I am confused about this. How long ago was she killed? She was 17 when she died and she and the two killers are still in high school. And how long has Tom and Maggie lived in that house if it was empty for those guys to commit their crime? Seems the families have known one another for a very long time. They moved in after the murder happened six months ago?
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Yes she was killed 6 months earlier than the time Tom found her body. It's not clear how long they've been in the house. Less than 6 months as it was empty when she was killed. Probably a couple months since they do seem to know people. But they also didn't say where they lived before they moved in. Perhaps the next town over and they met a few people in that town previously before moving there.
shareThey move around a lot then. They kill their new friends and move on.
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Would a body decompose to that stage in 6 months? She looked like Normans mother.
shareOkay, the murder happened.... notice in those scenes the house is being worked on.. hence the tarps etc. They were fixing it for tom and maggie to live there. So tom and maggie probably moved in very shortly after the murder happened. The boys were in high school when it happened, and still were when tom found her. Her body was mummified because she was not exposed to elements. Not much air, no light, heat, or cold, so that is how a body reacts I guess.
I just think it is funny though. You think while watching the movie that it happened several years ago... with how everyone acts about it. Then the chubby guy is crying about it like hes been dealing with guilt his whole life, then he says "I've been dealing with this for six months".. I laughed a little....like we are supposed to feel sooo sorry for him and his deep and troubling pain that he helped cause. Just the way he said it he made it sound like it was sooo long. i dont know he just over did it i think...
The film's not perfect but it's very good overall I thought and I do agree with you a bit on the acting of the 'been living with this for six months' part!
The problem is not the actor himself though, who I believe is realistic and showing the anguish of someone filled with remorse and guilt. Jesus, knowing a girl is entombed within a fake wall would be terrible.
It's just there amidst everything else going on though and because the film is quite short and maybe not as well edited together as possible, that's how his acting seems a little over the top.
I think we needed other characters showing some feelings to the murdered girl and so forth, be it regret masked by a stoical attitude (even murderous) of the other Dad. I felt we needed more emotional background.
If the scene with the Mum visiting the psychic meeting in a rougher part of town had been either omitted or shortened, I think it would have greatly improved the effect and balance of the film to show some more emotional scenes with those behind the crime. The teen who is kept being given liquor to make him numb. We could see him talking about it with his friend, drinking at night to stop himself thinking about it. Of course, he was drinking when the crime happened itself, so that was a constant pressure on him anyway.
A little more substance and nuance in the film I really would have loved. A little more insight into Kevin Bacon's character, but the film would have easily gone over the two hour mark if my ideal imagined version had been made. Oh well.
I was surprise as much when I learned that the murder had only took place 6 months ago, but then it hits me - one should few fresh guilt at the early stage of his crime, and the wear down as time pass. We got so use to hearing murder that occurred 20 some years ago that we begin comparing the length of time rather than the level of guilt bear on a person. Some people many drop their guilt very simply while Frank, as a good father and friend, feel as bad every single day.
Classics are names that everyone heard, yet most have never seen!!
"Some people many drop their guilt very simply while Frank, as a good father and friend, feel as bad every single day."
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Yes, exactly. When you feel things very, very deeply, especially something as horrific as murder (and even more especially when your child is involved in it), the guilt and sadness increases on a daily basis. So 6 months to him, feeling as bad as he does about it, feels like a lifetime for him.
Plot hole
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The film makes it clear several times that Tom has lived in this neighborhood his entire life. The most memorable line was when Lisa said he’s been kicking around the same 6 blocks his entire life. So his buddies are people that he’s probably known for most of life, but yes they only recently moved into that apartment. The movie does explain it, but they should’ve focused on it being a recent move a little more, because I do see how it can be confusing.
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