MovieChat Forums > Edge of Winter (2016) Discussion > Why did the father go insane?

Why did the father go insane?


Cold after he had been in the lake..
The fact that the mother of his children was taking his kids away from him..
Or was he just insane?!

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I'm sure it was a combo of it all.

The beginning of the movie showed he was in severe financial trouble. He had no job with which to fix that trouble. His wife re-married to a far more successful, stable individual, who was not only more of a father to his kids, but also a better at it. Then the kids drop the bombshell of their impending departure to a far away place where he'd not see them for a very long period of time. To top it off the kid kills what's left of the ego by saying the guy he described as his actual father might help pay for him to visit.

Add all of the aforementioned to the years of failure, knowing he was basically worthless to his kids, and the sudden opportunity to show his worth and be with his kids, and it's not hard to see how a man like that might go off the rails.



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If I had kids that were punks like his, I would go insane too. The older kid was such an annoying little punk.

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I hope you don't have kids. I thought both kids were perfectly justified in their actions/reactions.

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Vegicat, I am your father.

Don't get hurt kid. I'm not your daddy, I'll beat you senseless.

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Exactly. He should have had an epic celebration when Ted and his Ex-wife took those boys off to London.

I am not into child abuse, but I would have beat the hell out of those two brats for fun, had I been their Dad.

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Yes, both of the kids were annoying little twerps. When the older one made that smart-aleck remark about not wanting to go bowling again, right after arriving at the house, the Dad should have taken him out back, put him up against the wall, and slapped some respect into him.

Actually, though, it was poor judgement for the Mom and Ted to have dropped the kids off for a whole week with their broke, out-of-work, redneck Dad, with whom they had little common ground or shared interests. It would have been much more sensible for the Dad to have come and stayed at the kids' house. That way, they'd still have access to their friends and x-boxes, and wouldn't be so bored. The parents could even have left some tickets to sports events, or possible a cinema gift-card, so the Dad could share some time with his kids and bond a bit with them. The way they did it, dropping them off for a week at his house without making any provisions for anything, was a recipe for disaster.

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I bet the arrogant little brats wish they'd gone bowling after all.

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I think he had a "temporary break from reality." I'm guessing that the stress of the car accident, his kids not warming up to him especially his oldest son, and then the fact that he killed that first dude just sent him over the edge (plus, everything else that happened). I forget if he was on any medication, but I'm also guessing that his father was POSSIBLY schizophrenic or just severely disturbed to the point where if he was off his meds for long enough he would succumb to his degenerative illness. They were stuck in that cabin, which the father wanted to leave but also wanted to stay (so he could keep his kids) and so the father obviously couldn't get back home to take his meds if that's what was truly why he devolved into madness so quickly. BEST GUESS: I think he was a mentally unstable guy/father who was down on his luck (for most of his life, lol) and things just got worse and worse (accident, kids, lying to wife, stranded in snow, son falling thru ice, etc.) and then eventually he went nuts after he killed that dude who showed up to the cabin.

- Jed

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Whore wife wanted to take his kids away from him, pretty obvious.

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Right? I bet if this movie was about a mother doing the same thing it'd be up for an academy award.

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The guy was an irresponsible drunk with no job who assaulted his boss and conducted multiple careless, reckless acts throughout the film, even before he knew the kids were leaving. I'd damn sure take my kids away from a person like that. To top it off, the kids didn't even want to be with him anyway. So, I'd say the "whore wife" was justified.

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There was one shot in the beginning that had me believe he was on some kind of meds.
Then once in the woods situation, apparently didn't have them with him - and he goes berserk a little at a time.
Just a thought

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[deleted]

Not cool.

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How about not goĆ­ng to the "discuss the movie" page before watching the movie?

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I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but you asked why he went insane.
There are the reasons above, like money trouble and feeling worthless to his kids,
but there is a line in the movie that was probably mostly overlooked I'm sure.
From the day he left his house, to the end of the movie, a number of days had passed.
That entire time of the movie, the father never sleeps. Right after his first signs
of cracking when he was crying, he says that he will be alright, he just needs to
sleep. This single thing was the catalyst, IMHO, of the downward spiral. That along
with the thought of losing his kids and his son almost drowning, he began to lose it.
A person can begin to so signs of severe mental distress after just 3 days without sleep.
There doesn't need to be any more than that.

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There are unlimited events that can cause anyone to have a temporary psychotic break or an episode of psychosis. These can include: threat of loss of loved ones, environmental factors- extreme fatigue for example or even fever (the character of the father may have some form of hypothermia). It can happen to anyone and there does not have to some kind of pre-existing mental health condition or diagnosis. Thats what makes it quite frightening for those who experience it or loved ones affected by it.

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