Open to (and requires) interpretation ...

paulawjansen

First of all, I have a great appreciation for this film, even though I don't entirely understand it. It has a very unsatisfying ending, however.

I can't explain everything, but I'll broach a few of the overall themes I do think I have a handle of ...

Beth was abused and neglected; if you watch for it, there are clues to this throughout the movie. In the end, Ogden imagines Beth as the happy daughter of his parents ... he sees that things could have been different for her, that her world and circumstances brought out the worst in her. He tries to bring out the best of people and of himself.

The film contrasts love and hate, different ways of looking at and interacting with the world and the people in it. I don't think the message is that we should be like Ogden of the present, or that we should not follow his example, either. I think it's just acknowledging a reality of the world ... that you can't help everyone, and that you will suffer for trying. Ogden knows this. He warns Roadcap, "Yank the thorn out of the critter's foot, doesn't mean he's not gonna eat you." Later, when freeing the parrot, you can see he's afraid of getting pecked by his bird beneficiary. Later yet, Ogden explains that a dog craps on a rug because it's a dog and can't help it, not because of any malice. Ogden understands the risks, the nature of people. He doesn't feel that everyone should take those risks, but he feels that he must "to make (him) feel better about (himself)".

Ogden had more hate in his past and made mistakes. He took his anger out on someone who probably didn't deserve it. Rose may have been his savior. Ogden wants to help Beth in the same way that Rose helped him. Ogden sees some of himself in Beth. He acknowledges that he was once "the new kid" too, a point Beth seemed to use as an excuse for her meanness.

Bonus: There seems to be an Easter egg in the scene with the Nazi flag hanging above the porch ... in the background there's someone dressed in a purple dinosaur suit. This might be a reference to Trevor Morgan's role in "Barney's Great Adventure".

score 8/10

paulawjansen 15 May 2015

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3238938/