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Exactly. Just finished watching this (tears after everyone else on most of these threads) and this is the correct answer.
A KitKat is a chocolate bar. Chunky ones are less common but considered special. Unfortunately, Annie thought Sam’s promise to get her a chunky one was a snide way of calling her “chunky”, which means heavy or fat in that context.
I completely agree with the analysis by exatera. In contrast to many shows that are chock full of bad people, this show is largely about people who are basically good but make some mistakes and they add up to create an ordeal for Marie. The worst people (other than the rapist) were Marie’s friends who took malicious glee in tormenting her when they found she had lied.
The first set of detectives wanted to do the right thing but naturally have to make lots of assumptions to guide their investigation. They made the wrong ones here and were too set on pressing her to be clear and confident - things she found real difficulty being. But to a point it was understandable, since they wanted to see how credible and reliable a witness she would be if they caught the guy and had to take him to trial. The real tragedy is how someone like Marie who is flaky and insecure (not at all surprising given her history and the impact the rape had on her) cannot always be their own advocate and end up getting themselves into a spiral of trouble.
I looked for a long time to find this too, and eventually found it through Amazon. I was lucky to first see it when it was on HBO in the 1970s and wanted to see it for several years before I could get my own DVD. It did not disappoint. Some aspects are indeed dated but for those of us who remember the period in which it was made and aren’t automatically offended by the things that were common then, it is mosypt enjoyable.
He was narrow-minded, judgmental, and authoritarian; but I felt he conveyed sincerity in trying to helpMarcus get the most out of his college experience. He clearly did not understand Marcus, like the hesitation to go out for the baseball team. Marcus knew he wasn’t talented enough to make the team, but the Dean did not understand the reluctance to give it “the old college try”, so to speak.
I felt the scenes in the Dean’s office, particularly the first one, were some of the most powerful and well acted that I have ever seen. I agree that Letts has always been good in the things I have seen him in, but he killed it in this. And Lerman was fantastic - the first role I had seen him in and it was unforgettable.
Some spoilers here:
I finished it and enjoyed it. It was not the best satire of a thriller, but was good enough to hold my attention. Kristen Bell is probably the main reason I stuck with it - she was great in this but I probably would not have made it through with a lesser actress. There are numerous holes and confusing elements, but some of that is to reflect the mental issues/quirks that the lead has. For example, Buell is working on the mailbox in nearly every episode, but until near the end you never see him with any other character unless Anna is watching. For a good while I wondered if he was imaginary, like many of the things Anna had flashbacks to. The mystery behind the initial murder Anna witnessed worked well. And I was guessing until the climax, which I found so funny at times I laughed about loud while watching it alone. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea and there may be a limited audience for it but I found it original and worth the time and effort to get through.
I have recently done the same, watching it with my college senior son who has a great appreciation for film. I r,embers how moving the final deer hunting scene was, but also knew that the film ended with the extremely sad post-funeral scene. I found that scene to still be heartbreaking but also clearly reflective of the negative, disappointing light in which the Viet Nam war was portrayed/viewed in the late 1970s when the film was made and even in the mid 1980s when I first saw it.
What struck me most was DeNiro’s performance. I recalled that he was great but was duly impressed all over again. I was also struck by how it seemed to forecast the quirky and offbeat roles that Christopher Walker would play in the coming years.
My son agreed that it was a great and moving picture although he felt it dragged some. I don’t think that is just a generational observation - I sensed it as well, to some extent, more than I recalled from past viewings.
I agree S1E7 was weak. What struck me, however, is how the show hit a much better stride with the episodes immediately after it. While the earlier episodes (before 7) were fine, even they were overshadowed by those after 7 especially E9. The Bar Mitzvah was far better written, directed and acted than anything before it in this series. It is like the show hit a whole new stride and level of quality after E7.
The same “Ronco” that sold all those silly products through cheap TV ads? It was parodied on SNL when Dan Ackroyd hawked the “Bassomatic”. I never knew they sold albums!
My thoughts exactly. They even forecasted that in the season finale.
My thoughts exactly. They even forecasted that in the season finale.
They gave a preview of this in the season finale: Jimmy realizes he is bad for her, that she deserves better, that she is at risk, and he finds a way to end the relationship. My bet is that he makes it seem like her idea - does something to make her decide to leave and eventually divorce him, but he does it for her own good.
This is way more plausible than letting Lalo or someone else kill her.
For now, they have set up a story line for her next season that does not parallel this outcome, and perhaps will create some conflict between the 2 story lines?
Great list and I agree Big Fish should be added. I also would add The Station Agent.
I agree with your view that Walt sees Vic as a daughter. So, did the way the series ended bother or disappoint you? It sure did me.
My experience exactly! Including hearing about it from a New Yorker review. After watching it, I could not put my finger on exactly what was so great about the film except that it was much more thoughtful, suspenseful and subtle than a typical Hollywood thriller. That does not mean it did not scare me, but it was not in just a slasher or gross out way. Like this poster, I have not seen it since but I have not forgotten about it either. Nor have I seen the American remake which, I am sure, would pale in comparison.
Yes, that was very disappointing. Vic had clearly been smitten with him over the years but also seemed to see him more as a father figure than a lover. At least that would have been a better way of approaching the relationship. For him to then engage in a romantic relationship with her was just too weird. To me, it was also a drastic change in direction and theme for the show, and made for a disappointing ending.
I thoroughly loved the show otherwise. Great acting, casting, writing, cinematography, music. Why end on such a jarring and uncharacteristic note?
I completely agree with Renovatio on all points EXCEPT for meaning of the final scene: his panic attack is caused by the realization that he has gotten too close to these monsters, one considers him his bestie, he has been in danger in some of the interviews and did not consider it because he thinks he has been able to control the interviews and situations because of the a,lint on insight he has been able to gain. It all comes to him when he realizes he is in extreme danger, triggering the panic attack. I think the build up to this has been the growing disdain/concern his girlfriend and Bill have been expressing to him which he has just blown off until now.
Not the ending I was expecting but that is one of the great things about the show - it has been hard to predict (except for when local LE call them in - you know they are going to succeed; I suspect that changes some in Season 2 or, at least, it takes much more time for them to solve a murder or 2.
You should like Any given Sunday then. Although it has Cameron Diaz, she is no one's love interest - just the villain.
True story. Just visited St. Mere Eglise and the statue remains. He was deafened (at least temporarily) by the constant ringing of the bells during the fire suppression activity. After escaping he regained some of his hearing while recovering in England and eventually returned to combat, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge.
Paige's decision was certainly jarring in this finale. I suggested it would have been more powerful for her to have been apprehended as compared to the actual ending here having E and P making it safely out of the US and back to Russia almost as if nothing had happened. Sure, they had to leave Henry behind and couldn't explain to him why; and Paige decided to stay behind, but for all we know may end up being just fine. But other than harboring some doubts over the value or importance of what their efforts had been for, they basically got what they had planned for when they entered the KGB.
In the real life events that inspired this story, the whole family got deported even though the spy/parents' 2 sons were never involved in anything. They were raised as Americans and were living typical American lives when the parents were caught. That was a much sadder ending for the kids, in my opinion, than this fictional one where a child chooses to betray the US and gets to make a choice to stay when the parents fled.
Maybe it is just a matter of perspective.
But I still have a hard time cheering for or even sympathizing with the lead characters in The Americans who, after all, were wreaking havoc here. They received no justice for what they did, even if one child chose to stay in the US. Compare that to watching them see Paige being led off to spend her life in prison.