What do you suppose happened to him? What did he do to be taken away in the middle of the night, by force? I assume that he's not in that area anymore because, well, if he were, he'd find George, IMO. He's a bit connected in the system.
I know we'll never know, but it's a loose end that's nagging at me.
The truly sad thing is that the film is reporting that, in this world, people get "taken away" at night, and just disappear...and if you're smart, you don't ask questions.
Some of us think Dixon may not have been a real person, only George's alter-ego and he disappeared when George first started to make progress with his temporary insanity.
Food for thought.
..*.. TxMike ..*..
Take a risk, Take a chance, Make a change. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
Yes, I have read about that, and it's very interesting. Glad I came to this board!
I have heard interviews with Mr. Ben Vereen, who played Dixon, and as far as he is concerned, Dixon is real. (Of course, he would have to be, to the actor who portrays him.) He talks about things that contributed to the part, etc.
So, if we go with the assumption that he is real, I wonder what happened to him. Was he too much of a "troublemaker" with his constant chattering on? Was it something else?
George obviously decided that it was not a good idea to pursue the subject too much - probably taking into account the advice of the guy who used to be in bed #32, who was not going to make any trouble, lest he lose the shelter.
Any thoughts on this, TxMike? Thank you for your reply!!
"Go see it, and see for yourself why you shouldn't go see it!"- Samuel Goldwyn [attrib.]
I only watched it once, I'd have to watch it again to be more lucid. If Vereen says the character was real then I'd have to go with that. If so then his disappearance could have been any of a number of things. I would bet that in such real homeless shelter situations people probably do just turn up missing and no one knows why.
I suppose my main thought is the story is about George and how he begins to make some progress so whether Dixon was real or not makes little difference to the overall story, except to perhaps show that George was in such a state of mind that, while Dixon's constant chatter bothered him, he didn't do anything to remove himself from the situation.
If it had been me I would have gotten 4 inches from Dixon's face and say "You are a pretty nice guy but your constant chatter is driving me crazy, could you just shut up for a while?" and not move until he agreed.
..*.. TxMike ..*..
Take a risk, Take a chance, Make a change. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
Thanks for the thoughts on Dixon, and his purpose in telling this story.
I, too, thought that George was very, very calm (withdrawn) in the face of Dixon's constant chattering.
Now, I envision you confronting Dixon, and him coming up with a whole lot of things to say to you about why he shouldn't go away. Then, he would walk away mad. And TALKING! "Don't wanna be my friend? Fine! Ya know, I got, I got lotsa friends. I know who my friends are!" :)
Edit: The thoughts about Dixon being a figment of George's imagination adds a lot of poignancy to the "We don't exist" conversation.
"Go see it, and see for yourself why you shouldn't go see it!"- Samuel Goldwyn [attrib.]
I was wondering the same thing. What happened to him? He was probably arrested for causing such a fuss at the shelter.
It was obvious that George was becoming annoyed by Dixon's babbling, but Dixon was also a good listener and took in every word when George was trying to explain what happened with his daughter.
Dixon also became a friend to George and was a kindred spirit. Very sad movie but deep.
You're probably right - we know that they'll kick you out if you "cause trouble."
Thanks for the input! And yes, sad but deep. I'm a bit surprised that it didn't get any Oscar nods (but not really surprised. It's not "their kind of film.")
"Go see it, and see for yourself why you shouldn't go see it!"- Samuel Goldwyn [attrib.]
That is truly an interesting assessment... I'll have to rewatch this film again when I'm not busy beadweaving and simply watching Netflix for background noise!
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The character was real - and clearly one of those people who will latch on to anyone who'll listen - until they get tired of it and end up in a fight.
I can appreciate that the film maker was trying to show a few common 'personalities' among homeless people . . .
The Dixon character reminded me of the kind of people who like to create 'drama' - the first scene where we see & hear him arguing and cussing the shelter worker who is patiently trying to explain something to him - is indicative of this kind of volatile person.
He might've been taken away in the night because a bed in a mental facility became available.
Not sure why his leaving disturbed George so much - except that Dixon seems to be the first person he was honest with about his own personal history - but he was also tired of Dixon's non-stop talking . . .
Apparently, Gere intended to portray George as having some schizophrenic moments - but it came across to me as a man who gave into stress and alcohol and the non-stop sounds of NYC - NYC was definitely portrayed accurately.
I have spent a week there each of the last 3 years with my daughter. And she doesn't baby me with taxi rides. We walk almost everywhere, and to and from the subways for transportation - it's quite a work out!
But, being a bit of a manic-deoressive, I could see how getting depressed or having some rough breaks in a huge city, with all it's non-stop sounds, could really drag you down mentally.
I kinda thought he was in his head when Gere sat down and played the piano towards the end and , albeit on an out of tune piano he actually could. Also when the guard at the shelter was asking "is he bothering you? he repeats the question a couple of times almost as if he is asking the others and not him as he appears to ignore Geres respnse perhaps I misunderstood it was the early hours I was watching it though.