MovieChat Forums > Outlaws and Angels (2016) Discussion > *spoiler for sure* The bounties on the o...

spoiler for sure The bounties on the outlaws

posted 9 years ago by anne-536
12 replies | jump to latest

It seems almost that Henry and Florence had decided that whole end scenario: that she would kill them and turn the heads in for the reward - and, take all the money, too.
Clues: Henry seemed like he was expecting the shot; then Henry shot Joe instead of Florence; the axe was on the mule (what else would it be for?).
The only reason I can see that my deduction works was that Henry was tired of his work, and he mentioned that he lived a long time for an outlaw - and of course, he fell in love with her.
What's your verdict?

[–] jtmollner-443-269020 9 years ago

I'm enjoying your insight. Unique take - and one I haven't heard.

[–] prafull-ambekar 9 years ago

True. Henry and Flo decided the whole end scenario, but she didn't want to keep all the money, or else she would be hunted down. She was going to return the money and collect the 8,000 dollar reward. In the end she does say, The reward money is good, clean coin. That's why the heads of the three outlaws as proof. She is free, rich and a hero. The sweet innocent little kid turned out to be one bad ass.

[–] screenwritersdream 9 years ago

When I saw the ax on the mule I was trying to figure why the outlaws weren't upset with, or wary of, its presence - considering the implication. I deduced Flo had placed it there, knowing what she was going to do.

[–] Dejay 8 years ago

I figured you always can use an axe while trecking for firewood.

[–] teefenn 9 years ago

From the dialogue immediately prior and the look of shock on Henry's face, I don't think he was meant to be complicit in his own murder. It occurred to me at that point that Florence just happened to be a budding psychopath - a sort of female equivalent of 'Dexter' but with a lower threshold on 'who deserves to die', who was just getting started; that was the twist because nobody, including her own family, had recognised her inate compulsion to kill.

If so, then a good sequel could be in the making as Flo unleashes herself on the unsuspecting badest men of the frontier.

[–] anne-536 9 years ago

Then again, there's what the mom does at the church . . .

[–] Dejay 8 years ago

I don't think Henry expected it either. He only shot Joe because he'd still loved her and rather see Joe dead than her. Joe wouldn't grow old anyways.

But I don't think she had a compulsion to kill, she just killed who she had to. If she stayed with Henry, they would be hunted down and she would die early or loose everything. Her mother had to go either to silence a witness, out of revenge for being an accomplice to 4 years of sexual abuse, or just to get the money back to stay rich or clear of the law.

She could be a psychopath though, but that doesn't mean she has a need to kill.

Or maybe you are right, she wanted to kill her sister earlier.

[–] thomas998 8 years ago

Why did she kill her sister? I understood everyone she killed except the sister.

[–] Dejay 8 years ago

Officially she said "because she liked it". Maybe she saw her as an accomplice, maybe even bullying her to not say anything. Or maybe she believed the crazy mother and saw her as a whore of satan and a witch, and thou shalt not suffer a witch to live (I don't think that was her motivation though)

We also see the sister abusing her because she is older and stronger. She punches her in the stomach and sticks her fingers in her throat. Maybe that went on for her whole life. Sister or not, why not kill her if she tormented her? Killing out of rage or anger or necessity make her pretty brutal, but not a psychopath.

And of course the sister was a witness as well. She definitely would have tattled to the lawmen even if she hadn't killed the father.

Really the only way for her to get out of that hellhole of a family was to kill them all.

Otherwise she would have been sold off to some other stinking farmer and continue this life of misery.

[–] thomas998 8 years ago

But she let the mother live.... it just didn't make a lot of sense. It just seemed there was some unknown hatred of her which is fine but the movie should have given it a bit more context than sibling torment... If that was the only justification then half the siblings in the world need to sleep with one eye open.

[–] Dejay 8 years ago

She killed the mother in the end too, we just don't see the shot. I think she let the mother live at first to lull her boyfriend into security so they don't think she is the cold blooded killer that she is. They wouldn't understand.

Yeah today it doesn't make sense. But back then she probably never could have gotten away, she was probably trapped in that life. No child support services or friends, utterly isolated in a hick town and around you a wild and dangerous country.

Imagine you grow up getting sexually abused since before age 11 and imagine the kind of atmosphere it would be to grow up in. A constant fear and repression of talking anything even approaching the topic. The religious spells of epic hypocritical proportions her mother would espout that even forced them to stop eating - while starving... In a life like that you probably would never experience any joy whatsoever except maybe if you manage to sneak off for a little while. But she was trapped. With all of them. Try imagining a life like that.

And her sister was a real mean bitch that was screwed up too. It's likely it went far beyond normal sibling rivalry. Like torture.

That scene where she sticks her fingers in her mouth and makes her throw up? It seemed weird at first but remember they were starving and resorting to eat "cackle berries" (whatever that is). The sister didn't just punch her she stole the food our of her mouth. Expertly done too! She would go hungry for the rest of the day now. Her sister was fine letting her starve.

It's really weird that I'm defending this murderous bloody killing spree lol. But the story does make a lot of sense really, now that I think about it.

PS: Also think about the scene before when the were learning to shoot - her sister insulted her and then she aimed the gun at her. It was a clear warning. But her older sister didn't back down, immediately after that you see her piling on.

TLDR: With family like that, you'd really prefer being orphaned.

[–] MrAmata 8 years ago

She told her mother she wanted to kill her too, but Henry told her not to. And then she came back and killed her at the end, after Henry wasn't around to stop her.

Charlie asked her directly why she killed her sister and she answered "because she liked it". Flo hated her father for abusing them, but her sister liked it. That difference in viewpoints alienated them from each other for years. And her sister was jealous of her when she got attention from their father and bullied her for it, which just made Flo even more bitter - it's not like she wanted the attention. She had plenty of reason to hate her... and maybe partly she wanted to put her out of her misery because she was about to kill their father, which Charlotte would never get over. Don't put it down to simple sibling rivalry - there's a lot more going on when the father is sexually abusing them and one girl likes it. Just try to imagine that.

*spoiler for sure* The bounties on the outlaws

spoiler for sure The bounties on the outlaws