There's a moment during the dinner party the boy's parents are throwing where it appears that a candle is beginning to burn one of curtain ropes. The boy leaves the room, as do the servants, and this candle is sat burning away for a few seconds before the camera cuts away. Did anyone else see this?
It never gets mentioned or seen again, I feel like I'm imagining it! I thought the boy had attempted to burn the house down but clearly not. Very strange moment.
I saw this a thought the same thing. The curtain tie seemed to burn out before the cut. My thoughts are that it was a mistake (the maids tray pushed the candle into the curtain) and the editor decided to keep it, otherwise I don't see a justification for holding onto the end of the scene for that amount of time. Very strange
shareI assumed the candle was deliberate. A flame was lit, we waited for the house to burst in to flames but it all sputtered out ... for the present.
shareI was fixed on that too thinking it would lead somewhere knowing we were near the end of the movie. Could be deliberate or could be a mistake as someone else mentioned. It's a stretch but maybe it's another metaphor about how even people we trust with our well-being can be extremely careless. I noticed the person who bumped the candle was the new head-maid who came off as extremely efficient but still...
If I watch this movie again I would play closer attention to the maid staff and how they interact with the family. My favorite part of the movie is when the old maid is fired for disobeying the mother's instructions and says she'll spend the rest of her life trying to destroy the mother's family. That whole time you think she's just a sweet older woman but there's a darkness that was just waiting to show out.
Yes. She showed her true colors and she deserved to be fired. The mother was WAY too civil with her after she said that. I would have dragged her out of the house by the hair!!! LOL!
shareI thought what got set on fire was the cord for calling the maid. There was one much like it in the mom's bedroom.
shareI think perhaps it is for the audience. I think it is fate showing itself, the suggestion that the house could indeed burn down and the world would be saved from the growing monster. We contemplate in those moments that this leader may never make it to adulthood merely because an oversight was made by one of the maids. The world would find the peace it was looking for. But a darker fate buts out the flames and lets the chaos unfold years later. I felt it reminiscent of the classic question, if you could go back in time would you kill hitler? Should the answer be no because fate is already written and it will find its way what ever stands before it.
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