I believe the inclusion of Elvis was merely a symbolic device. Tarantino was most likely trying to make a statement about movie-obsessed, pop culture geeks who have their perceptions of the world warped and distorted by their over-consumption of media and lack of time spent interacting with real people. If you recall Clarence's speech at the start, he talks about how he wishes he could be like Elvis, a good-looking cat who dies young while being heralded as the epitome of cool. That's exactly what Clarence wants to be, cool.
Like I said in my other post, there was no need for him to confront Drexl the way he did. He did so, because he wanted to be a badass. He thinks the world is just like how it is portrayed in the movies, where violence can solve any problem and have no further repercussions. When he confronts Drexl, the guy even points out how hard he's trying to come off looking like a badass, with him not even taking a second to look at the TV with the woman's breasts hanging out. Any normal man would have at least made a quick glance, but because Clarence is in make-believe Charles Bronson mode, he doesn't. The irony of that scene being, Drexl himself is also in pretend mode as he's a white guy trying really hard to look and sound black.
When he goes back to tell Alabama what he did for her, I don't think she was really crying because she thought it was romantic. She was probably crying because Drexl died, but after Clarence chastises her for it, she pretends as though she's crying because she was moved by the extremes he'd go for her.
The whole movie was probably originally intended as a commentary on people whose lives and perceptions of the world revolves solely around movies and pop culture. Clarence embodies that to the extreme, as he makes every bad decision he can out of a superficial desire to be a badass. Like I said, if Tony Scott kept the original ending, this motif would have come full-circle.
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Wuchak (8732)
5 years ago
That makes sense and I find myself having more respect for the movie (except for -- like you say -- Scott's changing the ending). I shoulda known with Tarantino at the keyboard.
What you say also makes sense of Clarence viewing three movies in a row at the theater. And, beforehand, asking that hot blonde to go with him and genuinely thinking she'd be interested.
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Flybynight45 (165)
4 years ago
Why would she be crying because her pimp, who probably abused her, died?
And didn’t she promise that she would never lie to him again?
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filmgeek99 (657)
4 years ago
"Why would she be crying because her pimp, who probably abused her, died?"
You do know that women often fall in love with men that physically and emotionally abuse them, right? In the case of Alabama, considering how quickly she declares love for a man she just met, it'd be safe to assume that she's the type of girl who gets easily manipulated by guys like Drexl. For all we know, she declared the same kind of feelings to him prior to getting sucked (no pun intended) into the world of prostitution.
"And didn’t she promise that she would never lie to him again?"
Yeah, pretty much. Tarantino was creating a romance in which passion and attraction overrides the more important values needed to maintain long-lasting relationships: honesty and commitment. Had if Alabama told Clarence how she really felt about what he did, perhaps he wouldn't have drove to LA to sell coke to Hollywood producers and get himself killed in the process (in the original script). There's so much depth, nuance, and poetry to the original story. It's just a shame that it's all lost amidst Tony Scott's superficial style.
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