Something really dumb about the plot - The Skeleton Key (2005) Discussion

[–] midnightreject 14 years ago

I think they figured it would be so noisy that the kids' parents couldn't hear the record and the chanting. Big house, big party, big noise.

In my world there are people in chains, and you can ride them like ponies.-Vamp Willow

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[–] WizardsMug 14 years ago

Wasn't it absolutely smart to do it on such a night? the kids got killed right after the switch and therefore nobody noticed what had happened.

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[–] JayRene 13 years ago

I think there were 2 reasons they did it that night. The first is the noise, which has already been mentioned. Obviously the record and the commotion would have been heard on an otherwise quiet random night after dinner. The second is the expectation of the children being gone. The children were obviously not welcome at the party, meaning that them being upstairs with Justify and Cecile for several hours wasn't suspicious, but expected. If the children spent a long time with the servants on a normal evening, it would have looked suspicious.

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[–] mama21 8 years ago

Also, having a house full of witnesses and participants in the 'servants' murder means no one will investigate their death or anything about the events of that night. Important respected people were there and partook of the hangings. It became a non- event because it was such a scandal.

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] yoonus01 13 years ago

Another possible explanation is that Cecile & Justify expected the mob justice to be swift so the kids could not even speak.

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] JayRene 13 years ago

They don't have to be scared into it, they just have to believe one way or another. I can imagine that it wouldn't be that hard to make young kids who had grown up in a very superstitious area believe in magic. It might not have been done in one night, but it could have very well been done in a way that the kids weren't scared.

I don't think that any of this is a plot hole. Just because we didn't see every second of the kids' interactions with Cecile and Justify leading up to the switch doesn't mean that something is off. Someone mentioned that a prequel to this movie focusing on Cecile and Justify's life would be good, and I kind of agree. But until then, just accept that this is one of those movies that doesn't spoon feed you every detail.

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] triumphirs 13 years ago

This is a glaringly real problem in the plot. The 2 servants would have been way too busy tending to guests, food, liquor, etc. during the party to be able to get away unnoticed & if they did get away the home owners would have started looking for them LONG before they started looking for the kids. No other servants were shown or mentioned. Perhaps a better scenario is that the man of the house was away hunting with a group of men & his wife "had the vapors" & was "taking her ease" & the hunting group returns to find the children & the servants conjuring away. Makes the hanging scene more realistic with just men hunters & no women. Would that many women allow a hanging? And of a woman too?

Another plot problem is the transfer of the lawyer into Ben. Would a white lawyer believe in Hoo-doo? Even if he is from New Orleans? The movie mentions that the person being transferred had to believe in Hoo-Doo, that's why they waited until Caroline believed in it.

As info, the bones mobiles that Caroline keeps running into at the gas station are made of raccoon penis bones.

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[–] saintslfc13 13 years ago

It's entirely possible that a white lawyer believes in Hoodoo, even more so if they're from New Orleans. Hoodoo is basically American folk magic, it has as many European (particularly dutch oddly enough) roots as it does Indian and African. Now him being a lawyer might mean he's not as inclined, but believing in the laws of the land doesn't preclude you from believing in the supernatural. Sure if he was a medical doctor or psychologist/psychiatrist you might have a point, but not a lawyer. You also have to remember he's southern, which means he's probably religious or at the very least a non-denominated believer, it is the bible belt after all, and us believers tend to recognize that there are supernatural means of getting things done, we're just not suppose to use them.

Regarding your first point, they probably had a rather large staff if they're hosting parties, but it seems that those two servants in particular had the respect of the other ones and therefore the owners would probably want to talk to them more often so they could be the managers if you will, especially the male as gender roles were still a huge deal back then, more so than they are now.

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[–] jeremygordonmarch 13 years ago

Now him being a lawyer might mean he's not as inclined, but believing in the laws of the land doesn't preclude you from believing in the supernatural. Sure if he was a medical doctor or psychologist/psychiatrist you might have a point, but not a lawyer. You also have to remember he's southern, which means he's probably religious or at the very least a non-denominated believer, it is the bible belt after all, and us believers tend to recognize that there are supernatural means of getting things done, we're just not suppose to use them.

As a lawyer myself, let me try to field this one:

In my experience, and in my opinion, the most important thing the legal profession teaches its students and members is logical reasoning - drawing analogies, picking apart faulty arguments, etc. But logical reasoning doesn't preclude someone from believing in the supernatural or from taking certain things on faith. (I've taken on faith things that my clients told me were true, only to sometimes later find out that they were lying.) Although some lawyers are "non-believers" (see the next paragraph), lawyers who "believe" have a whole range of religious/spiritual beliefs. I've known Orthodox Jewish lawyers, born-again lawyers, lawyers who believe in Kabbalah, etc. If Luke was religious or even superstitious to begin with, it wouldn't have been so hard to get him to accept the idea that Hoodoo actually works.

True, some lawyers *do* insist on seeing "proof" for every little thing before they believe it. At the end of the film, Justify mentioned that they had a very difficult time getting "the lawyer" (i.e., the "original" Luke) to believe in Hoodoo - almost as difficult a time as they had getting Caroline to believe. Even if Luke was one of *those* lawyers, however, I am sure that Cecile and Justify (who he knew as his clients Violet and Ben) could readily have "proved" to him that Hoodoo was real - say, when he saw the images of Justify, Martin, and Ben successively appear in the mirror.

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[–] maryswake 13 years ago

At first I agree, how can the servants (seemingly the only ones present) be away for the "exchange" during such a huge party- but I realize, perhaps they ducked out later on, while the drinks were heavily flowing or towards the end of the evening, as stated when guests were on their way out and decided to make a game out of finding the children.

As for the choosing of a "white southern lawyer", I think when things start to mess with a person's head, much less belief system, you tend to believe, even if it is out of fear and unknowing. I think any one can be susceptible to such "belief" when in the face of fear, no matter what profession. We've seen many movies about priests and nuns, for instance.

As for the lynching, hanging, burning etc, that was totally plausible. I'm surprised, they weren't shredded. I have heard and read vicious stories of like ignorance and hatred of back in the day. It happens today, still.

My thing and maybe I am missing a simple thing here, but why did they have to keep Ben alive? Since they had him drugged up and paralyzed could they not just have him die whether it by accident or medically or even through Hoodoo assisted nature? Don't tell me they fear being "found out" or raising suspicion with all the hell that would have been raised with the ambulances, police report, etc. Dispatch would have recorded whatever was said on the phone... (can't remember if Caroline mentioned to dispatch what was going down at this second.)

Also, I wonder if Caroline was able to get the picture of her and her father... NOW THAT WOULD BE a wicked way to start a sequel as well, in addition to the device of having the drugs wear off Ben and Violet. Plus, if an investigation were to be made, what the hell is with the bruises and marks on.. well every one!? Also, why would the lawyer be there? Don't tell me the ambulances/cops arrival allowed enough time for the scene and folks to be cleaned? (Of course, that only saying IF an investigation were to be done... later?)

Regards,
Mary

It ain't whatcha write, it's the way atcha write it. - Kerouac Jack

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] yellowstar 8 years ago

I think keeping "Ben" alive allowed them a pretense to find a new body for Cecile, in the form of a live-in caretaker. As both Justify and Cecile have new bodies in the end, they'll probably be looking for a way to kill off both "Violet" and "Ben."

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] Chili_Peppers 13 years ago

It was actually very smart for them to perform the ritual on that night.

a) the parents would be busy so it'd be easy to get the kids.
b) the racist guests would cause a commotion and not even think twice about lynching Cecile and Justify.

"This isn't a thimble, it's Turkish nipple armor."

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[–] brautigan-126-784250 12 years ago

Oops, you messed up and looked stupid. It was a brilliant plot point of a brilliantly plotted story.

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[–] moosefeathers 12 years ago

Why do so many people look to find plot holes in this movie. A movie such has this had to be well thought out and it's many layers do confuse. After seeing this in the movies me and my buddy on the way home were discussing all the points made in the movie and trying to see if we figured it right.

this movies does deserve more than one viewing, though.

Swing away, Merrill....Merrill, swing away...

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[–] ricky_says_hi 9 years ago

Cecile and Justify would most certainly not be the only servants in such a big house. Given that Cecile was known as 'Mama Cecile', it's likely that her job was to look after the children. Many rich white southern children had a 'Mammy' - a black maid who attended them and usually had more authority than other house slaves. I'm not sure what Justify's position was but he was probably a valet or butler. The food and drink being laid out was usually done by footmen, who ranked lower than valets. If Justify was the butler, all he had to do was order the footmen to go about their business and then he could conveniently disappear for the rest of the night. With Cecile being the children's Mammy, she would be expected to keep them occupied for the night - lower ranking maids helping with food and drink. More superficially, everyone was drinking heavily and having a good time. So there wouldn't be too many people suspicious about who was serving.

As other posters have mentioned, they might have picked the party because it was the best chance to both hide the sound of the record and keep the children hidden away without making anyone suspicious. And they didn't know that the spell would work. So the party also gave them plenty of time to clean up after themselves just in case it didn't.

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