MovieChat Forums > Maniac (2013) Discussion > Do you think Frank was actually gay?

Do you think Frank was actually gay?

posted 10 years ago by jakethegreat101
13 replies | jump to latest

It's really not too far-fetched at all once you think about it. For example, he always feels uneasy when a girl he's with mentions relationships, and gets nervous. When he goes to fool around with a woman, he never follows through, as if something inside is stopping him. The only real reason Frank gets with women anyway is because of their hair. Also another little piece of symbolism that I think might relate to this is him hiding in the closet as a little boy, hence, being a closeted homosexual. In addition to that, at the very end of the film Frank is shown lying dead in the closet, implying that he never truly came out of the closet. Thoughts? Opinions? Other symbolism you may have picked up on? Leave it all below, people.

[–] frederickgfx 10 years ago

I got the impression that was an underlying theme. He was obviously very uncomfortable in sexual situations with women, and his entire approach to a "relationship" was so incredibly unnatural. I mean he had to literally turn them into mannequins, and wanted to marry the first girl he had any sort of feelings for.

I'm not sure if that's what they were going for, but it definitely did seem like there were more than a couple hints towards him being gay. The most obvious being the scene where Nora's bf called him out on it. That led him to examine himself in the mirror, and I have to say he was looking pretty darn gay in that moment. Also his general discomfort of mirrors and the hallucinations of himself as a mannequin seemed to imply that he was uncomfortable with who he was as a person. We weren't given any reason to think he was unhappy with his physical appearance. But then again... sex was never really a factor for him, and they did suggest sexual ambiguity with the shot of his blank midsection.

Who knows. Maybe I'm completely misreading him. Either way I thought he was a very interesting character. I found myself relating to him in the whole socially awkward / panic attack aspect, which made the movie that much more unsettling to watch. This one's definitely going to haunt me for a while.

[–] mercury4 10 years ago

How was he gay if he was in love with Anna? No, he wasn't gay. *beep* up maybe. Crazy, homicidal, psychopathic, sick, and scarred. But not gay. Did you see the original? Was he gay in that? No. Did you see the scene in the remake where it looked like he was going to have sex with Anna? Watch the movie again.

[–] Reallusion1 10 years ago

No, he was obviously attracted to women.

[–] MissDeLarge 10 years ago

If he was gay he would have killed men instead.
Plus, he redhead is giving him a blow so he was into it.

[–] rascal67 9 years ago

If he was gay he would have killed men instead.
Plus, he redhead is giving him a blow so he was into it.
_________________
Why would he have killed men instead? Due to how disturbed he was and having a mother who didn't know how to be a mother, his sexuality was irrelevant to how the most important female in his life treated him and f<>ked him up. Does it upset you too much, to think of someone being gay as a genuine and real sexuality? Ok, lets say that Frank isn't gay, but Elija Wood is. Now ponder on that for a while.

Exorcist: Christ's power compels you. Cast out, unclean spirit.
Destinata:💩

[–] pennilayne 10 years ago

If you think he is gay you're missing the entire point of this film. He feels extremely uncomfortable about sex and women because his mom was a horrible mother, and was a hooker and many many times he had to watch his mom have sex with many different men. Do you know how scarring that can be for a child? She chose drugs and sex over being a good mom and didn't even care when she realized Frank was in the house or room watching and able to see. So any sexual feelings he had for women he felt ashamed about, and that whole experience with his mom is what makes him that angry in the first place, especially towards women, and he's angry and confused and uneasy about sex. Just like any other guy his age, he has those feelings and wants to act out on them but whenever he has those feelings he gets sensations of shame and rage. Because of his mom. They made that pretty clear with the flashbacks of is mom and when he got his mom and he was asking her why she always chose them instead of him. And he said "hair is the only thing on the body that lasts forever" He told his mom he wasn't going to kill her he was going to "keep her" Well obviously he was going to kill her because at that point that's all he knew how to do and he was so crazy, but he wanted to keep her forever for himself. But he did fall in love with Anna, and took her head/hair to keep her forever too. He wasn't gay.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] tfrazier 10 years ago

I don't think he was gay, but I kind of got the impression that one of the reasons he was so messed up was that not only did his mother have sex with guys in front of him it seemed she also might have molested him, or there was some type of incest. They made innuendo at the end about that.

[–] BobCH88 9 years ago

I think you're gay, jakethegreat.

[–] LordManhammer 9 years ago

You're simplifying the movie way too much if you try to force Frank into hetero/homosexual categories, or try to resolve his problems by saying he was repressing homosexuality

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Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!"--Pres. Merkin Muffley

[–] andyd-1 9 years ago

that didn't come across to me - why was he building female mannequins as imaginary GFs if he was gay? It doesn't really stack up!