This is one of Altman's best, masterfully interweaving the many different plot threads and characters. With that said, one plot strand didn't quite ring true. SPOILER ALERT: Lori Singer's character basically telegraphed her suicidal intentions throughout the movie, so when she finally did it, there was no irony. We never get a reason for her despair; is she depressed? Heartbroken? Dealing with addiction? We never get a hint.
shareI think she suffered from depression and hearing about the neighbor boy's death pushed her over the edge. Also her mother was a drunken narcissist who didn't seem to care about her very much.
I used to be darker, then I got lighter, then I went dark again.
Thanks for trying to come up with an explanation for the plot point. But it doesn't stretch quite far enough. Why was she depressed? She seemed young and good-looking - both good qualities to have. Her mother - the Annie Ross charater - didn't seem like the type of person that would drive her offspring to something so drastic. Sure, she drank a bit, but she seemed devastated when her daughter actually took her own life.
shareI remember there being a scene where her mother talked about her ex-husband, the girl's father, having some kind of drug problem. He also didn't seem to be a part of their lives anymore. He could have been dead or in jail or simply have abandoned them, which may have contributed to her issues as well.
I agree, the girl's mother was clearly devastated when her daughter took her own life. But she seemed rather self-absorbed and obsessed with her failing career as a singer. She may not have noticed that her daughter was suffering until it was too late. I don't think she necessarily drove her daughter to suicide, she just failed to notice her distress. Another bit of foreshadowing we get is when the girl strips down and floats, face down and corpse-like, in the pool. Rather than reacting with compassion or wondering why her daughter is behaving in such a strange way, her mother reacts in a rather callous manner. She reacts in the same callous and insensitive way when her daughter comes to tell her about the neighbor boy dying. I think all of these little things added up and led to the girl doing what she did. I'm definitely speculating a bit here, but I got the impression that the girl had been contemplating suicide for some time and hearing about the neighbor boy's death was the tipping point.
I used to be darker, then I got lighter, then I went dark again.
I remember there being a scene where her mother talked about her ex-husband, the girl's father, having some kind of drug problem. He also didn't seem to be a part of their lives anymore. He could have been dead or in jail or simply have abandoned them, which may have contributed to her issues as well.
Are you serious you think just because someone is Young and attractive means that they are free from Despair and loneliness and sadness? You must be pretty nice to think that human beings are very complex head have feelings about everything.
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