Heya Sister Mod! Thanks for reviving this great old thread. I love this bar scene. I think it's packed with meaning. It's reminds me of Lureen's desk(s), Aguirre's office, and even the cooking utensils that we've been discussing in various threads lately. The background is so cluttered with important details, that I think it's really fun to pick through all these details... and it's much easier with these still images and visual aides.
I'm sure it's mentioned here somewhere already, but I love how the darts behind Ennis's head (the one's I personally like to think of as "cupid's darts") echo the knives that are so prominently featured at the end of the film during Ennis's conversation about Kurt with Junior in his trailer. The darts and the knives are in approximately the same position behind Ennis in each case. In the case of these darts, I like that they're positioned on a door... or a place of transition. Since this is a major turning point/ opportunity for Ennis here at the beginning of his relationship with Jack.
I also wonder a lot about that cow's skull and the rope that are behind and to the left of Ennis in this bar scene. I think of that skull as an ominous sign of all the worries/fears/dark-memories that Ennis carries with him (a sign of complexities to come). But, now I'm wondering what people make of the walking stick or cane that appears to be hung over one of the cow's horns?
In terms of significant things behind Jack in this bar scene... the only thing that keeps striking me is the "ray of sunshine" that he's sitting in. I think of the phrase "sitting on a ray of sunshine" as an expression related to one person falling in love with or becoming smitten with a new "beloved." So, in a way I wonder if this ray of sunshine and the darts are meant to be subtle clues that Ennis really is already falling for Jack (this coupled with his willingness to talk a little bit with him... and to even ask to borrow the lighter).
Can anyone tell what the objects are further beyond the door with the darts towards the back of the room? I can't really tell what some of those objects on the wall are.
This body language really is amazing in slow motion.
