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A Question about the Front Porch Scene - A Classic Standoff

posted 7 years ago by TheReturnofCountSuckula
15 replies | jump to latest

"Now, I ain't never killed no one in my life, but if you want me to start with you let's get on with it, old man." "See if you can grab that pistol before I blast you off this porch."

Then Ranger Hamilton thinks it over...

--then the camera focuses to Toby...

--then back to Hamilton (intently studying Toby's face; perhaps considering the depth of Toby's resolve...)

At this point BOTH MEN seem ready and willing to die in that moment...

....until finally the family SUV pulls into the yard...

....Toby clicks his rifle on safety...

And the question now is: What Would've Happened Had the Family Not Pulled Up in the SUV?

Would the sad & lonely, widower, reluctant, retiree Ranger have pulled his pistol and tried his luck...perhaps thinking about "going out in a blaze of glory" like he described to Alberto earlier?

And what of Toby?

The man "who killed [his] brother" and has the audacity to strut up to his family's front porch and sit there giving him the stink eye, and is there for the sole purpose of avenging his murdered partner is now just six feet in front of him.

What happens next?

"Stick with me, baby, and you'll be fartin' thru silk."

[–] sm-amg63 7 years ago

I think Toby would have had to kill him. Knowing that Hamilton wouldn't have been able to get his pistol out in time. At that point Toby goes to jail and his involvement becomes exposed. That was a very intense scene.

[–] TheReturnofCountSuckula 7 years ago

I think Toby would have had to kill him. Knowing that Hamilton wouldn't have been able to get his pistol out in time. At that point Toby goes to jail and his involvement becomes exposed. That was a very intense scene.

Fair enough. It is an intriguing dilemma. Judging from all the foreshadowing I reckon it's fairly evident Hamilton meant to kill him; he wasn't interested in 'bringing him to justice' (he was no longer a Ranger anyway). No, Hamilton was there to eat Toby's breakfast, and vengeance was on the menu--for both of them.

But maybe Hamilton thought of returning at a more opportune time; that must've been what his thoughts evolved to after Toby told him about the house he rents in town.

Or maybe he figured, "The hell with it. What have I got to live for?"

Retirement was like a sentence to limbo for him, and here's his chance to go out "in a blaze of glory" or to get his "peace."

There are so many ways it could've panned out--so many variables to consider.

"Stick with me, baby, and you'll be fartin' thru silk."

[–] sm-amg63 7 years ago

I agree with that. Obviously they were going to meet again and I feel like both of them were ready to die if that is the cards that were dealt.

[–] TheReturnofCountSuckula 7 years ago

Yep, so many way it could've panned out.

"Stick with me, baby, and you'll be fartin' thru silk."

[–] debrecenisrac38 7 years ago

Or... he could have done himself a favor and straight up commit suicide. He is the reason Toby will never face justice, since he killed his ex-convict brother. The only identified bank robber. Who had at least one partner. Who wasn't there. Because he killed Tanner, the money wasn't found.

He's lucky he got to retire. While the FBI did not take the case, local police did, and killing the only lead to the partner who has the money... I'm not claiming he shouldn't have incapacitated him, but emphasis is on incapacitate, not kill. Without his partner, the sheriffs and the rangers have only the eyewitnesses, none of whom could 100% claim the dead guy killed people in the bank. A rookie lawyer would create reasonable doubt about the killer being the mystery partner, making Tanner only culpable for killing the ranger. Even if the banks had working surveillance footage, the similarity in height is negligible with two masked assailants. When Tanner shot at the people from Post, no photo or video was taken. Hamilton lucked out, his discovery of the Midland being targeted would be inadmissible exactly because there was a different robbery. The hypothetical rookie lawyer would say, that was Tanner's partner, and Toby at no point had any knowledge about his activity.

Getting shot on purpose for botching up procedure would have led to his "peace". His partially culpable for his partner's death. He demanded SWAT, yet engaged the scene without armor, and that was after the SUVs exploded.

I live in the Gordius Apartment Complex, my interior designer was M.C. Escher.

[–] JimmiesRustler 7 years ago

Why would he go to jail? He killed a guy that drew on his property. In West Texas. He wouldn't even get booked. All he had to say is the Sheriff went crazy and went to his house on his land and attacked him and he acted in self defense.

[–] sm-amg63 7 years ago

Good point. I was just thinking that since he's law enforcement it would get looked at much harder and possibly reopen the investigation against him.

[–] Strings101 7 years ago

Kinda hard to play the self-defense/Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground angle after you've invited the now-corpse for a sit-down and even given him a beer, eh wot? =:O

[–] bottleshock34 7 years ago

Actually he could still play the self defense, just by saying he went nuts after inviting him to sit down.

"Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions"

[–] izmank (7) 7 years ago

Except it wasn't his property.

[–] Bottleshock34 (9) 7 years ago

I think it would still be classified as his property especially since his boys own it

[–] screenwriter (111) 5 years ago

Hamilton was also obsessed with Toby at the office. The DA didn't think there was any connection to him and the bank robberies. His blood evidence of him being attached to the last robbery was destroyed when the Bronco exploded and burned. His DNA/fingerprints could have possibly been on the tip to the waitress - but it was already stated they believed the robber acted alone in the robbery across from the diner and the other person didn't know what he was doing.

[–] Sir Gerry 7 years ago

Nice analysis, I think that, as the whole movie pointed out, his family is what saved him, he cared for his mother and wife and kids. At the end, his family saved him.

[–] Iconoclast321 (375) 7 years ago

I read the scene completely differently. I think Hamilton came because he wanted information. He had almost all of it figured out and badly wanted to get the missing pieces - even if it put him in danger to do so.

Toby wanted to kill him because he killed Tanner, but I don't think Hamilton came to kill anyone - unless he had to (if Toby would have drawn on him).

The proof of it (more or less), was that Hamilton made it clear that he had no intention of visiting Toby at his house in town. He just tells Toby that his actions will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Toby taunts him - 'maybe you'd find some peace (i.e., after I waste you) and Hamilton answers back that maybe Toby would find peace (meaning 'don't underestimate me boy - I'm perfectly capable of wasting you'). But then Hamilton goes off and leaves him alone - with no implication or hint that he wants to 'continue the conversation further' - because he doesn't.

Hamilton just wanted to put the final pieces together and then leave Toby to his thoughts and his life.

This is how I read it, and I'm sticking to it, though ymmv.

[–] KBiker (768) 5 years ago

I looked through all the replies looking for the obvious, that Hamilton wasn't carrying a pistol. They showed him from the front and from the back, and there was no pistol in sight. Then they showed him sitting down, and he didn't have an ankle holster either. So unless he had a Derringer in his hat that he dangled from the tip of his boot after he sat down (ridiculous), he was unarmed. He was just there to tell Toby that he was the one who had shot Tanner, and he wanted Toby to know that he knew he was in on the robberies too, even though he couldn't prove it. And he wanted to tell Toby that it would haunt both of them for the rest of their lives. He just wanted closure, and he wanted to know why Toby had gone in on it with the crazy brother, though he didn't quite get either.

Aside from that, it was an excellent movie that I had never heard of and happened to come across on Netflix. And I will watch it again.