MovieChat Forums > The Frame (2014) Discussion > Sam & Alex (Spoilers...?)

Sam & Alex (Spoilers...?)


I'm guessing Sam might have been a prostitute or homeless and gotten pregnant/aborted?

Why did she only sing alone? What was the significance of the melodies?

Who, exactly, was her shrink?

I loved the film...I was wowed and I can't wait to watch it again but it'd be cool to have other peoples' insights before round two...with plenty more rounds to go!

Alex - what was the significance to him finally playing the violin? It seems as if he freed himself.

Also, what was his connection with the older gent? I'm guessing he raised him?

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I'm working on a full fledge spoiler-ridden explanation for the whole film as we speak. At the moment, here's my opinions/answers to your questions.

1)I think the implication we are supposed to come to is going to be that Sam was "homeless/pregnant" rather than "prostitute/aborted". I'll hopefully explain the difference and the significance of the difference on these boards soon.

2 and 4)I can't give you my opinions about Sam's song or Alex's violin just yet, because that would give away my main premise of interpretation of the film(and alas, I'm still working on it and don't have it all figured out myself, lol)

3)Sam's shrink was the devil himself(You can take that as the literal religious personality of the bible, or just the devil as an idea/personification of evil in philosophy). I think Chris Kelly who played all 3-roles of Sam's shrink, Alex's sleezy boss with the mustache, and the demon-guy who was spraying black goo everywhere, are all the same person. This is most notable in the bridge scene where Sam and Alex try to meet. Both the shrink and druglord interrupt/get in the way right at the same time, and right when Sam's humming/singing was about to make something happen. Both the shrink and druglord represent the 'forces' trying to keep Sam and Alex apart in their respective worlds. The shrink keeps telling Sam she's crazy, needs medicine, and obviously at the end tries to forcibly keep her from the building where Alex's story is being written. The druglord on the other side keeps Alex from being free. He pretty much owns Alex's soul. Alex has debt, can't secure a passport, etc, unless he does his bidding. When everything eventually crumbles near the end tho, his/their true person is revealed, as Alex watches on the stores little telivision of Sam dying, and then turns to meet the man himself. And this is what he hears:
"And so, all that was left was the man and the devil. Trapped in the writers' creation. It was then the man realized he was no man, but a thing, written by a malevolent God. The only choice that could truly be his own would be to take his own life. The devil was no puppet and the writer would not write him. And if the writer would trap him in this house, the devil would tear the house down."

5)As for the older gent, I think you are right. He was the guy who adopted him, or at least served as a 'big brother' type to him after his parent's death. There's a drawing on the old man's wall(presumably from a young Alex) of Alex and the old guy, with Alex holding his violin. The old guy was sort of the one good thing/person in his life.

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Check out what "Dr. Schwartzman" prescribes Sam for "depression". Also his address. On the prescription form at time 39:38

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Wowza. Give a medal to Hrounds. If anyone doesn't take his advice and check for yourself at 39:38, you are missing out big time. Reveals the true intentions/nature of the shrink, as well as perhaps a nod to the real location of the story itself.

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Another one for Hrounds, speaking on the same topic. Did you notice the decor of the Shrink's room? You can see it at different times, but 38:17 is a pretty good place to pause it.
On his shelf, over the shrink's knee looks to be a sort of diagram for making different kinds of "hangman nooses". :/

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Cool! I'll go check that out!!!!

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Maybe someone can come up with a theory why Sam is so nonchalant about this prescription?

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My impression Hrounds was that she didn't know. Sort of how nobody can ever read the doctor's writing on prescriptions anyways(at least I could never read mine when I had the flu last year, lol). The obvious clue that it wasn't good came in the pharmacist's reaction(usually the only other person who can read doctor's writing). But I personally don't think Sam knew.

I WOULD tho be curious to hear if anyone found any indication in the film that she did. I just personally took it that she didn't want anything to hinder the connection she had found with Alex(that's why she eventually threw the medicine away). Afterall, Sam was never looking to end the connection with Alex, only seek an answer to explain it.

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Could someone actually write again what was written on the note from the doctor, i am kinda lost.

Also it was nice to see how the devil tried to interfere but is not allowed to change things at the "web of life"(forgot the better word of it) which both characters connected.

"The end is not the end, but for the beginning an end is always near."

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Hi nowhereman. The reason me and Hrounds have been a little hush-hush is because sometimes it's fun to have that 'aha' moment on your own. Other times tho it's nice to just to be told what it is, so you can get more out of the film. Here's a quick breakdown of what we've been talking about.
BEWARE, SPOILERS BELOW! nothing tho that will ruin the movie for anyone.

If you pause the film right at 39:38, where Sam is giving the pharmacist her prescription, you can read both the Shrink's prescription as well as the actual address/location of the story.

The city is "Los Perditus". A latin word meaning: "destroyed, ruined, wasted, squandered, lost".
The state is Animas. Another latin word that means: "The inner self of an individual; the soul."
And so basically what you have is a city of "lost souls". A pretty good description of where Alex and Sam find themselves, right? ;)

Now, as for the prescription itself like you asked. Again, if you pause the film right at 39:38, like Hrounds recommends, you can read it very well and the so called 'medicine' prescribed for Sam is called, get this: "Suicidium". Obviously a wordplay and nod to "suicide". Now I'm not sure if the Suicidium was supposed to just make her more depressed to the point of suicide, or if it was literally a suicide pill and taking it would have literally killed her. But I think it might have, which explains why the pharmacist was so aghast when he read it, and the Shrink later on knew Sam wasn't taking it. In other words, if Sam were actually "on the medicine", she'd be dead.
Also on this note of suicide, notice what appears to be a diagram of hangman nooses on the Shrink's bookshelf at 38:17. :/

All of which also connects I think to the devil's quote near the end of the movie to Alex:
"And so, all that was left was the man and the devil. Trapped in the writers' creation. It was then the man realized he was no man, but a thing, written by a malevolent God. The only choice that could truly be his own would be to take his own life...."

I hope that helps, and please nowhereman, if you find/stumble upon anything else, lemme know. There's still a LOT of pieces to put together for me, and while I feel I'm close, I still feel I need to figure a lot more out to be satisfied that I truly 'understood' The Frame. But as far as the Shrink/prescription goes, we certainly have the devil(or some form of him), a city of lost souls, and an emphasis(even an devil on your shoulder type encouragement) towards hopeless, distraction, and suicide.

Does that help? :)

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Thanks mate,

that helped me a lot. I dont saw it in a HQ quality over a stream so missed that part. The rest of the story and the interconnection i got and loved.

"The end is not the end, but for the beginning an end is always near."

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But what was even the point of the devil character, and his speech? I mean, it was obviously to coax Alex into offing himself, which he tries and isn't actually allowed to do. A very ineffective devil.

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I don't think he was trying. I think he was saying there is another choice, take a leaf from the devils book and rage against your creator.


The devil was no puppet and the writer would not write him. And if the writer would trap him in this house, the devil would tear the house down."


If we see the film as a bit of theological pondering it certainly toys with the idea of God being a sadistic puppetmaster and the devil as liberator, not an uncommon idea in literature, what side it ultimately comes down on though I am not sure.

"To err is human...so...errrr..." - Gary King

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An ineffective "devil," indeed. The character is just a mechanism for repression/destruction. It has no free will. The "devil" he's referring to may actually be Sam, a devil of mercy. She would not be written, and "tears the house down" (burns the script). The entire world of the film is Alex's mind. His inability to accept aspects of himself and his past nearly ends up destroying him. The ink-spewer you're talking about is an effect, not a cause.

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Thanks. Some of us saw this film in a cinema. So we weren't able to pause it and examine the details.

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Did you happen to notice that the prescription could be refilled?? Mwahaahahahaha.

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Also big spoil...this is also the address/location per the website she looks up for the production compant thst makes Alex's show!

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Almost everything in the shrink's room (with the exception of the paintings) can be found in any run-of-the-mill home decor store. Seashells, model cars, water thermometer. Even the "hangman nooses" can usually be found. It's just a nautical themed shadowbox (maybe a print) of sailors knots. There's even a picture of an anchor in the top center of the knots.

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Alex - what was the significance to him finally playing the violin? It seems as if he freed himself.


My guess was that the only way to get out of the script he's trapped inside is to "write a script himself". The use of the violon is just a way to use art to express himself and (re)write the story in the way he wants it (=save Sam).

This is just my opinion... And sorry for the pretty bad english :)

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