MovieChat Forums > This Sporting Life (1963) Discussion > Mr. and Mrs. Weaver?

Mr. and Mrs. Weaver?

posted 11 years ago by bobvend
1 reply | jump to latest

Does anyone feel there was a rather noticable age disparity between Weaver and his wife, with her seeming a bit matronly? I also got the impression (from completely different scenes) that both Mr. and Mrs Weaver were interested in Frank for more intimate reasons than rugby. Of course, there was no mistaking Mrs. Weaver's intentions toward Frank. In the car scene in which Mr. Weaver firmly grasps Frank's knee, was this supposed to serve as an indication that Weaver 'played for both teams', or is it just a British thing? The look on Frank's face indicated that it was not.

[–] Alwood 10 years ago

What I took from it was that Weaver was clearly gay and his marriage for appearences, only. His whole "vibe" said so from the beginning. His wife seemed slightly older than him, "matronly" as you said, but probably came from the "right" family. Again, all for appearences.

I also think he procured Frank more for stud service for his wife, which he'd obviously done with other players in the past, than to play rugby. When Frank refused to "play ball," so to speak, that's when his stock went down with both the Weavers and the organization.

And when Weaver grabbed Frank's knee in the Bentley, the way Lindsay Anderson shot it in extreme close-up was not subtle in terms of what the subtext truly was.