Our BetterMost Community > Chez Tremblay
Ennis, Cassie and the Twists (revised title)
TJ:
--- Quote from: DavidinHartford on May 11, 2006, 11:58:11 am ---Hi Jude,
Consumated you mean? Yeah, he did. Remember he told Jack he was "Putting the Blocks" to her.
Now I'm taking a guess, but isn't that a cattle reference?. Don't they put a cow in blocks so the bull can come up behind and impregnate her?
--- End quote ---
"Putting the blocks to" is related to inspecting the chassis of a vehicle. It is not a cattle reference.
I have never seen anyone put a cow on blocks to be serviced by a bull. I have known about blocks being put behind a large mare when they wanted her to be serviced by a prize stallion which was much shorter.
I believe the used the name "Cassie" as a word play on "chassis" which is pronounced 'chassie." From the way that I read the Annie Proulx (AP) short story, I seriously doubt that Ennis got much farther than the "block's part. The relationship never went anywhere and the woman had some problems he didn't want.
In my own opinion of the way that I read the story and the fact that AP wrote in the narrative that they told both truth and lies during their last outing together, the bar girl probably did not exist in the first place. It was Ennis' way of trying to claim to himself in Jack's presence that he was still a man.
And, Jack's response to that part-time bar woman in Signal was the claim that he was having an affair with a rancher's wife and he could get shot for doing it. When "Ennis laughed a little" in response, I think that he did not actually believe what Jack said either. More than likely, it was an insecure laugh to begin with.
I don't think either woman existed in the first place; but, I don't have a way to directly ask Ms. Proulx what was supposed to be going on. I just know that I have known, and still know one guy, who makes up similar stories to claim they are not homosexual or bisexual. And they do have sexual contact with guys and enjoy it.
j.U.d.E.:
--- Quote from: DavidinHartford on May 11, 2006, 11:58:11 am ---Hi Jude,
Consumated you mean? Yeah, he did. Remember he told Jack he was "Putting the Blocks" to her.
Now I'm taking a guess, but isn't that a cattle reference?. Don't they put a cow in blocks so the bull can come up behind and impregnate her?
--- End quote ---
Yes, David! I meant consumated.. ;D :laugh: Sorry, that's my failing English skills... And I haven't actually heard the 'putting the blocks' line at all in the film, but that's me in denial, for not understanding it, I guess. I will watch that scene again! There is one line from Jack, just after Ennis shoots the elk that I have no clue either what it means.. but anyway..
I kind of agree with what TJ says about the women in Ennis' and Jack's life. Not su much that they are 'made up' entirely, but the fact, that nothing has really happened. I don't think for a minute that Jack had an affair with LaShawn(sp?) and in my mind, Ennis did not get very far with Cassie. He just didn't seem at all interested and the way Cassie is whining about 'girls don't fall in love with fun' tells me, that she would have loved to sleep with Ennis, but that it never actually happened.. I think both Ennis and Jack made a lot of their women-affairs up.
~ j U d E
David:
Hi Jude,
I think Ennis may have dated Cassie a while. Remember that conversation betwen her and Alma jr.? She was asking Alma jr. if Ennis thought she was marriage worthy or something to that effect. She knew where he worked and the names of the guys there. I think they did date long enough for her to fall in love with him.
Now, that line you don't understand after the Elk gets shot, that is a hard one to hear. Jack says:" Come on, we don't want Fish and Game to catch us with no Elk".
"Fish and Game" refers to the Officials who go around and make sure nobody hunts and fishes on State or Goverment owned Land. Often refered to as the "Fish and Game Department", they are like Park Rangers. They make sure you have a license to hunt or Fish if they find you.
David
Ellemeno:
--- Quote from: silkncense on May 10, 2006, 05:33:04 pm ---2.) Jack's momentary resolve to end it was broken when Ennis collapsed. I see his refusing to walk away (when it would've been the PERFECT opportunity) as Ennis shoves him & yells, "Get the f... off me!" and instead holding him & saying "Damn you" - like 'I was almost there...'
--- End quote ---
Thanks for this, LJ. I hadn't quite figured that out yet. Great thread, everyone. Thanks.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: latjoreme on May 11, 2006, 12:15:41 pm ---And it must be really icky by then, if it's been sitting open in his fridge since the last time she was over. People who see the movie without reading the story must be surprised -- Ennis doesn't seem the white wine type.
--- End quote ---
Tell you what, Katherine, this bit about the wine is a nifty if relatively unimportant example of why I'm such an advocate of Story to Screenplay, and turning to it to help me formulate my own interpretations and understanding.
I recognized that stuff for white wine the first time I saw the film, and said to myself, "WTF is Ennis doing with a bottle of white wine? Eeeew."
You don't get the wine from Annie Proulx, but here are some of the stage directions for that scene from Story to Screenplay:
"[Ennis] stands. Goes to the fridge, opens it. Takes out a half-empy bottle of cheap white wine, a legacy of CASSIE."
That's where I got that the wine was a relic of his relationship with Cassie.
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