When Ciello first meets Cappalino in his office, Cappalino offers him a chair. When Ciello sits in it, it promptly breaks apart under his weight and he finds himself butt-first on the floor.
Was this to show that Cappalino's department was underfunded? Was it a type of foreboding (the prince's throne is rickety)? Was it comic relief? Or was it just an on-set accident (faulty props) that they decided to leave in the film?
Any thoughts?
Good question, Pearl. First, it's obvious from the reactions that Treat Williams wasn't expecting it, but the actor playing Cappalino was. No doubt Lumet wanted a genuine reaction from Williams. I laugh each time I see the pissed-off look in Williams face!
Second, I took it as a deliberate ploy by Cappalino to shake Danny up, throw him off guard. I suppose it could also be taken as purely metaphorical: that this conversation starts the process that literally pulls Danny's feet out from under him. Knocks him off his pedastal.
Glad you posed the question!
That's how I took it as well - he was trying to knock him off his guard, first thing.
Very clever, and I love how Lumet directed the scene. No true 'answers' given about it.
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Wait a minute... who am I here?
It also occured to me that since the scene is supposed to take place in an abandoned building that used to be a post office it was going to show that it was going to be a rough ride for Ciello and that nothing was going to come easy anymore and these guys were willing to show him how badly they wanted this by being in a decrepid building with little usable furniture.
shareYou've got the wrong scene. We're talking about Dan's first meeting with Capalino. Not later when he lies to Rick and Page about having only done three things.
shareDo you know for sure that Treat wasn't expecting, or was it just great acting?
But I think your second point is excellent: It was intended to make Danny feel vulnerable. Mission accomplished.
It might have been an accident, and Lumet might have decided to just let the camera roll.
But I've always taken it to be a deliberate suggestion that Danny simply didn't know what he was getting into when he decided to cooperate with the Feds. What seemed at first to be a safe and simple act turned into something far less predictable, more complicated, and more dangerous.
A chair can't collapse in a movie without it being a symbol of something? I think it was only in there to represent the fact they had a new office in a shabby place and it was a growing operation. Random stuff happens in life, it should happen in movies too.
shareA chair can't collapse in a movie without it being a symbol of something?Usually, when a physical accident or unplanned physical glitch happens while the cameras are rolling (someone slips on the floor, someone sneezes suddenly, etc.), the director will yell cut and do a re-take. If the director leaves it in, it's a sign that he thinks it will serve the movie somehow. You could be right -- the director and editor might have thought that the chair accident gave the movie more of a realistic feel, since those things could happen randomly in real life. After all, I think they were going for a gritty tone instead of a polished one.