...if Richard truly had remorse over his heat-of-the-moment shooting. That he truly were sorry, yet the parents wanted to do him in anyway. Much more interesting psychological foliage for the characters to sift through, maybe. The way the film is, Richard is simply a one-dimensional baddie whose fate would upset only the extremist leftie.
shareI was thinking the same thing actually. It's easy to make him unhuman scum, but this way the film plays more straightforward and there's less tension. I had a vision of Richard beginning to show a chronic complex of self-loathing and even visiting Frank's grave.
"I've been living on toxic waste for years, and I'm fine. Just ask my other heads!"
Yes, but you forget one thing. We never actually SEE Richard killing Frank. For all we know, Richard could be telling the truth, that there was a scuffle and he shot Frank in self defense. Maybe that's why he didn't feel so guilty about it. I think Richard expressed his remorse by showing up around the mother Ruth. She said, "he smiles at me." Maybe we're supposed to think this as creepy. But on the other hand, maybe it's just that he's trying to reconcile himself with the parents of the kid he shot, being nice to them in order to soften things a bit between them.
shareRichard was a man prone to violence over his obsession for this woman. He wasn't violent all the time. He could have had regret over shooting Frank, but if Frank had lived, the next time he saw him with Natalie, he would have become violent all over again. He couldn't control himself, and he tries to explain this to Frank's father. He's a pathetic, sick individual who isn't going to get any therapeutic help and isn't going to be properly punished for what he did. The sadness is that some judge didn't order him to anger management classes long before the shooting occurred as he was obviously an abusive husband with a short fuse.
As far as a scuffle, Richard killed Frank deliberately. As Natalie is coming down the stairs, she hears Frank say, put that thing away. What do we think he's talking about? He's talking about the gun. Frank didn't have a gun. You shoot someone during a fist fight where the other person doesn't have a gun - this is self defense? Do you think Frank was winning that fight? As far as Richard smiling at her, I'm sure it was out of being so nervous at seeing her. He basically admits killing Frank to his father anyway when he's explaining why he did it. He doesn't say, sir, your son was trying to kill me. I had to shoot him. He says, I couldn't stand to see them together etc.
I don't think the story would have been as good or as realistic with Richard having some sort of redemption. How is that supposed to happen that he visits Frank's grave and shows real grief? I'm not saying he's not sorry - who the hell wants to go to prison - but it's not realistic for him to completely turn himself around.
Richard Never Smiled At Ruth at the market... Ruth lied about this as a way of trying to prove to Matt how much Richard needed to die.
Im not too much of a leftist but Matt obviously is having doubts about killing Richard when he sees all the drawings and photos of the kids at Richards house...
and there is also the line at the end of the film about the way natalie was smiling in the picture...
Richard gave her a nervous twitch, as I recall, or started to. Smile is an exaggeration. I liked it because it was just what you'd do in an awful situation like that. I'm sure Matt had doubts. I was unclear about the line at the end of the film - I wasn't sure what he was trying to say - did it annoy him that she seemed happy with this abusive man or what? I'd be interested in an opinion on that. It didn't deter him in any case.
shareI think he was feeling that way at the end of the film because part of him knew that Ruth was right all along. He did nudge Frank into continuing this relationship (e.g. the coleslaw scene). Ruth wanted Frank to end it with Natalie and Matt let it go. Perhaps Matt was thinking that Frank did come between Richard and Natalie, and their "happy" relationship that was just going through a rough patch or something... The beauty of this movie is that it really is up to the viewers to decide. The film is so detailed, yet leaves a tremendous amount to the imagination. That's why in the First Act, no real "events" are even shown on camera (e.g. the first attack from Richard, the shooting, Ruth or Matt hearing the bad news, the bail hearing verdict)
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I agree. It wasn't a cocky smile; it was more of a nervous, "I guess I should try to smile" look he gave her.
shareI agree with Blanche...the other thing that stuck out to me about the scene where Frank is shot is when the pan from his body over to Richard, he's simply sitting calmly at the table. I realize some people handle shock in different ways, but it would seem that if this were in any way self defense, he'd be freaking out and apologizing.
shareRichard was a man prone to violence over his obsession for this woman. He wasn't violent all the time.
yes, i agree with this OP. It's a great movie but some stuff is missing. Like they ran out of time or ideas or something. Great acting and very watchable, but it doesn't make a ton of sense in the end....he's killed a guy too, now what? Rolling around in bed aint enough.
"Great acting and very watchable, but it doesn't make a ton of sense in the end....he's killed a guy too, now what? Rolling around in bed aint enough. "
Yes it is... he will never get over it, he will regret having killed Richard... This is what his rolling around in the bed meant to me
I agree, had they made Richard express some genuine remorse, rather than fear, when facing Matt, it would have been more morally complex. I would have liked for Matt to disbelieve Richard's the show of remorse, to deem it a last ditched effort by Richard. I liked that the movie did not show exactly what happened during the shooting, only the moments before as the confrontation was clearly building and of course the aftermath.
Aftermath would have been a better title for this movie as that is what everyone is left with--The aftermath:
--of Frank's naiveté regarding volatile dynamic between Natalie and Richard
--of Richard's jealousy, anger and callousness
--Matt's deference and passivity towards Frank
--of Ruth's critical and doting nature towards both Matt and Frank (propelling both to react to her "demands" either obliging or resisting them)
--of Natalie's indecisiveness and unwillingness to involve the police regarding Richard's violence and invasion of her space
--of the clash between all these different individuals and motives and personalities
--of the legal system's inability to adequately address the problem of domestic violence embodied by Richard
This movie is also an excellent study in action (Richard, Matt, Frank) and inaction (passivity by Natalie, Ruth and the law).
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So, all it showed was right after the shot, with Frank and the terrible wound in his face? Did he die quickly afterward?
share