MovieChat Forums > Hollywoodland (2006) Discussion > Excellent film, but what's with the taro...

Excellent film, but what's with the tarot cards?

posted 18 years ago by legate
14 replies | jump to latest

This is a great, moody, period film-noir/character detective.

I didn't get the tarot cards which were at every bullet hole in the bedroom where Reeves died. There were even cards near the holes on the floor, which were covered by a rug and had reportedly not been discovered yet. What gives?

So we are presented with three alternate ways for Reeves to have died, none of which explain all the evidence. The ending suggests that he did indeed commit suicide (with Louis looking an the "demo tape" Reeves recorded). But that doesn't explain the bullet holes on the floor. Given that the cards were under the rug, even the girlfriend shooting the floor doesn't quite explain that.

Maybe we're not meant to find out.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] abbysomething 18 years ago

The cards were placed by Toni Mannix. Allen Coulter (director) chose not to reveal who left them, because Simo wouldn't have known either.

The purpose of the film is not to suggest any one answer but rather, to submit several senarios of what MAY have happened.

[–] legate 18 years ago

I see, I must have missed that with everything that was going on. I just thought it was odd since I've never heard of someone doing that.

It's still strange though; Toni must have known about the holes in the floor then, and it makes no sense that she should leave prayer cards there if they had nothing to do with the murder/suicide. Then again, maybe she discovered them by accident and just assumed they were related.

I understand the purpose is to leave you wondering and thinking, which is exactly what I'm trying to do ;) I don't think that the evidence fits all the scenarios equally, but I'll have to rewatch the film to make sure.

[–] peachtripper 18 years ago

the weren't really tarot cards tho. they were Catholic, of angels. right?

[–] abbysomething 18 years ago

Yes, they were saints.

[–] smith-684 18 years ago

Weren't they those little cards, nowadays laminated, that you may take at a funeral? It usually has a picture of a saint, the name of the deceased, and the dates of birth and death, with a prayer on the back. Maybe they were from his father's funeral? :O

[–] rlan1969 18 years ago

These weren't tarot cards. They were prayer cards. Toni Mannix was a devout Catholic and I believe that this was the author's way of making you think that she may have been responsible for the death, however I believe, that the placement of the cards was a factual event. Most people in the "know" about the event, believe that Toni Mannix was responsible and lived to regret her action.

[–] parsleylion 18 years ago

Yes they were mass cards or some kind of devotional emblem associated with Catholic worship but that still doesn't explain what they were doing there. Nor why Simo picked up one on the lawn towards the end of the picture. so put the cards there, how and why? it's not explained in the film.

[–] normfromga1 17 years ago

While Toni, her husband, the detective, and several other key people were probably Catholic, that does not necessarily implicate anyone to the crime. After all, one of the policmen said that the prayer cards were not on top of the bed when they arrived, meaning that they had to have been placed after the police arrived, while I am sure Toni would not have been able to sneak in unnoticed.

As to the bullet holes in the floor matching the proposed scenarios, there was no evidence, apparently, that they were of recent vintage, or even of the same caliber as the Luger, and, disregarding the cards, may not have been relevent to George's death.

[–] Enrique-8 13 years ago

You don't have to be Catholic to get prayer cards at funerals.

Enrique Sanchez

[–] jah/dc 13 years ago

How could they have been paced there by Toni Mannix? She was out of the picture by then. The ones under the rug could --possibly-- have been placed there at another time, but it seems odd to include them in the story for no particular reason. Also, it looked like they were thumb-tacked down over the holes?

Those cards were the only thing that didn't make sense to me.

Toni killing him was not one of the three scenarios explored in the film, so it seems unlikely that they were supposed to express her regret over killing him . . .

[–] jejozi 12 years ago

lol They weren't Tarot cards, but catholic prayer cards.

This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.

[–] Jonny_B_Lately 10 years ago

They weren't tarot cards, they were cards depicting the Virgin Mary. Since Eddie & Toni Maddox, as well as George Reeves were all Catholic, this does make some sense.

Watta ya lookn here for?