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Least Favorite Character in BBM
Lumière:
The 2 dads (Twist & del Mar) are my top two. Ennis' life was forever shaped by his abusive father. His whole struggle with his sexuality and his love for Jack all go back to what happened in his childhood. Then we come to John Twist, he was a bastard too, but luckily, Momma Twist had so much love and compassion that her son was not permanently scarred by his father's mean ways.
I think Ol' man del Mar is top of my list, followed by John friggin' Twist!
::)
Ellemeno:
Of course Ennis's father is criminal, but I would vote for:
My least favorite character in the movie is Fayette Newsome. I have empathy for most of those others, in one way or another. But a grandmother who can only talk about how many cans of baby formula she brought, when she first beholds her only grandchild, feh. Could you add her to the list?
And those Texas "pissant"-talkers. How crappy to talk about Jack like that in front of his wife.
ednbarby:
That's a good point, Clarissa. However, Fayette redeemed herself in my eyes a tad when she smiled at Jack when he stood up for her daughter at Thanksgiving. The first time he shuts off the TV, before he and L.D. have at it, she flashes a subtle little grin his way as if saying "Thank you."
But if we're talking about people who piss us off for being insensitive, I gotta go back to Jimbo. And really he's more sinister than his little scene allows, because he and his pool-playing buddies are the foreshadowers of what's to come 20 years later. I really wanna smack his smug little face for looking at Jack like that in that bar. Hard.
Ellemeno:
--- Quote from: ednbarby on April 21, 2006, 05:59:48 am ---That's a good point, Clarissa. However, Fayette redeemed herself in my eyes a tad when she smiled at Jack when he stood up for her daughter at Thanksgiving. The first time he shuts off the TV, before he and L.D. have at it, she flashes a subtle little grin his way as if saying "Thank you."
But if we're talking about people who piss us off for being insensitive, I gotta go back to Jimbo. And really he's more sinister than his little scene allows, because he and his pool-playing buddies are the foreshadowers of what's to come 20 years later. I really wanna smack his smug little face for looking at Jack like that in that bar. Hard.
--- End quote ---
I've never noticed that smile, Barb. I'll watch for it next time. That would be redeeming.
As for Jimbo, my take on him has always been that Jack was right about him - that he is gay. But Jack was foolish enough to do his flirting right in front of the bartender, and Jimbo himself felt at risk of being outed and harmed. It always seems like he plays all his lines for the bartender's benefit, to make clear that he ain't queer.
And it looks to me that Ang Lee deliberately made Jimbo's conversation with his pool buddies deliberately ambiguous. You could look at it and see him telling them what Jack had just said, and then you can watch it again, and they are all just talking about any old something innocuous. Very effective. And just the sort of head-messing confusion that gets Ennis so paranoid later on (maybe rightly and maybe needlessly, we never find out).
ednbarby:
--- Quote from: Ellemeno on April 21, 2006, 05:36:35 pm ---I've never noticed that smile, Barb. I'll watch for it next time. That would be redeeming.
As for Jimbo, my take on him has always been that Jack was right about him - that he is gay. But Jack was foolish enough to do his flirting right in front of the bartender, and Jimbo himself felt at risk of being outed and harmed. It always seems like he plays all his lines for the bartender's benefit, to make clear that he ain't queer.
And it looks to me that Ang Lee deliberately made Jimbo's conversation with his pool buddies deliberately ambiguous. You could look at it and see him telling them what Jack had just said, and then you can watch it again, and they are all just talking about any old something innocuous. Very effective. And just the sort of head-messing confusion that gets Ennis so paranoid later on (maybe rightly and maybe needlessly, we never find out).
--- End quote ---
Excellent point about Jimbo, Clarissa. Of course - he is playing all those lines for the bartender (who actually seems quite sympathetic to Jack when he first asks to buy him a beer, I've noticed), isn't he? So many layers. Just like real life, huh? God, I love these people.
And speaking of that, I didn't even notice Fayette's little smile until roundabout my sixth viewing (and first DVD viewing at home). All those times on the big screen, and I never saw it. Maybe because I was so busy watching the color rise up Jack's/Jake's neck to his face and then to his temples as he gets madder and madder at L.D. An understandable distraction. Yes, do watch for it next time - she does it the very first time he shuts it off when he's saying, "Finish your dinner. And *then* you can watch the game." I think it's when he's coming back to the table from doing that, actually, that she looks in his direction and gives him just the tiniest look of approval.
Have I mentioned how much I love all these people?
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