In the lovemaking aftermath scene... Did he love her, did he not, Was she really in to him, or was she not, It makes no difference he got her in the sack and used her for sex and she realized it and wanted nothing to do with him after it was over. Why oh why is this never mentioned in film. Sometimes a guy just uses women and it is written to be something meaningful when it really is not.
shareI got the feeling in several of the scenes that he may have disliked himself for doing that. There was a look of, I dunno, almost disappointment in his eyes when he'd immediately be calling the next person while still in bed with somebody or they're still in the room with him. Like maybe he was ashamed of himself for not having better self-control but at the same time he overall still enjoys it. So maybe a little conflicted emotionally. I'm not saying I think I could be onto something, but it is an observation I made and thought I'd post it here.
Can't remember who he called when he was with Lily, but I think that was the scene where I noticed it the most. Not because it was the final time we saw a scene like this, but because it had happened previously with Opal. Can't remember, maybe it happened more than that.
Come on, she was a bored housewife with the stress of looking after two deaf kids and a husband who wasn't paying much attention. Who could blame her after the attention Tom gave her, especially after he sang that song for her? She knew exactly why she hooked up with Tom and exactly who he was.
As for Tom, Altman in his DVD commentary more than once said he was a very sick person. He was completely selfish and willing to use his looks and rock star status to get women. I think if you paid attention to what Tom did throughout the movie (like calling another woman when Tomlin is still in the room), that was as clear as it needed to be.
She may have understood what type of man he was but when she got a close up of his actions after sex with her, I feel she felt a bit different about him as if she realized I can do/be more than this. Heck, she may have even thought she could have gotten better sex at home.
shareI think her marriage was pretty much gone, that her husband just didn't really realize it yet. And I sensed indifference when she was laying in bed with Tom. She didn't seem upset with him for immediately being on the phone with someone else. This may have fed my belief that Tom, though a player, may have been dumbfounded that she wasn't upset with him about it. She saw who he really was and didn't freak out, probably the only time it ever happened like that for him. But she got the admiration/attention she needed and realized this wasn't some long-term thing (I figure she knew that anyway though), and that her life won't be defined by this moment. That she needed to go back to her family. Her sons, more specifically.
Think of it like Mary in There's Something About Mary. I think most of us would be scared to approach an attractive person, but because she grew up with a special needs sibling, you come to realize she's a nice person, and I might guess that kinda thing plays a factor; be it faith, humility, gratitude, respect.
I find myself making the assumption that people in situations like this are probably nicer than most, and somehow I link that to how they conduct their personal lives and relationships. These struggles likely don't stop someone from needing to look out for themselves too and having some sort of outlet. At least I assume highly stressed out people who seem grounded on the surface probably still have, I dunno, needs too!
I'll probably have some explaining to do on some of the thoughts in there. I hate trying to elaborate on a point of view like that. I end up leaving out stuff I find important and adding details that sorta spun off from that initial thought, so when seen by themselves probably bring on a 'what the ____'
See, what I got from that was that he really *did* care for her - and she was doing to him exactly what he did to every other woman in his life. She knew there could be no future between them, but was still drawn to him so she went to bed with him. But she knew she had to go home, and she got up and got dressed to leave. He called another woman as a defense mechanism - "see, I don't care, this doesn't mean anything to me either" - but still she didn't react. His heart wasn't in that phone call, he was just posturing to save face because their night together truly meant something to him.
shareDo you think when he called and she acted resistant, that she was covering because she knew her husband was listening, or do you think she hadn't decided to act on it yet? I'm also curious if Delbert began to be suspicious. I'm guessing husbands and wives can tell when the other isn't completely telling the truth. And I'm normally not vengeful but after what happened with the waitress, and his involvement in it, I kinda think he deserved a little pain himself. His still wouldn't hurt as much as hers yet since he doesn't know about it. I won't pretend to understand what infidelity might feel like since I've never been married!
shareMy impression is that Tom was genuinely interested in her, at least, as long as she was unavailable, or hard to get. Here's a guy who has women falling all over him, but he wants a challenge.
Linnea had lower expectations --- she knew it was only going to be a one-shot. Tom make another phone call before she left was partly his way of being childishly spiteful because she was leaving, and partly an indication of his need for someone to massage his ego all the time.
We report, you decide; but we decide what to report.