the moment Peter Fonda is driving and talking about the 60's... for some reason I find it one of the most brillant moments in recent movie history(and I'm not even that much of a fan of Steven S.), it manages to be poetic but melancholic at the same time!
shareI posted this on the Barry Newman board...
I thought that in "The Limey," Soderbergh might have written Barry's character as sort of a funny spin on his defining role in "Vanishing Point" - racing around in a Mercedes instead of a Dodge Challenger. Maybe like how Peter Fonda's character was kind of a take-off on Captain America in "Easy Rider" - especially when he drove up the coast (might have also been a nod to "The Graduate"). If I remember right, Fonda drove a roadster (an Alfa Romeo?) instead of a Harley, with some '60's song playing rather than "Born to be Wild." I'm just going by memory, since I haven't seen "The Limey" in over 15 years.
I seem to remember that Fonda drives up the coast while "Magic Carpet Ride" is playing...it is indeed listed in the soundtrack. So that really seems to be a take-off on the beginning of "Easy Rider" with "Born to be Wild."
It might be a stretch to say that Fonda's character in "The Limey" is supposed to be Captain America 30 years later if he had lived. Or that Newman's is the "Vanishing Point" protagonist under the same scenario? Then again, isn't Stamp's supposed to be his "Poor Cow" character?