She became the woman she had to be, a cruel and efficient intellect forever tied to the filthy heroes of her childhood. She always loved LaBeouf, she never forgot the curls of his hair. And Cogburn was god's instrument and worthy of enduring low company to visit, even after death. The time she lived into never equaled the men she new as a child, and her will never bent. Even the flesh of her limbs was an afterthought hardly missed.
Mattie wasn't a finished character until you saw the woman she became. It was a lonely world, and the only order or justice it afforded was what determined minds took for themselves, whether it was the lives Cogburn claimed with his pistols or the bones Mattie saw properly interred decades later.
The coda underlined the whole substance of that film.
Glad to see some good opinions in this thread. Don't know why people gave you shit for this post, because you are spot on man!
Thanks. I was too awkwardly florid in the way I wrote that, I think.
When she was 14, being aggressive and getting what she wanted, she was in the position of being a surprise to people. Continuing that personality into adulthood, she wouldn't be seen by the men in the world around her as a surprise, she'd be treated as a harpy.
Also, if she was that good at getting her way, and continued that on into adulthood, everything would always be about her, and that would drive most everyone else away.
So, she'd be avoided by men as a shrew and avoided by people in general as someone who always had to have everything her way. Spinsterhood seems inevitable.
Add to that the fact that it is unlikely any men would ever have equaled Cogburn or La Beouf to her. I think Cogburn replaced her father and she was in love with La Beouf (I mean, come on - decades later when she thinks of him the first thing that comes to her mind is his curly hair? She had it bad for that guy) - I'm sure every man that came after them just failed to pass as far as she was concerned. And she didn't have a personality that could accept second best from anyone.
If she hadn't been bitten by the snake, she would have traveled back to town with both of them and I am sure La Beouf would have figured out a way to marry her. That is the way they were inclining. But the snakebite changed everything. They had to leave La Beouf behind. He couldn't wait out her recovery (probably had no reason to believe she would recover), and so he left, and she never saw him again.
Had she not tried to get herself out of the pit, had she waited for help, she would have been rescued and might have had a less bleak future. But she couldn't ever put that kind of trust in anyone else. She couldn't let go. She always had to do everything herself. So she tries to get the knife, disturbs the snakes, and in that unpredictable accident the whole course of her life is derailed.
So I think that's what the ending was about. That these heroic stories, with their trajectories, never actually go the way you want them to, and the world is built by people who will themselves forward, often against their own health and happiness. And nobody can really understand them, except other people who have lost everything by enforcing their will on a world that doesn't care.
I mean, it's like the second and third Dune books, that most people find disappointing. The first one ends on a high point with the messiah's victory. The next two describe all the ways in which depending on a messiah ruins civilization. The story of how that happens is the point, it's a little depressing by design. But you don't have the whole picture if you stop at the triumph. After that, there is always something worse.
She got her justice. She had to be the kind of person who demanded justice even if it meant a less comfortable or happy life in order to get it, and she got it. Cogburn was like that too. There weren't any others like them, not that either of them ever found. That seems like the correct ending to me.
"A boxing drama set in the near-future where 2,000-pound robots that look like humans do battle."
Honestly they should just say it is the film adaptation of One Must Fall -because that is exactly what it looked like
Also it stars Hugh Jackman
the only bad thing i could find about real steel that might make me hate it is
it stars hugh jackman
how are you gonna hate on hugh jackman
explain to me what you like about hugh jackman
he is delightful, polite, funny, dead sexy and really enjoys what he does - like all the time
he can sing and dance like a motherfucker
the dude radiates happiness
plus when under the correct direction his acting is aces (see: the prestige)
haven't seen the Prestige, so can't agree/disagree about the acting thing
singing and dancing i'll agree with
he is polite and charitable
my problem has always been along the lines of
i honestly think a better actor could play Wolverine
plus Van Helsing honestly enraged me with its awfulness
The counterpoint is of course that while Van Helsing was undeniably shite, Jackman was the best thing in it. At the very least he was memorable.
He's got charisma. Which is often just another bullet point but the man really has charm. Did you see him host the Oscars? Fucker can dance.
Plus you owe it to yourself to watch the Prestige. Quality film.
Basically Jackman works well in those over the top roles, he's a showman. Something garish and brash like Swordfish, utterly ridiculous and only trumped by John Travolta chewing all the scenery in Hollywood.
Posts
you are dead to me
Twister is a given
And I was going to include Next of Kin but didn't
At least Frailty is on there cause it is fucking great
and cj is the dumbest person alive
How many Gary Buseys does it take to equal one (1) Jesse Ventura?
This is the first time I have heard such an opinion in my entire life on god's green earth
Uh-oh I accidentally deleted my signature. Uh-oh!!
i love Predator 2
but it was not even close to the first one
Steam
thats not an opinion. its just words arranged in an order which defies statistics.
I just saw the trailer for real steel
"A boxing drama set in the near-future where 2,000-pound robots that look like humans do battle."
Honestly they should just say it is the film adaptation of One Must Fall -because that is exactly what it looked like
Also it stars Hugh Jackman
Uh-oh I accidentally deleted my signature. Uh-oh!!
Thanks. I was too awkwardly florid in the way I wrote that, I think.
When she was 14, being aggressive and getting what she wanted, she was in the position of being a surprise to people. Continuing that personality into adulthood, she wouldn't be seen by the men in the world around her as a surprise, she'd be treated as a harpy.
Also, if she was that good at getting her way, and continued that on into adulthood, everything would always be about her, and that would drive most everyone else away.
So, she'd be avoided by men as a shrew and avoided by people in general as someone who always had to have everything her way. Spinsterhood seems inevitable.
Add to that the fact that it is unlikely any men would ever have equaled Cogburn or La Beouf to her. I think Cogburn replaced her father and she was in love with La Beouf (I mean, come on - decades later when she thinks of him the first thing that comes to her mind is his curly hair? She had it bad for that guy) - I'm sure every man that came after them just failed to pass as far as she was concerned. And she didn't have a personality that could accept second best from anyone.
Had she not tried to get herself out of the pit, had she waited for help, she would have been rescued and might have had a less bleak future. But she couldn't ever put that kind of trust in anyone else. She couldn't let go. She always had to do everything herself. So she tries to get the knife, disturbs the snakes, and in that unpredictable accident the whole course of her life is derailed.
So I think that's what the ending was about. That these heroic stories, with their trajectories, never actually go the way you want them to, and the world is built by people who will themselves forward, often against their own health and happiness. And nobody can really understand them, except other people who have lost everything by enforcing their will on a world that doesn't care.
I mean, it's like the second and third Dune books, that most people find disappointing. The first one ends on a high point with the messiah's victory. The next two describe all the ways in which depending on a messiah ruins civilization. The story of how that happens is the point, it's a little depressing by design. But you don't have the whole picture if you stop at the triumph. After that, there is always something worse.
She got her justice. She had to be the kind of person who demanded justice even if it meant a less comfortable or happy life in order to get it, and she got it. Cogburn was like that too. There weren't any others like them, not that either of them ever found. That seems like the correct ending to me.
the only bad thing i could find about real steel that might make me hate it is
it stars hugh jackman
Steam
Uh-oh I accidentally deleted my signature. Uh-oh!!
how are you gonna hate on hugh jackman
Uh-oh I accidentally deleted my signature. Uh-oh!!
the bartender, or something
in Streets of Fire
I don't think it's one of his critical roles
explain to me what you like about hugh jackman
Steam
I just like talking about Streets of Fire at any given opportunity
and man you ain't even seen it so you don't know
I have too seen it and I own the goddamned soundtrack!
and I'm about to watch it again!
he is delightful, polite, funny, dead sexy and really enjoys what he does - like all the time
he can sing and dance like a motherfucker
the dude radiates happiness
plus when under the correct direction his acting is aces (see: the prestige)
Uh-oh I accidentally deleted my signature. Uh-oh!!
grey ghost you are okay in my book
but only if you see Detroit 9000
But you've told me repeatedly how not okay I am in your book!
But okay I'll watch Detroit 9000 after I rewatch Streets of Fire
haven't seen the Prestige, so can't agree/disagree about the acting thing
singing and dancing i'll agree with
he is polite and charitable
my problem has always been along the lines of
i honestly think a better actor could play Wolverine
plus Van Helsing honestly enraged me with its awfulness
Steam
Dude knows entertainment.
Steam
The counterpoint is of course that while Van Helsing was undeniably shite, Jackman was the best thing in it. At the very least he was memorable.
He's got charisma. Which is often just another bullet point but the man really has charm. Did you see him host the Oscars? Fucker can dance.
Plus you owe it to yourself to watch the Prestige. Quality film.
Basically Jackman works well in those over the top roles, he's a showman. Something garish and brash like Swordfish, utterly ridiculous and only trumped by John Travolta chewing all the scenery in Hollywood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X1apt6zOa8&feature=related
Uh-oh I accidentally deleted my signature. Uh-oh!!
I wish he'd gotten to make those sequels
Just to see what else he could have done with that world
Also another movie you gotta see is Knightriders.
Okay let me just look this movie up and-
w-what the hell?
I will always love him for coming up with the "wheels" nickname for Professor X
the fact you had to look up what Knightriders is saddens me
Steam