While they are on the beach, Julian asks her for an alibi, and she says "you did it, you killed rheiman, that's ok, it doesn't matter".
At no point does Gere deny the murder or tell Anne he is innocent, he is silent while she assumes he did it. Why?
This scene is a good example of Schrader's capability to mix poetic ambiquity and harsh realism.
Indeed,an important number of viewers will be led to the conclusion that Julian has something to hide,that's why he does not respond in a strong manner.
If you look carefully,you'll notice that he has this sort of "lost in the horizon" look on his face.
I think that Anne's assumption just makes him realize that he does not have any friends to help him,except only business partners.
Julian's character is a romantic professional;he still believes in friendship and human support between people(that's why he hoped that his client Lisa would support his alibi to the police,that's why he went to his "manager" Anne calling for help).
When your own lawyer does not believe you are inocent,you feei devastated.
That's the point under Julian's reaction.
Maybe he's thinking of the reality of being indicted, not Anne's soulless expression of lack-of-concern for the murdered Mrs.Rheiman or Julian's potential involement.
For the record I didn't think she meant it (of course it "mattered" what if he was forced to talk about her?)and I never thought Julian did it. Yes she was a professional but this was a stupid remark.
You've got a good point there,vexsmith,but there are things proving that Anne is more self-confident and well-covered than the dumb broad she appears to be.
If you compare her disturbed tone of voice when she is mentioning that Julian's presence in her house during this particular day could affect her legally concerning her little son and the calm,almost tender quote:"Don't worry Juli,it doesn't matter",it certainly looks more like coming from a person who has total control of the situation,that's why Julian remains numb.
Because he realizes that his powerful connections may not be as friendly to him as he was hoping for.
Anne clearly becomes vengeful and bitch when it comes to her business reputation and Julian's debts to it,but she seems to stand better with the law than Julian does.
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That's exactly how I viewed it too, gressos. I have to admit though that for a second, I wondered about his innocense as well. But then quickly realized that he was just too devastated at her questioning him that he didn't say anything.
shareIf this were a regular "suspense" thriller, she might be playing indifferent because she was afraid that Julian might get angry and kill her, too. And he might just be keeping silent rather than blurt out something incriminating.
But those are familiar movie tropes that we've seen before. How many times has someone pleaded in movies: "I didn't kill her! YOU'VE GOT TO BELIEVE ME!" It's almost as if the fate of the world depended on his being found innocent.
But since we're among people who think they're "above the law," as Julian says, they don't plan on confessing to the police. They don't believe in doing penance or atoning if someone they know dies, either. Those things require a capacity for shame. So something different was needed here: a kind of sadness that "nothing can be done," or that "it doesn't really matter, in the grand scheme of things."
Given that director Paul Schrader is a fan of some Italian "art film" directors like Michelangelo Antonioni, it might be an hommage to that director's talent for depicting ennui among the well-to-do. These people have reached a kind of exhaustion with life, and they don't see the point in being outraged at anything. It's not like they're expecting God to come down and smite the killer.Perhaps they CAN'T get outraged because they're strung out on antidepressants and whatnot.
So they try not to think about it...which is an alarming commentary on the society of the day.