I found another pair of "bookend" scenes in the movie. I wonder if anyone else sees it this way. There is a corollary to the Ennis and Alma Thanksgiving scene and it's not the Childress T-giving. It's when Randall and Jack are sitting on the bench waiting for their wives to "powder their noses." In this scene, Jack is uncomfortable, just like Ennis is sitting at Monroe's table. Both scenes portray a confused exchange of words. Ennis's girls want him to be a rodeo star, and he tells them he is far from one. Jack wonders why women would "powder their noses" just to go home and go to bed. Shortly after, the women appear and it is eminently clear why they were "powdering;" it was a chance to gossip about their husbands and continue their exploration of what all they have in common, which they are finding to their dismay, is quite a lot. The nut of the two scenes is when a seemingly innocent comment mushrooms all out of proportion. Jack says, You'll like working for Roy Taylor, which inspires Randall's quiet seduction sequence...crappy house...lake...fish a little...drink whiskey. During this, we see that Jack has a fearful, anxious look, but also the cinematography is a mirror image of the Ennis/Alma Thanksgiving scene, with Jack in the foreground, out of focus, and the accuser (Randall) in the midground, sharp. And in both of the scenes, the spouses are away.
