Peter Cable seemed like he was hella paranoid in his final scene. Any why did he have Bree listen to the recording?
My mother thinks Klute shoved him out the window, but personally I think he got scared when he saw Klute, backed up really fast, and essentially committed accidental suicide.
"There is no escape, John!"
Peter Cable is obviously mentally disturbed. But he isn't so insane that he can't keep the two halves of his life compartmentalized, and function as a well-paid executive at Tuscarora Laboratories. It's your classic American Psycho situation.
He forced Bree to listen to the tape because he's a sadist, and he wanted to see her reaction to what was, basically, the sound of her friend's murder. Klute did not push him out the window. Cable threw himself out.
There, daddy, do I get a gold star?
He was obviously a sadist. I think he wanted to get off on the feeling of hopelessness Bree would feel listening to the death of her friend, not only because of the inability to stop the murder, but because it showed her what was going to happen next.
For a villain who barely showed up in the movie, I though his final scene with Bree was very powerful. I especially loved the warped logic of his speech blaming prostitutes for feeding on peoples' weaknesses.
This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.
I think Peter Cable’s character is far too complex to simply be dismissed as insane. He was sociopathic, harbored a great deal of self-contempt and was capable of committing unbelievably vicious acts without visible remorse. Although he acknowledges that “he’s done some terrible things" in that scene with Bree, he also admits that he doesn’t "feel like a terrible man”. This suggests to me that he understands that his acts of violence/murder are socially unacceptable, but he does not or cannot feel guilty about committing them. Although Peter is obviously bothered about what he’s done, he seems to be bothered much more by the way that his violent acts alienate him from society than by any straight forward guilt.
He seems to have two main reasons for making Bree listen to the tape of her friend being killed. On one hand he was taking power by revealing to Bree that her life was in his hands. He seemed to find pleasure in not only causing other people pain, but in feeling like he’s in control. Revealing to her that he might kill her establishes him as the master of her fate. On the other hand, he was also forcing her to listen to what was possibly meant to be a reflection of herself. Peter was obviously contemptuous towards prostitutes and he was deeply ashamed about having hired them. By making Bree listen to the tape, he was trying to make her feel as shameful about herself and her profession as he feels about himself. He wanted her to feel simultaneously helpless, dirty and exposed. The irony about all this is that in the end, not only is he the one who ends up exposed, but he ends up pushed over the edge by the same feelings that he tries to project onto Bree.
Oh, and it definetely seemed like suicide to me.
That's deep.
"There is no escape, John!"
Peter Cable, great name, is a sociopath. He killed Tom because Tom, being his co-worker, would have brought his own, Tom's that is, knowledge of Peter killing a prostitute into his workplace.
Peter Cable's main concern is that he would lose prestige in their workplace, NOT whether he had killed.
Peter Cable is a true sociopath who would have been inconvenienced by folks having knowledge of his evil acts. Peter Cable blames Bree Daniels for bringing out his homicidal personality, thus avoiding any moral responsibility for his actions.
Peter Cable's planning and execution of 3 killings is evidence that Mr. Cable is very capable of the linear, sequential thinking that is the mark of a sociopath. Mr. Cable is not delusional nor prone to magical, irrational thinking. Quite the contrary. Recall that Mr. Cable is an executive, "a man of respect" at his firm.
Cable's playing of the tape is his revenge upon Bree for Bree "making" him a killer which he finds makes him "yet not a terrible person,no more than any others."
He's a serial rapist/murderer. Is that even a question?
shareWhat I said, yes.
What you said before you asked, "Is that even a question?", not technically.
"There is no escape, John!"
I like this movie a lot but I can't listen to the tape recording at the finale. It totally creeps me out and I can't deal with it. Just watching Bree's reaction to what she's hearing is enough to make me hit the mute button.
"You may as well go to perdition in ermine; you're sure to come back in rags." Katharine Hepburn
It could be argued that most repeat murderers are all at least somewhat unhinged. Could it not?
shareIt could be argued.
"There is no escape, John!"
"It could be argued that most repeat murderers are all at least somewhat unhinged".
Certainly - especially considering "unhinged" is so vague a term that it might mean just about anything. Considering insanity, however... it's a fact that extremely few serial killers have ever been found insane ie mentally incompetent tp stand trial.
'facts are stupid things' - Ronald Reagan
... it's a fact ...I love it. The guy who loves reminding everybody ad nauseam that ...
facts are stupid things...suddenly wants to start preaching facts! share
In other words, you have no idea what you're blathering about - and your ego is so tiny and fragile that any light of education or knowledge shone upon it will send you in a fit of rabid, drooling insecurity and animalistic fear. Do up your dosage... please.
facts are stupid things - Ronald Reagan
Tut! Tut! Poor baby! Diddums get so terribly upset cause the obvious was pointed out to you little man. All that foam around your mouth! Best to try to keep it closed, though I know how hard it is for you.
Don't worry. Some day you will find yourself - and wish you hadn't.
Okay, let's have it - what was the "obvious" that was pointed out to me? Remember to be very particular here.
facts are stupid things - Ronald Reagan