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An interesting thread from the main IMDB board . . .

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mlewisusc:
Just stopped in at the main board a few days ago and saw an interesting thread about the timing of the flashback.  The thing that really caught my attention was the focus on what was/was not/might have been said between Jack and Ennis (mostly from Film, but I suppose Story could fit in here) between Jack's "Damn, you, Ennis" when Ennis is clutching him, and Ennis driving away.

If this is already a thread on here, pardon me and direct me to it!  I'm still not so on top of everything here.

If this was done to death sometime between late November and now on the main board or at Chez Tremblay, I missed it - and while I admit the possibility, I find it unlikely.

Third disclaimer: I'm going to copy a post, with the poster's IMDB screen name, here.  If this is impermissible for some reason, would one of the lovely moderators gently tell me so?  Thanks gang, as always I am really interested in your thoughts.  Here's the post:

amandazehnder (Wed Apr 12 2006 19:12:48 )   
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whiteorchid32, I agree that Jack mostly looks hurt and frustrated. I'm also quite struck by how pale and worn-out he looks during this scene. In the story Proulx notes that "what they'd said was no news. Nothing ended, nothing begun, nothing resolved." And, that they managed to "torque things almost to where they had been..." And, this is the sense that I got in the film too. They would go back to the status quo.

I'm increasingly convinced that the importance of the timing of the flashback has to to with positioning Ennis's last line in the flashback "see you in the morning" as the last line of dialogue that we actually hear between Jack and Ennis (even though it's out of sequence in the actual chronology of the film). Unbearably bittersweet and ominous.

So what really go me about this was the fact that the last line of dialog we hear between Ennis and Jack is Ennis' "see you in the morning," unless, like I sometimes am willing to entertain, we take Ennis's final "Jack, I swear . . ." as a line of dialog between them . . .

Ellemeno:
Hi Mark,

The person who wrote these good pearls of wisdom is here at BetterMost as atz75, so you can ask her (Amanda) how she feels about it, if you want - and I would also recommend going through and reading her other insightful posts here.

I'm not sure if there is a BetterMost poilicy about posting something like this, or what 'netiquette' would say.  My initial thought is that it was posted on a public forum, and then reposted by you on a public forum, so no problem.

Also want to say, I'm so glad you are here, I've been looking forward to you jumpin' in!

Clarissa

RouxB:
I went back and looked for the thread but couldn't find it. Did you copy the entire thing of just the OP? I'd love to read the whole thing.

 O0

Aussie Chris:
This is interesting to think about.  Myself, each time I watch this scene and the next (D E C E A S E D) I'm not thinking about what was/wasn't said, I'm just too hung up on the devastation.  But lately I have started to "fill in some of the blanks" in my own way.  My current thought with this particular one is that there is an uncomfortable silence, followed by a brushing off of the dust, wiping of eyes, and then Ennis stoically and silently returns to his truck...  Jack's expression as Ennis drives off suggests to me that there wasn't much else said, not even "...November then".

RouxB:
I've never really tried to fill in that gap but as I've been sitting here thinking about it, I believe there was some conversation between them before Ennis left-some reconcilation. I've always viewed the flashback as Jack's reminder to himself that Ennis does love him and will always "be back in the morning" and he uses that memory to keep himself going. I see that look on his face as Ennis drives away as a the realization that things will not change and his acceptance of that unhappy fact. The great debate over was he leaving or not-never in any of my viewings did I ever see that lake scene as Jack's final straw or decision to leave Ennis-I saw it as quite the opposite.

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