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Could Wade or Rolfe have saved themselves by saving the father?

posted 13 years ago by thepooles-1
3 replies | jump to latest

An abusive towering adult father figure can overwhelm any and all offspring. Wade's need to make something of his life- to do something notable after a poor showing in the eyes of the townspeople leads to his mental collapse. We know that Glenn Whitehouse had been afflicted with a toxic ethos of manliness and misogyny from an earlier generation. Was there a point where Wade could have stood up to his father and tried to cure him of his misguided ethos of bluster and meanness? Does an abused son still have an obligation to rescue a father from his demons thus making both whole again?
A son may feel by not amounting to much that he has injured and embittered even an abusive father

[–] boonjj 12 years ago

i think a big point in the film is that our experiences are engrained in us and shape our personalities

Dafoes (noltes brother) voice over in the film -

"Wade lived on the edge of his emotions. He was always first to receieve the brunt of our father's anger. He had no perspective to retreat to, even in a crisis."

(that is spoken over a scene of Nolte sitting close to his father, pouring him a drink - one of the saddest & dejected scenes in the film)

so i think it was saying that Nolte literally couldnt 'rescue' his father, his personality has been shaped to far in a diferent direction, into the angry, vengeful & desperate that we saw

(by the way, the contrast between Nolte & Dafoe is very interesting with that quote in mind)

[–] thepooles-1 12 years ago

I copied Rolfe's closing comment and have it above my desk. It is quite powerful and part of Russell Bank's comment on life in general. Wade was sort of the tough kid -his daughter sensed that when she said, "I bet you were bad" Nolte handled that scene perfectly. Wade knew his flaws -he even knew he was probably doomed. Pretty troubling film for sure.

[–] thepooles-1 12 years ago

2nd reply. The father probably knew he could get to Wade more than Rolfe and get him to be as mean as the himself whereas Rolfe wasn't the defiant type and backed off immediately. Glenn was pretty pleased at his insight at knowing which son would end up emulating the ol' man ("I know you!") Glenn wanted or needed to pass on the family tradition of overlording. Maybe it felt obligated to pass on what had been passed on to him. It is pretty tragic for all of course.
One interesting character was the woman who looked into the land deals which Wade felt
was part of the explanation for the hunting death. I'd like to have known her background and how she fit into that small town.