Can't decide whether Chris was putting on an act from the beginning
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vanillainflux — 10 years ago(January 17, 2016 06:19 AM)
i do think that chris is complexed about his background. a poor irish (i think he said irish; must have lost the accent touring the world with tennis) boy who never quite forgets his place. this prohibits him from ever being comfortable with the upper class; which is a pity because you could argue chloe really liked him (or did he just suit her needs for a non-threatening submissive good boy family would approve to have a family with) and they could have had a fulfilling relationship.
i do wonder if we can say that he could 'be himself' with nola because she was lower class. i guess so; since he believes he can never be upper class despite being married into it; he feels he can only truly be himself with someone on his level.
it's a dirty world Reich, say what you want -
Mehki_Girl — 10 years ago(May 17, 2015 07:36 PM)
At the dinner scene, if you listen, his posh accent slips for a second and he stutters a little bit (its when he's talking about the austin martin car he used to care for).
http://www.auplod.com/u/dalpuo430da.png -
Lidinoid — 12 years ago(December 30, 2013 03:41 PM)
I think he planned to get into wealthier classes, you can see him forcing himself to read Dostoyevsky in the beginning and pretending to like opera (he falls asleep every time). It was sheer luck that it worked this way, but the plan was there. I think he never really loved Chloe, but he liked her.
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loisbcuz-1 — 12 years ago(March 17, 2014 08:12 PM)
Good point about him sleeping through the opera that he claimed to love so much.
When interviewed for the tennis instructor position at the club he was told that they had a very exclusive clientele. Something tells me he did his homework on the club before applying for the job, as evidenced by his comment that he took up tennis to better himself.
He came across as expressionless and cold throughout the movie which I think was due to the director's intention to "flesh out" his calculating character.
His previously mentioned offers to pay for a drink or an opera ticket were efforts to look like he really wanted to pay his way when, in fact, he did not. -
lisahelenw — 12 years ago(March 15, 2014 03:31 AM)
Well put! Thing is, you've described why I found it hard to care about the characters. It was as though Allen wanted to create an Alfred Hitchcock film, pre-method-acting "posing" (or whatever the terminology was) included. I couldn't care about Chris or the others for this reason. Where was the motivation? It was more of a fun puzzle than a gripping story. Thanks for this I have utterly no idea and I envy you for caring really!
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kadeskiss — 12 years ago(March 18, 2014 07:05 AM)
Chris was pretending he did care about wealth. But his reason for becoming a tennis coach in the first place was to meet wealthy women in hope of marrying into money. I think one of the reason he started having a affair with Nora was so he can get inside information on the family, since Nora once dated his wife's brother.
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Quicksilver1900 — 11 years ago(September 12, 2014 12:46 AM)
Chris was astute enough to know that he would never be socially accepted by his wealthy clientle unless he paid his way in ways that he could, eg, drinks. Of course, he could not completely pay his way; he had no country house, etc. But rich people know that there are some people that money can't buy because they are independent, and to gain the respect of rich people, you have to seem that way. If you allow others to pay for everything, they will not respect you, and you will not be accepted as an equal.
I think Chris had a definite plan to upgrade himself via connections to a wealthy family. His liaison with Nola was a betrayal of weakness, 'falling off the wagon', as it were. And it snowballed from there, where eventually he felt his only option was to murder her. I do not think he envisaged committing murder when he originally devised his plan. If exposure of his culpability is not threatened, he will not commit further crimes.
Watch Woody's earlier (and many say superior) film
Crimes and Misdemeanors
which has a similar plot. -
Mehki_Girl — 10 years ago(May 17, 2015 07:34 PM)
This is an old post, but for gosh sakes, it was his plan to find some rich woman to marry from the beginning. What better way than to teach tennis at some exclusive club? At the very least, he could have been a kept man of some rich older woman. He boned up on classics and whatnot to fit in, but was clever enough to admit his poor background. If he had appeared too eager of lyining about his background, they would have been suspcious about him and his motives.
http://www.auplod.com/u/dalpuo430da.png -
vanillainflux — 10 years ago(January 17, 2016 06:12 AM)
absolutely. he's leafing through a novel by dostoevsky as well as his biography. i know some people enjoy reading multiple books at the same time; but i think this is a deliberate shot to make us understand he's studying up for the rich. also; insisting on paying shows pride and honesty which are well-regarded traits and make you appear humble.
he seems to need respect socially and is a bit of a loner so i'm not sure being a kept man would fulfil the need for a social circle, status and a family.
it's a dirty world Reich, say what you want -
MandarinOrange — 9 years ago(April 16, 2016 11:51 AM)
Everybody's praising this movie because it shows a poor guy calculating and grovelling his way to the upper class? What's the big deal here? This happens all the time in everyday life. (Except the murders of course)
There are many illogical parts that the movie becomes unbelievable:
He must have dropped a head of hair in the old Granny's place, and none of the cops tried to ask for a sample when he came for the interview!!
The shotgun they could have investigated a bit further to determine it was not a sawn-off and Chris' father-in-law had a similar one.
And him throwing the last ring and it not bouncing over the rail into the river is not down to luck/bad luck. It was carelessness. He had time to carefully dispose ALL the jewelry and pills in the river.
