Neil the Cop
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domino_williams740 — 17 years ago(April 12, 2008 03:09 PM)
I think i no the point of Neil. Later on after Maggie speaks to Neil and goes to see him later on she takes a knife with her which later on saves her and Toms life at the end so maybe the point of him was so that Maggie would put that knife in her bag. If he hadnt of been in the film the ending would have been very different if you think about it.
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kingbizzo — 17 years ago(May 05, 2008 09:21 AM)
I think that domino is probably right about the knife thing, but I also think that the Neil character and his scenes, especially the one in the cemetary, are a fairly obvious reference/homage to The Shining, and may be included to create further suspense by planting the idea that Tom might go completely off the deep end as Jack did in the earlier film.
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Toby_gibson002 — 17 years ago(May 22, 2008 11:53 PM)
Neil was totally Dick Halloran from the Shining. What was up with that? Taking a little license to borrow whole characters and situations?
I liked this movie and found it satisfyingly scary, but someone could have used a little more imagination rather than borrow from Kubrick. -
MaximusGrandimus — 10 years ago(October 16, 2015 06:38 PM)
Right on kingbizzo. And I love the scene where they introduce him, because the shots of Jake are actually a bit of an homage to Silence of the Lambs, while the shot of Neil are an homage to the Shining. Watching the scene, it's fantastically put together and juxtaposed. Pretty great stuff.
I don't know if you're aware of this but I've already changed things. I killed Ben Linus.
Sayid -
komet_kaela — 17 years ago(March 02, 2009 05:26 PM)
good point, domino.
But, I did feel like Neil kind of messed up the story. It was JUST LIKE the Shining. An older african american man can read the mind of a little boy. JUST LIKE THE SHINING. Plus, when she went to see him it was kind of corny. The movie lost its original, well-made feel for a few minutes. I was disappointed in that part
Just me..
Nothing Gold Can Stay
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C.S.Wood — 17 years ago(March 07, 2009 10:45 PM)
I did feel like Neil kind of messed up the story. It was JUST LIKE the Shining. An older african american man can read the mind of a little boy. JUST LIKE THE SHINING. Plus, when she went to see him it was kind of corny. The movie lost its original, well-made feel for a few minutes. I was disappointed in that part
Personally, the scene where Neal explains the situation to Maggie is one of my favorite parts. Yes, the thing with the knife is important and the Shining connection is there, but you have to look at the character past its face value. Neal acted as a window into other people with "the eyes" and also gave Maggie something to do instead of just being the grief stricken wife whose husband is going crazy.
Neal is
really
there for her. She wants answers, she's not getting any from her husband or son, so she goes to a third party. He fills her and the audience in on what the deal is and makes her look smarter than similar characters in her situation for actively going out and doing something instead of just sitting at home waiting for things to right themselves, do largely in part to her scenes with Neal.
"Action is how men express romance on film." Kurt Wimmer -
Texrat — 17 years ago(March 17, 2009 05:48 PM)
Bingo.
Neil was a plot device, there to move the plot forward. In that respect, a small but VERY necessary element of the story. He offered insight that none of the other characters could.
As for the Kubrick business, I see the references as more of a nod, a mild tribute than a ripoff. Why are so many people automatically willing to assume the worst?
One nice touch: when the girl's ghost is freed, the song playing (Beth Orton, "It's not the spotlight") contains the lyrics "I've seen it shining in your eyes". Clever.
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pizzm — 17 years ago(September 18, 2008 11:44 AM)
It kind of helped explain just what was going on. I mean, I had the general idea of what was happening, but this kind of honed it in for me.
Plus, it gave Maggie a little inside as to what her husband and son were actually up to.
"I would tell you to go to hell, but I think you're already there." -
Mehki_Girl — 17 years ago(March 01, 2009 12:49 PM)
Sometimes what happens is there is more to the character in the script but then some other scenes have to be cut and then a particular scene doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The director says in the commentary that there was at least another scene with Neil and the group that was more expository but was later cut because it would reveal too much.
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koffeenkreame41-1 — 14 years ago(November 12, 2011 10:53 AM)
I heard about that. I thought Neil the cop was a pretty cool character, sure it reminded me of The Shining but I thought it was like a nod.
"I am the ultimate badass, you do not wanna*beep*wit' me!" Hudson in Aliens. -
tupacin2003 — 13 years ago(September 07, 2012 04:10 AM)
agree, after Neil talks to Maggie you would think that would be the point of Neil, but then Maggie still acts like a bitch with Tom. She doesnt explain to Tom wtf is going on with him, it makes no sense, made me wanna pimp slap Maggie but not sharing what she found out with Tom and on top of that acting like a bitch when he is going crazy trying to dig.
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koffeenkreame41-1 — 11 years ago(May 01, 2014 01:53 PM)
I agree, I didn't like how Maggie treated Tom, he was trying to find out what happened to Samantha & Maggie didn't tell Tom who Neil was or tell him what he told her, it was like she never spoke to the guy.
"I am the ultimate badass, you do not wanna*beep*wit me!"- Hudson in Aliens. -
bettina-3 — 12 years ago(March 16, 2014 01:40 PM)
Coming late to the party, but as I recall, Nick is a character from the book. He belonged to the same organization (more like affiliation of 'dead people seers') as Tom's father. Although he doesn't go as far as in the book, explaining the 'talent' as passed from father to son and that some (like Tom and his father) don't handle it well, he does de-mystify the relationship between Nick and Jake and the ghost and explains that this is not a haunting, but the ongoing experience of an other sense.
Matheson published the book around 1960 so no; Nick is not based on Dick Halloran and this movie does not rip off the Sixth Sense.