We watched this movie last week in my film class and my professor asked the class the question "Did Gil really love Ceci
-
janny108 — 16 years ago(November 13, 2009 11:34 AM)
I think Gil was protecting his career more than anything. Sure he found her charming but the bottom line was getting Tom Baxter back in the movie so he could pursue his career.And he "acted" like he was a competitor for Cecelia's affections, gave her reason to believe there was "chemistry" so Tom went back in the picture.
Then next day he "couldn't wait" to get back to Hollywood. I'm sure he did think of Cecilia on the plane though and wondered what if things were differnt. -
ijonesiii — 20 years ago(February 17, 2006 08:41 AM)
I think Gil was extremely flattered by Cecilia's admiration for the movie and I think part of him was harboring some sort of affection for her, but Gil was a typical actorcompletely self-absorbed and no matter what happens in his life his career came first and once Tom went back into the movie, Cecilia had served her purpose and thus the heartbreaking ending of this film.
-
dollygrrl — 20 years ago(March 01, 2006 06:52 PM)
although I would love to believe that Gil really did love her, I'm still stuck with the line he says to her in the same music store. (forgive me if I get the phrasing wrong, my friend still has my copy) "You looked like you really loved her" "Oh, us actors can just turn that stuff on" okay, so he pretty much said that he acts like he's in love all the time. plus th line that you brought up is from a movie he was in, not necessarily any real feelings.
-
renot108 — 20 years ago(March 11, 2006 11:52 PM)
I only watched it last week and I was blown away by it. My heart sank at the final scene. To answer your question, I don't think he loved her. There is absolutely no way in hell you would do that to someone you love. His career and his life back in Hollywood was far more important than she was. In saying that, I do think he felt guilty about leaving her.
-
smirish — 19 years ago(March 14, 2007 10:48 AM)
Have you ever seen Annie Hall where Alvy and Annie are standing in line to go see a movie and the loudmouth film professor in front of them goes on and on about Marshal McLuhan and how his movies are so full of it. Well, Alvy then goes over and pulls the real Marshal McLuhan from behind a plant and McLuhan tells this film prof. how he has no idea about his movies and he's basically an idiot?
Has your film prof seen this scene? -
GunHillTrain — 19 years ago(May 07, 2006 08:45 AM)
Tom Baxter loved Cecilia because it was "written into his character," as he says. The script of the movie within the movie presumes he is the ideal, or "perfect", man, and whatever Cecilia desires in a man is reflected back to her. (Remember the scene in the brothel? There too, Tom has that function for the women around him.)
Gil Shepherd, however, is a real human being, and thus more complex - and he has some flaws. At first he responds to her flattery, flattery based on his movie roles, not the real person, because Celicia doesn't know him except through his films. He is more interested in her opinion of him than in what she is really like.
At the end, I think, he realizes that she could never fit into his life in Hollywood. He may have a guilty conscience about it but, as an actor, he is able to understand the diffence between reality and fantasy better than Cecilia can. -
ghetarr2001 — 17 years ago(December 05, 2008 10:21 PM)
This is exactly the kind of post I was going to make, just 2 and a half years later! I believe that Gil was simply soaking in all the attention, the attention he craved, he had ambitions but felt he was not given the recognition he deserved. When Cecilia gave him the kind of praise he probably had never heard before, he fell "in love" with her admiration for him, but I don't think he actually loved her, he just loved being with her, because she told him what he so desperately wanted to hear.
-
tnilfo — 19 years ago(June 08, 2006 09:55 PM)
I think it's quite simple: Gil probably did fall in love with Cecilia, but this love didn't match the love he had for himself. He likely didn't believe he could continue his Hollywood career with Cecilia at his side, so he had to leave her behind although clearly it wasn't an easy decision.
-
Isaac5855 — 18 years ago(July 12, 2007 07:27 AM)
I don't know what movie you were watching, but Gil didn't love Ceceliahe was doing and saying whatever he needed to do or say to get Tom to go back in the movie. If you think Gil loved Cecelia, I have to wonder if you saw the entire movie.
-
cthomer — 15 years ago(March 03, 2011 12:47 AM)
100% agree. I don't even see how there is reasonable belief that he loved her. If the film was shot from his perspective it would basically be a con-artist heist film. He did whatever he needed to do to get his character back into the film.
Did he feel bad about it? Yeah, it certainly seemed so, but i don't think he had any real feeling for her. -
nypoet22 — 15 years ago(March 07, 2011 04:56 PM)
based on my read of woody allen, i think gil's feelings toward cecilia were left ambiguous or ambivalent, and were meant to be. my thought is that gil couldn't have "fleshed out" tom unless he were a real part of the actor's psyche. thus, whatever part of gil tom came from really did love her, and maybe that's the part he was contemplating on the airplane.
-
suckerdwsp316 — 19 years ago(August 24, 2006 07:10 PM)
deep down, i think he did love her, thats why he was so down on the airplane. however, i think his producers convinced him to leave, plus he probably convinced himself that his career is worth more than some poor broad from jersey.
-
JR541 — 19 years ago(August 26, 2006 09:46 PM)
I doubt that he loved her at all. He certainly may have felt bad about deceiving her but he was more interested in making sure his acting career wasn't ruined.
He's taking the knife out of the Cheese!
Do you think he wants some cheese?