So the real horror is…
…the three levels of sexism in all men?
Nah the horror is that because some guys like the 3rd guy exist, when women run into a guy like the 1st one in the conditions like the ones depicted in the film, they HAVE to assume for their own safety that he *could* possibly be like the 3rd guy, even when he's not.
When in fact most guys are probably closer to being like the 2nd guy, grey areas and all.
Most guys are rapists? Really? Your attitude is worse the movie’s.
shareHi there friend,
I understand your reaction, but it's not what I said or think, because I don't think that's what the film shows.
I don't think one can be sure, watching the film, that the character played by Justin Long is actually a rapist.
(please pardon the long reply...).
The film shows three male archetypes :
1) The Bill Skarsgard character who, although he looks creepy as hell and whom Tess is really suspicious of at first, is in fact an all-around decent and kind man who respects women.
2) On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Richard Brake character whom women don't notice and let into their home but is in fact a psychopathic serial rapist and killer.
3) And somewhere between these two polar opposites, in the grey (and therefore most interesting) area, is Justin Long's character who:
- Is ACCUSED of having sexually assaulted a work colleague (whom the film hints COULD possibly be a manipulative woman out for extortion or revenge, we don't know for sure: after all, the first act of the film is precisely there to remind the audience not to judge on appearances).
- Is definitely not subtle with women and even a bit callous, as seen in the night club flashback (more a character flaw than a crime).
- Is a coward (he throws Tess, whom he thinks is dying anyway, off the tank's roof to save himself).
BUT:
- The second act is shown from his point of view and he genuinely seems surprised, angry and scared about the rape allegations (who would he be acting for, when he’s not on the phone?).
- He does help Tess escape, even after he shots her by mistake and even after he's thrown her off the roof: he's definitely not a hero or even a likeable guy, but he is acting under extreme duress (his whole world is crumbling down around him as he is being "cancelled", he's been abducted by a monster, and he just witnessed a suicide by gunshot to the head) and nothing in the film allows us to know for certain that his motivations are evil or that he is indeed a rapist.
Of all three men, Long's character is the most realistic one and therefore the one most men are likely to recognise something of themselves in. He's not incredibly handsome, charming, resourceful and kind like Skarsgard's character, and he's not a monster like Brake's character, because very few men are either of these things.
Most men (and women for that matter) are complex, make wrong choices and bad decisions, are sometimes scared and act irrationally under pressure, fail to hold themselves to their own standards, are unclear about their motives (which can even be unclear to themselves), misunderstand others and are misunderstood, etc. Most men are neither prince charming nor monsters, but a variation of the (maybe sometimes unlikeable but certainly not unrelatable to) Justin Long character.
Would you agree more with that, friend?