenge. I understand it totally. They were basically telling him that he was socially unacceptable, not worthy of even a morsel of food, and insisted he get off their property.
As we saw later, he was very concerned about being viewed as a loser, socially unacceptable.
As for why he killed them (we don't know that they all died), when they sent him and the women on their way, they were essentially sending them out to die, since he and the women had no food and hadn't eaten in days.
Why does a man burn down a hotel filled with people? Because he's angry.
And no, it wasn't out of character. It was definitely in character.
I didn't think the film was awful. Darker than I expected it to be, but that's OK.
Maybe he was trying to save their self-righteous souls through a "cleansing by fire" method.
shareI agree, it was excessively violent but the casual destruction of property and murders by arson reenforce the theme of madness that runs through the whole movie. Something about those vast wide open Western lands, the lack of laws, the constant danger and toil wore some people down to a savage level.
At least that's what I got from it.
A terrific but very sad movie in any event.