The William Holden-Faye Dunaway romance subplot is trite and irrelevent
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cookiela2001 — 14 years ago(October 05, 2011 04:54 PM)
Well, at least with another character getting that intimate with Dunaway, we get further into the Diana character than if we just saw her at work. If we just saw her in the office and not in her personal life, we wouldn't really grasp that her personal life is sooooooooooooo empty and sterile.
Also, the William Hoilden character isn't really THAT interesting on his ownso if he had even less territory to cover, he'd be really really blank and one-note. -
aidanol — 14 years ago(November 27, 2011 02:55 PM)
I felt that it was to show that even the best of us can be enchanted by someone, or something, that is completely ruthless and self-interested, if it is packaged attractively. It was a metaphor of how TV manipulates us into getting what it wants.
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Errington_92 — 13 years ago(January 16, 2013 07:11 AM)
I think the Max-Diana relationship is meant to be a metaphor for what passes as television entertainment.
I can't say it was a two way metaphor for television entertainment. The metaphor was focused on Diana's attitude being formed from growing up with television. Diana had been desensitised by television to such an extent that she was incapable of real emotion.
"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not". -
BobbyDupea — 10 years ago(May 29, 2015 05:55 AM)
I agree. The romance was important, and casting one of the bad characters as a woman was unusual and and courageous at the time. Holden was seduced by her, just as we are seduced by exciting, shlock tv and popularity, rather than content and quality. Dunaway was an important character as the representative of everything corrupting and destructive about seeking ratings rather than quality - casting a woman in that role was unusual and a good move that dovetailed nicely with the romance/seduction of Holden's integrity and human warmth.
My real name is Jeff -
GuyOnTheLeft — 10 years ago(September 09, 2015 02:19 AM)
Well said. It's the scene of Holden leaving his wife that doesn't quite fit IMO.
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BrianN — 14 years ago(December 02, 2011 10:32 PM)
I believe
most
romantic subplots are worthless, slowing down the plot and wasting time. But it's still Holden & Dunaway, a powerhouse box office draw. The pairing probably pulled in a lot of people who otherwise wouldn't watch a self-reflecting morality tale. -
PlatinumScreen — 14 years ago(December 30, 2011 04:38 PM)
i see your point, but if this romance had not occurred, then we wouldn't have that brilliant response by max's wife when he told her of the affair and later max's equally brilliant words to diana when he left her. those two sections of dialogue were incredible and masterful writing about human emotions
of more importance, however, is if the romance had not occurred, then diana would possibly have not been exposed as a cold, insensitive, less-than-human being outside the confines of her work which adds to the whole theme of the movie. -
sstack-3 — 14 years ago(January 11, 2012 08:03 AM)
Yeah, I think it really showed just how cold and emotionally detached Diana wasand how Max came to the realization that he had mistaken infatuation for love and had hurt those who really loved him in the process. That all set in on him when he and Diana started to live together and I think he realized, too, just how much his friend Howard was being used by these same type of people.
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GuyOnTheLeft — 10 years ago(September 09, 2015 02:16 AM)
But although that scene when he left her was brilliant on its own, it doesn't really fit in this film. I did like the affair subplot otherwise though.
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dlade-1 — 14 years ago(January 11, 2012 02:45 PM)
I would respectfully disagree.
As others here have suggested, I think this subplot fleshes out Diana's character in that we see the dramatic contrast between her work and personal life. It also give us those two great scenes with great dialogue, the ones PlatinumScreen points out.
Finally, I think the Max-Diana relationship is meant to be a metaphor for what passes as television entertainment. It's all about the pleasure of the moment and looking fabulous, but with no substance, value or real emotion. By rejecting Diana and going back to his wife, Max is rejecting all that television has become. His final words as he leaves even reference the eternal mindless churning of television entertainment: "And here are some scenes from next week's show."
Network is one of my favorite movies: masterful acting, masterful writing. -
lgander41 — 14 years ago(March 17, 2012 02:49 PM)
I agree with dlade-1.
It fits into the theme of the movie.
The only thing was that Faye Dunaway shrieks so much that it is hard on the nerves. LOL. Really.
Diana was kind of a fake person. She was a nutcase at times. Then ,she was also cold. -
Naughty-God — 14 years ago(January 20, 2012 03:45 PM)
I thought that it contributed to the movie's brilliance. Both writer and director were able to inject what appears to be a standard romantic subplot into the narrative and weave it as part of the moral fabric that was being deteriorated by commercial television jungle it was portraying.
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iteration2 — 14 years ago(January 26, 2012 03:13 PM)
I thought the romantic subplot was what made the movie, by showing us that behind Diana's enthusiasm for her job, she was a truly cold person, incapable of love and sentimentality. Her enthusiasm for the murder conspiracy would have come completely out of left field if not for us (and Diana) realizing the truth of Max's exit speech in the previous scene.
And speaking of Max's exit speech, wow! Probably the most scathing breakup speech I've ever seen. I loved how her vitriolic commentary on his lovemaking abilities don't phase him, because he knows that it comes from a position of petty anger. His docile rebuttal, coming from a position of love, hurts her so badly because she knows he's right, and realizes just how isolated she really is.
Had the romantic subplot spent any significant time on romance, I might agree that it would be out of place. But as it was, it was a chance to interject some actual truth and human emotion, juxtaposed against the cold world of ratings, ravings, and corporate politics. -
MrVibrating — 13 years ago(July 30, 2012 04:48 PM)
As others have said - the romance was another view on the damaging effect television is having on people - and one people might relate more easily to. I for one wouldn't change a thing.
If dolphins are so smart, how come they live in igloos -
jellric — 13 years ago(August 31, 2012 09:51 PM)
If you think the supposed "sub" plot was irrelevent, then you missed a big chunk of the movie. Human beings, even the most intelligent ones, don't operate in a world of pure ideas and intellect. That is Spock territory. Non-human.
No, this was a very human movie about human beings. I could probably write a book about their relationship, but one thing it did was highlight by contrast Diana's lack of empathy for real human beings. The relationship REALLY shone a spot light on her character like nothing else could. She was talking about ratings during sex, for God's sake.
Go watch the movie again until you GET IT.