So, if Louis was an angel (or God, as some have said), comforting Jacob, and teaching him how to find peace, what was the purpose of making the character a chiropractor? He was performing all those painful adjustments on him as well. What was the symbolism of that?
shareSo, if Louis was an angel (or God, as some have said), comforting Jacob, and teaching him how to find peace, what was the purpose of making him a chiropractor? He was performing all those painful adjustments on him as well. What was the symbolism of that?
You said it yourself -- "adjustments."
A chiropractor performs adjustments on the physical body. Louis's other purpose was to help Jacob in the other "adjustments" he had to make...
Perhaps Louis was a Holistic Chiropractic. I'm not sure if the film ever clarifies.
shareI always assumed that he was symbolic of Jacob relieving himself of his pain of letting go of the material world so that he may move on to the afterlife, manifested as a chiropractor, a person who relieves pain.
shareIn the early 70's I grew up in an ashram in upstate NY, of which the screenwriter Bruce Rubin was also a member. I was just a kid at the time, so I didn't know him well. But I know enough to say that the character of Louis was at least partially based on a real chiropractor in NYC named Louis Savas. Many of the ashram residents were from the city, and some of them- including my father- went to Dr. Savas for treatments. When I first experienced back trouble in the mid-80's I went to his office for a treatment, and I can attest that Danny Aiello was a great casting move. Dr. Savas was also a large man like the actor who played him, with similar looks and personality as the character in the film.
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