So who did it? (Spoilers)

wow,a lot of really thought provoking points rasied on this thread. im just going to raise some random points that i feel might help point the way towards a concrete solution (even though i think hodges deliberatly doesnt want one to be seen, he wants a very ambiguous end to the plot).

i think the crux of the story is the process of Jack becoming Jake. the whole timeline of the narrative is Jack the writer turing into Jake the croupier. Jake is based upon Matt, whose motto is "im going to *beep* the whole world over". As Matt's motto becomes Jake's motto (and thus Jack's motto), we see the moral degridation of jack. Marion's death is very symbolic, and i think more-so than trying to create some murder mystery/conspiracy. he states that he doesnt love here, she is his conscience. Jack kills his conscience, so he can truly become Jake/Matt, a truly morally ambiguous chaarcter who would *beep* the world over for personal gain. he seems to want to disvcard everything that connected him to being Jack the writer. he dyes his hair, he seems to live in that tuxedo by the end of the film, changing into it at home bfore he leaves for work, on NYE, matt even comments, "you still havent changed out fo your work clothes". he wants to truly immerse himself in being Jake. to do so, he needs to silence his conscience (marion). the mix up of "his mother...HER mother" could be jack mixiung up Jake's fictional life with what happened in real life with Marion. it does appear there is a lack of de-lineation netween Jack and Jake's consciousness. it coudl aslo appear to be jack/jake trying to get his alibi straight for her murder.

There is a confusing contradiction to the character: he makes it abundantly clear he never gambles (not on the tables as uch, but in real life he is an obsessive gambler) and he hates cheats (once again, only in the world of gambling, in real life he cheats on the innocent Marion 3 seperate times). once again, it seems to be an attempt at becoming Jake, the gambler, who wanst to *beep* the whole world over. he *beep* bella literally, then does it metaphorically by dobbing her in and losing her job. the sceen at the end where he is back with Bella is puzzling in the extreme though; i have no explanation. perhaps like jack/jake she is attracted to trouble, to the gambler.

im going to watch ti again soon to get all the plot points fresh in my mind, and take some notes, because this is such a dense and complicated narrative. its a credit to mayersberg.



The Dude Abides