MovieChat Forums > Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) Discussion > star of david around ann's neck

star of david around ann's neck

posted 17 years ago by DarcCinema
10 replies | jump to latest

this refers to around 1 hr and 11 minutes into the movie, to the scene where ann comes home from graham's and tells john that she "want[s] out of this marriage". when ann says that line (and she says it twice), the camera is on her, and we clearly see A STAR OF DAVID around her neck. the entire film, including that entire scene, she wears a CROSS. it is ONLY IN THOSE TWO SHOTS (she says that line twice), that she is clearly, and i mean, clearly, wearing a star of david around her neck. i have not found any references to this online (i've googled to no avail, nor does imdb have anything under trivia or goofs). i've rewound the film 10 times, thinking maybe i was wrong, but no, i'm not. watch it and you'll see it.

neither soderbergh nor andie macdowell are jewish (i don't think), so i don't get it. well, soderbergh isn't jewish for sure, according to http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=7899. in that interview, elliott gould (ocean's 11) tells of how he asked soderbergh if he was jewish: "He said, ’No, I’m Swedish,’ and I said, ’Well, you know, Swedish is a nationality, while Jewish is a way of life." this is a funny conversation, but in any case - not jewish. then, moving on, andie macdowell has an irish last name. those guys are never jewish. but then again, her mom could be jewish. that's all it takes.

any thoughts, anyone?
send me a message or something. i wanna figure this out.

[–] Radiant_Rose 17 years ago

i only remember the cross. is the lack of capitals except for emphasis a
hom(m)age to the film?

nicebat - the bat, but not the bat in the hat.

[–] pread99999 17 years ago

i watched that scene not 30 seconds ago - best i could tell it was a star of david superimposed on a cross. but, it appears to be the same pendant throughout the movie (glancing through other scenes, i recognize the same star/cross peculiarity right before she gets out of the car at graham's [filmed through the windshield]).

[–] strawdawg 17 years ago

Would it make a difference if it was a star of David? Are there some lines of dialog that lead you to believe that she couldn't be Jewish? I'm not sure what the problem would be if she is Jewish. I can't remember if faith of any kind is mentioned. Is it?

give me a stage where this bull here can rage and though I can fight I'd much rather recite.

[–] Radiant_Rose 17 years ago

Might explain a lot if she had one Jewish parent and one Catholic one ...

Nobody ever suspects the butterfly!

[–] indymovies 17 years ago

I've just watched it again, giving all my attention to what Ann is wearing round her neck, and all I can see is a cross - quite a solid one but not a crucifix.

[–] ukbel 16 years ago

I saw the film for the first time last night, and I noticed this as well.

After rewinding and viewing the scene a few times and pausing on the shots, it looks like the lighting of the cross gives it the illustion of being a Star of David, but she is clearly wearing the same cross that she wore in other scenes.

Having said that, I can't believe this was unintentional given the dramatic lighting of the cross during the playback of her interview.

[–] agnieszka01 14 years ago

I just watched this movie for the first time--went back and replayed the scene (I have a big widescreen set and HD DVD) and it's definitely the same cross pendant, not a star of David--although there are a few moments where the shot is framed so that the bottom part of the cross is cropped off just below the horizontal arm--there's a moment where it really does resemble a star of David but, no. Same cross.

[–] Cherubim1 13 years ago

OP is seeing things.

It's a Christian cross, not a star of David.

[–] MysticYoYo 12 years ago

I agree that it's a cross. Part of it was tucked into her neckline when she sat on the couch, but it was most definitely a cross as can be seen when she walked into the room.

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"I miss Dwight. Congratulations, Universe. You win."

[–] I_am_RenegadeX 11 years ago

I know this is a 5--almost 6--year old thread, but it's a valid observation that hasn't conclusively been proved or disproved.. until now.

For all the naysayers, I took some screengrabs to prove that the OP doesn't need his/her eyes checked. In the scene the OP described, the pendant actually changes (between cuts) from the cross it'd been the entire movie to a star (and yes it does appear to be a hexagram, ie: the jewish Star of David), then back to a cross, then back to a star.

Direct link to composite image (comprising 4 images):
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/6974/4aia.jpg

As the pendant appears to briefly change back to a cross, I suspect it was just a wardrobe department goof during a reshoot rather than a planned decision to have the cross suddenly morph into something else. Even so, that's a pretty bad goof as the cross pendant necklace had been rather prominent through most of her scenes.

If anyone out there wants to try contacting Andie MacDowell herself to ask her about the cross/star pendant swap, she is on Twitter (@AndieMacDowell3) and you're very welcome to hotlink or repost my composite image. Just make sure you report back here her answer!

Oh, one last thing, possibly related: following the above cross-to-star scene, and not including the videotaped footage Ann's husband then watches at Graham's apartment or the 'flashback' scene showing the interview 'live', the pendants are not seen again. We see Ann at her sister's bar, returning the plant, but Ann is wearing a high-necked dress; I initially didn't think she was wearing a necklace but if you look closely as she turns to leave, you'll see she's wearing the same pearl necklace that she wore when Graham showed up at her house at the beginning of the film. Then, in the next, and final scene of the movie, Ann arrives home to an awaiting Graham - and she's wearing a black summer dress with an exposed neck, and is definitely not wearing a necklace of any kind.