Spoiler Cupboard - sighs, screams, standing ovation

[kygal]

Thanks for the advice and the review Nell. I bet I will like your ending better!

[kissmekate]

Oh yes, me too!

I absolutely agree with Adina's post - yes, Parker is a crooked cop, but such a gorgeous one. I may have to watch ATTAM again to pick up on all the details. I tried very hard to focus but there were just too many twists and tangles to keep it straight in my mind. And I got distracted by a certain pair of big green eyes, and once even by a pair of oh so shapely shoulders

[walt]

There's not much to add to the reviews of Adina and Nell....

To me ATTAM/TDG  was at first just a rush of repeating similar scenes: action scenes, cops sitting in the car, using the mobile, meetings, London views. Thankfully that's now sorted out, but there was some little detail that galled me, especially as it took so much time until the movie was released: When Riley landed the boat, he threw the rope onto the quay - and they showed exactly the same scene when he left with the boat! I know that is absolutely unimportant for the plot, but we had to wait so long - for two years if I'm not mistaken - and then a bug showing that TDG was obviously finished all in a hurry.

[adina]

Hello, new posts! Welcome, opinions!
I am back to the party - I arrive some days late, I know, but I had to realize that if I want to take part in the conversation, I can't wear my mittens, so I had to go out to buy a pair of gloves. Now I am ready...let's talk.

First of all, let's kill the bug which doesn't let Walt enjoy the game of the boys - Riley threw the two bags out of the boat when he arrived, not the rope. And what do you want him to use for leaving? He couldn't ride into the sunset, because this is not a western movie. (And he had no horse at all, not even a pony.) That last rope-throwing move was like a "yes, nothing binds me to this place anymore. I am free. Bye!" It was more stylish than just walking away.


I must admit I am less kind to Parker than Nell.

The words caught in his throat when he spun a tale about Sands and Dixon. The emotion was real and he cleverly used it to serve his own ends.

Hmm...Roberts's remark in their earlier scene was a clear insult "Is that what you tell Sands?" -



So Parker had to look VERY convincing when he asked the help of Nelson and Roberts, the two suspicious foxes.


I would like to invite a guest from the other thread - I think it would be fun (and interesting, especially after 1:30) to rewatch here and now the Britflicks interview with Rufus. He tells his opinon about Parker and the movie: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKuSDKvghCg



3:50 ...who is thoroughly amoral...
4:15 "oh, what a wonderful world" 

Well, actually, I think the whole video is fantastic.

I want to finish the post with my favourite picture. "Is he telling the truth?" Riley nods. BOOM BOOM!



Huh!

Oh, no, I want to finish the post with the "shh" picture.



(There is a "shh" in Darkside. When Mr Baggott visits Emily in the hospital, and the girl gets more and more upset. In the end she got a dose of medicine injected to calm her down. And Mr Baggott said "shhh". Aww, poor girl.)



P.S. You are a bastard, Parker!

[kissmekate]

Yeah, but a gorgeous one!

[midoro]

Good idea Adina to re-watch the Britflicks interview! Rufus also likes the scene best when Parker kills Sands! It´s really intense!

[anyother]

Wonderful idea, this thread, Adina. I love it!

[RoofieRoo]

There's a lot of mistakes in ATTAM, like the whole 'making detective' thing. Besides the fact Leo Gregory is too old for an 'idealistic rookie cop' in that sense, you dont 'make detective' in the UK police force, its an Americanism. 'Detective' isn't even a rank. There's two sides to UK policing, CID (plain clothes) and uniform (aka street cops). The ranks are the same for both but the CID add 'Detective' in their titles to signify their line of work. So Dixon was already a Detective if he was working with Parker and Sands.

ATTAM borrows shamelessly from a lot of other movies of the genre, mainly American, reputedly even some dialogue lifted directly from LA Confidential (which is a brilliant movie). Unfortunately they dont tie the pieces together very well and thats what bugs me most, given some thought and decent writing, the film had the potential to be really good.


And Adina, I LOVE that Briflicks interview, he's so fiesty and funny, especially when he disagrees with them or lazy questioning like 'what's the moral of the story'. I think I might have to watch it again...

[Rachel]

Yes, that whole "making detective" thing made no sense. I did wonder, fleetingly, if by "making it" Parker and Sands were being cynical, that Dixon wouldn't be a real detective until he was as corrupt as they were. That would kind of fit in with Parker telling Dixon, after Dixon shot him, "you finally popped your cherry." Which was another aggravating cliche. I'm sorry, but when you get shot it hurts. You've been shot in the back with a large caliber gun, you're hurting like hell, dying, and you can think up a clever one-liner??

[midoro]

I think that film is a form of art, and art isn´t realistic. Many impossibilities have their dramaturgic sense. Or why is it always raining at funerals?

[kissmekate]

Good that you mention the "make detective" thing, RoofieRoo - that one should have been easy to research, shouldn't it? Just reading a few British murder mysteries would have helped! (It was the Elizabeth George novel I was reading at the time I watched ATTAM that made me realize something was wrong about the ranks there.)

I don't actually mind dying people's clever one-liners in films like these. They aren't realistic in the least, but you have to suspend belief in reality anyway when watching this kind of movie, and I do like some comic relief.

[Rachel]

The more I think about it the more I wonder if the making detective talk was a deliberate thing on the part of the film makers. After all, it's not like they're Americans making a British film. (Kate it's funny you mentioned Elizabeth George - she's an American who is known for getting it right.) As Midoro points out impossibilities have a dramatic reasons - so you can then see Parker's last words as confirmation of this view - he's dying but he's satisifed that he's turned Dixon, the by-the-book guy into a cop who cuts corners just like him.

And Midoro, you made me laugh with your comment about funerals in movies. I think you're on to something there - the other trope is to have the funeral on a beautiful, picture perfect day.

[GreenEyesToo]

I beg to disagree with the "making detective" thing - I've worked with police officers for many years, and those wishing to go on CID from uniform have to be a trainee first (TDC - trainee detective constable), and pass an exam/assessment. They do (in my local force at least ) refer to "making detective" when/if they pass their board. While trainees, they are in plain clothes, even though technically they are still uniformed officers.

I would add that there is no singular UK police force. Scotland has its own separate judicial and police system. In England, each county (with some exceptions - some are merged, and London is covered by the Metropolitan Police) has its own constabulary, and although the basic structure is the same, there are variations with how they work - so probably in their terminology, too! (Some are called "constabularies", and some "forces", for instance!)

Anyway, that's all off topic, so to get us back on, I do agree with Rachel that in the context of ATTAM, "making detective" could well refer to Dixon becoming as corrupt as them, becoming their kind of detective. I do also agree that Leo Gregory was rather long in the tooth for that kind of role!

[kygal]

Thanks for the info GE2. We have our city police of various ranks in every county, campus police at UK and state police. That's not counting sheriffs and security guards of various organizations. My brother was a patrolman then detective for the city police department. I am sure I will enjoy this movie.

[GreenEyesToo]

Oh, I'm certain you will, Kygal - even if you do have to watch it more than once. Such a hardship....NOT!