Possible spoilers in here, be warned
-
toybooy — 19 years ago(November 25, 2006 11:18 PM)
Saw the movie when it first came out, and have just watched again on dvd. I agree that Willy wanted to make a statement to his former boss, in effect robbing him of his revenge by being cool at the point of death. (Possibly also he may have believed he could somehow kill Corrigan and escape). This would explain why he got upset.
However, it is clear that Braddock's plan all along was to kill Willy and Myron before crossing the border, he had the backpack and disguise all ready. He wouldn't want a loose unit like Myron around.
Wasn't quite sure why Braddock let Maggie live. This directly caused his own demise, perhaps he saw a real spirit in her he admired, and having had the discussion with Willy, didn't care that much whether he lived or died himself.
Cool movie. -
Nomad-1968 — 19 years ago(January 03, 2007 05:05 AM)
The novelization makes a clear reference to the fact that Braddock has enlisted Myron's help with the intention of killing him when the Willie Parker job is completed. Myron has been brought along as a very disposable assistant - he was instructed by Braddock not to let anyone back in the UK know where he was going (ie to Spain).
I agree with toybooy about Braddock's decision to let Maggie live - I think it is because she has shown 'spirit' that he doesn't kill her. He could have 'taken care' of her when they went to the garage station for petrol or even earlier after he killed the Australian in the apartment. Once he is dead there is no real reason to take Maggie along.
Maybe Willie was right all along - maybe the job was getting Braddock down. -
joe-1001 — 15 years ago(July 29, 2010 08:54 PM)
While struggling with Maggie the pistol was fired into the air. Right after he knocker her out Braddock says 'You lucky girl.'. I took that to mean he ran out of bullets and since she was now unconscious he would let her live. He planned to be over the border and on his way before she would have awoken and walked to the nearest house/business/etc. Of course one could argue that he could have located Myron's pistol that he threw down the hill but he seemed to be in quite a hurry to get over the border. He knew the police were closing in quickly.
-
PhoenixRising1980 — 16 years ago(October 05, 2009 04:30 PM)
Well if you notice, Willie sings the song "We'll meet again" several times during his capture, the same song the betrayed gang sings to him in the court room at the beginning
that's the biggest clue that he wanted to killed in front of his old bosshe's cool about dying, as long as it's in front of his former boss and he gets to spite him by not being afraid. He's been anticipating it all along, that's why he kept singing that song. -
super312 — 16 years ago(August 26, 2009 10:21 PM)
If you were to break it down like that I think you would have to say that the Australian was Denial, and Willie was Bargaining.
The Australian said he hadn't read the newspaper, that he didn't know Braddock was on a job. He denied knowing anything.
Willie is the bargainer, that is the whole reason he is wanted dead. They ask him why he turned his friends in and he said it is because he got a really good deal.
You could make the argument Maggie is anger.
I don't think the characters display only one trait, I think they all display different traits at different parts of the movie. Good comment by parze. -
Demarates — 15 years ago(April 27, 2010 04:18 AM)
Stamps character was all about faade. Yes, he had had time to prepare for the moment and yes, he was playing the part. Up to a certain point, but then when death became tangible instead of some future possibility, he showed his true colours. He was scared.
Now compare this to how John Hurts character faces his end. He is the true existentialist here, prepared to accept the consequences of his actions, not Stamp.
Smiling is for the weak. -
elgatony — 15 years ago(July 04, 2010 03:34 PM)
I saw this in a much simpler vein. Willy was simply biding his time trying to get Myron to kill Braddock by suggesting the latter was unstable, etc. Perhaps Willie WAS ready to face his ex boss and die in Paris but he was also trying to patch together some sort of getaway. The moment Braddock alters the plan and says "it IS tomorrow" etc, Willie reacts the way anyone would when realizing he has just run out of time and the outcome being unexpected. Myron doesn't even get the chance to help. This fits in with Terence Stamp's own assessment from the previous poster.
Gene(points at his arm pit:Get a waft of that,man stink. See if that doesn't moisten your gusset! -
phil-960 — 15 years ago(July 24, 2010 08:27 PM)
Do not forget that he had the opportunity to escape, that he did all but escape, but waited for them to come get him. In this light he comes off as a by the numbers sort, one who wants things to proceed as they are ordained to proceed. Irregularities are not tolerated well.
-
olstan — 14 years ago(September 10, 2011 09:24 AM)
there were clearly religious implications. stamp was dressed all in white - remember when he stood on the hill in front of the waterfall and hurt looked up to him? later, on the other hill it was like jesus on the mount of olives. stamp is wearing a blanket. jesus was prepared for death but when dawn broke he panicked. jesus was afraid of "tomorrow" too.
-
horrorshowmovie — 14 years ago(September 11, 2011 09:10 PM)
When I saw the movie a few years ago, my first thought was that he had spent 10 years (or whatever it was) preparing for his death. He was at peace with it, as long as it worked out exactly as he imagined. What made him panic at the end was the sudden change of plans.
I think the important message is that you can't beat that fear of death, even by being prepared. In the end, he's just a mammal and he's programmed to fight against his death.
The whole thing is similar to the ending in Breathless. The guy is calm at first, and rationalizes his fate. But he eventually panics (when presented with reality) and is killed. -
trdemings — 13 years ago(May 20, 2012 06:04 AM)
This is discussed in the Commentary feature of the film. The director wanted to put two real life elements into the film. One being the scene where the guys in the gallery start singing "We'll Meet Again" and then the other was Stamp getting upset about his revised execution date. The Commentary said this was based on a Civil War incident where the man to be executed was very calm and cool but when his execution time was moved up a couple of hours it unnerved him and he lost his cool. So, it wasn't so much that he wanted to go to Paris, but that his day of execution changed.