TPOTD Movie Discussion - Spoilers
Dec 1, 2021 16:03:04 GMT
onebluestocking, sgev1977, and 2 more like this
Post by llminnowpea on Dec 1, 2021 16:03:04 GMT
Very very long-time lurker, but first time poster (I will wander off and introduce myself later - I promise).
First, I loved the movie. Loved the book, too, but mostly because I knew BC was going to play Phil. LOL. I have seen the movie twice in my local theater (lucky me) and I have some thoughts. Oh, my heart. Phil is just so broken. I love him, but I also would like to hug him and tell him to smarten up (I wanted him to have a redemption arc and he didn't get one and <insert various emotions here>).
First some background: on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is "My Dad Blows Up Angrily at Things," Phil Burbank is a 4-5 most of the time (the last scene is more how my father was all the time, except without the angry tears, until he got elderly and I stopped reacting). So, I think I may be just a bit more detached and thoughtful about Phil's behavior (and much more forgiving) because, for the most part, Phil is all bluster. The way he treats Rose feels like really harsh teasing (picking and picking at tiny wounds - pushing buttons) that Phil does because if he does anything else, George will have had enough. Rose is so kind and sweet that she is not prepared for the way Phil is and his awfulness, which would not affect someone like me, destroys her. I am not condoning his behavior. She is a victim. But, I still empathize more with Phil, because of my background (and, because I am a BC fan, let's be honest).
Anyway, a couple of things I kept in my mind on the second viewing (the first was just me watching in open-mouthed awe and I wasn't really thinking).
Phil has a real problem with emotional regulation. Whenever he is hurt, upset, abandoned, or afraid, he reacts with anger. With George, he stomps off or just sits there doing the "Benedict fast eye motion that he does when he is thinking and/or upset." With strangers, he blows up, spouts off, then calms down. It is a pattern with people like Phil and my father (and, until I did years of therapy - me). Feel a strong emotion, project outward with anger, calm down, act normal. Not condoning this - it isn't ok - but it is one typical pattern for people who have severe emotional trauma (BH dies by trampling and Phil witnessed it and couldn't outwardly mourn - this was in the book). Not everyone deals with trauma this way, of course, but it is one way - it comes from internal pain and loathing - you project it outwards because you have already projected it inward and it needs an outlet.
Phil does this at the restaurant. He gets upset that George has no idea what Phil is talking about re: BH (the nag and amour) and then blows up at the loud party and then calms down and asks for food. The noise from the piano makes Phil worse because when you have an emotional regulation problem like this, noise is just one more thing that you struggle with when trying (and failing) to control that emotion. It is why we are taught to walk off and go someplace quiet.
Phil is upset with George for getting married and takes it out on the horse. He might have calmed down with the saddle, but the horse was moving and making noise. So, his ire was directed at that and, since the horse was a mare, he also called it a "flat faced bitch whore" because he was really just angry with Rose (he should have been angry at George, if he was angry at anyone at all, but he can't really be angry at George because he would lose him). But, he would not outwardly do this to Rose because of George. (side note: I grew up with horses and they didn't hit the horse with the blanket. Most of that was trained and/or someone behind BC making the horse react. But, I also had a conversation with horse friends and, honestly, I am one of the few who do not smack their horses).
George dumped Phil for Rose (in Phil's eyes). No, it wasn't a sexual relationship in any way. That isn't what I am saying. But, George WAS Phil's only friend and the only other person who really knew Bronco Henry and who could keep Bronco Henry alive. This is one of the reasons Phil hates her so much. George chose her instead of him and she took George away (again, he couldn't be mad at George because then he would lose George). Just look at how dependent Phil is on George: look at how awkward the supposedly confident Phil is at the bar (he is visually uncomfortable and won't do the speech without George and then later stands off by himself singing and drinking and watching before leaving - hi, cowboy Sherlock, lol) and then when he is in the boarding house alone - he awkwardly spins in the hallway trying to decide to knock on the doors, paces, then calls for George more than once. He curls up in the bed in a fetal position (similar to at the end when he is sick) because George isn't there (I also think he is a bit drunk, too, but not enough to say too much about BH). He wakes up confused and contrite because of the way George reacts. He is afraid of losing George and not having George's attention (all the men in this movie are socially awkward/stunted in various ways - to me, Rose is the one with the least amount of awkwardness, but this post is already too long).
The dumping/choosing is conveyed during the "locking of the bathroom door scene." George obviously does it to make Rose feel comfortable. But, to Phil, it is just one more thing he has lost - George is closing and locking the door on the past (Phil and BH). He loses his brother. He is now losing his home and his past (which is all he really has). One of his safe places is that bedroom - he goes there and places his banjo, keeps his treasures, and sleeps. He can't even do that anymore because he runs the risk of actually hearing George and Rose have sex, which he can't have with anyone.
The hides. Oh, the hides. That scene is a classic in the "emotional pain - project outward - calm down." Phil was over threshold already by the time they got back to the ranch (he cut his hand and it hurt - you could see that the way he waved it a bit when he did it and I think the bunny thing upset him). The fact that Rose, of all people, gave away his hides, which were his, was the last straw (remember, in his eyes, she took everything). He blew up at George and George, once again, chose Rose (hence the tears and the look of utter disbelief). He has now lost everything - his brother, his home, his stuff. He has no one. Nothing (you can see that he feels this way). And, he had promised to finish up that rope and couldn't do it without those skins. Peter swoops in and catches him at the tail end of that and offers him the contaminated skin. Peter offers Phil friendship (or more, however you choose to look at it) and Phil, who has lost everything, latches on to that. (As an aside, I don't think Phil was grooming Peter. I think he wanted to make a man of him like BH made a man of Phil. Instead, I think Peter groomed Phil and Phil was actually more emotionally stunted than Peter, so the power differential actually tipped to Peter).
In the end, Phil loses everything - his best friend/brother, his one lover (BH), his safe spots (bedroom and his secret spot because Peter finds him there), his stuff, and then his life. The tragedy is that Phil didn't have to lose any of these things, but, in his eyes, he did. He ended with nothing and, at the end, all he could think about was giving his new friend the gift he made. The new friend that killed him.
Good lord, I hope he didn't figure out that Peter killed him. I don't think I could live with that.
First, I loved the movie. Loved the book, too, but mostly because I knew BC was going to play Phil. LOL. I have seen the movie twice in my local theater (lucky me) and I have some thoughts. Oh, my heart. Phil is just so broken. I love him, but I also would like to hug him and tell him to smarten up (I wanted him to have a redemption arc and he didn't get one and <insert various emotions here>).
First some background: on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is "My Dad Blows Up Angrily at Things," Phil Burbank is a 4-5 most of the time (the last scene is more how my father was all the time, except without the angry tears, until he got elderly and I stopped reacting). So, I think I may be just a bit more detached and thoughtful about Phil's behavior (and much more forgiving) because, for the most part, Phil is all bluster. The way he treats Rose feels like really harsh teasing (picking and picking at tiny wounds - pushing buttons) that Phil does because if he does anything else, George will have had enough. Rose is so kind and sweet that she is not prepared for the way Phil is and his awfulness, which would not affect someone like me, destroys her. I am not condoning his behavior. She is a victim. But, I still empathize more with Phil, because of my background (and, because I am a BC fan, let's be honest).
Anyway, a couple of things I kept in my mind on the second viewing (the first was just me watching in open-mouthed awe and I wasn't really thinking).
Phil has a real problem with emotional regulation. Whenever he is hurt, upset, abandoned, or afraid, he reacts with anger. With George, he stomps off or just sits there doing the "Benedict fast eye motion that he does when he is thinking and/or upset." With strangers, he blows up, spouts off, then calms down. It is a pattern with people like Phil and my father (and, until I did years of therapy - me). Feel a strong emotion, project outward with anger, calm down, act normal. Not condoning this - it isn't ok - but it is one typical pattern for people who have severe emotional trauma (BH dies by trampling and Phil witnessed it and couldn't outwardly mourn - this was in the book). Not everyone deals with trauma this way, of course, but it is one way - it comes from internal pain and loathing - you project it outwards because you have already projected it inward and it needs an outlet.
Phil does this at the restaurant. He gets upset that George has no idea what Phil is talking about re: BH (the nag and amour) and then blows up at the loud party and then calms down and asks for food. The noise from the piano makes Phil worse because when you have an emotional regulation problem like this, noise is just one more thing that you struggle with when trying (and failing) to control that emotion. It is why we are taught to walk off and go someplace quiet.
Phil is upset with George for getting married and takes it out on the horse. He might have calmed down with the saddle, but the horse was moving and making noise. So, his ire was directed at that and, since the horse was a mare, he also called it a "flat faced bitch whore" because he was really just angry with Rose (he should have been angry at George, if he was angry at anyone at all, but he can't really be angry at George because he would lose him). But, he would not outwardly do this to Rose because of George. (side note: I grew up with horses and they didn't hit the horse with the blanket. Most of that was trained and/or someone behind BC making the horse react. But, I also had a conversation with horse friends and, honestly, I am one of the few who do not smack their horses).
George dumped Phil for Rose (in Phil's eyes). No, it wasn't a sexual relationship in any way. That isn't what I am saying. But, George WAS Phil's only friend and the only other person who really knew Bronco Henry and who could keep Bronco Henry alive. This is one of the reasons Phil hates her so much. George chose her instead of him and she took George away (again, he couldn't be mad at George because then he would lose George). Just look at how dependent Phil is on George: look at how awkward the supposedly confident Phil is at the bar (he is visually uncomfortable and won't do the speech without George and then later stands off by himself singing and drinking and watching before leaving - hi, cowboy Sherlock, lol) and then when he is in the boarding house alone - he awkwardly spins in the hallway trying to decide to knock on the doors, paces, then calls for George more than once. He curls up in the bed in a fetal position (similar to at the end when he is sick) because George isn't there (I also think he is a bit drunk, too, but not enough to say too much about BH). He wakes up confused and contrite because of the way George reacts. He is afraid of losing George and not having George's attention (all the men in this movie are socially awkward/stunted in various ways - to me, Rose is the one with the least amount of awkwardness, but this post is already too long).
The dumping/choosing is conveyed during the "locking of the bathroom door scene." George obviously does it to make Rose feel comfortable. But, to Phil, it is just one more thing he has lost - George is closing and locking the door on the past (Phil and BH). He loses his brother. He is now losing his home and his past (which is all he really has). One of his safe places is that bedroom - he goes there and places his banjo, keeps his treasures, and sleeps. He can't even do that anymore because he runs the risk of actually hearing George and Rose have sex, which he can't have with anyone.
The hides. Oh, the hides. That scene is a classic in the "emotional pain - project outward - calm down." Phil was over threshold already by the time they got back to the ranch (he cut his hand and it hurt - you could see that the way he waved it a bit when he did it and I think the bunny thing upset him). The fact that Rose, of all people, gave away his hides, which were his, was the last straw (remember, in his eyes, she took everything). He blew up at George and George, once again, chose Rose (hence the tears and the look of utter disbelief). He has now lost everything - his brother, his home, his stuff. He has no one. Nothing (you can see that he feels this way). And, he had promised to finish up that rope and couldn't do it without those skins. Peter swoops in and catches him at the tail end of that and offers him the contaminated skin. Peter offers Phil friendship (or more, however you choose to look at it) and Phil, who has lost everything, latches on to that. (As an aside, I don't think Phil was grooming Peter. I think he wanted to make a man of him like BH made a man of Phil. Instead, I think Peter groomed Phil and Phil was actually more emotionally stunted than Peter, so the power differential actually tipped to Peter).
In the end, Phil loses everything - his best friend/brother, his one lover (BH), his safe spots (bedroom and his secret spot because Peter finds him there), his stuff, and then his life. The tragedy is that Phil didn't have to lose any of these things, but, in his eyes, he did. He ended with nothing and, at the end, all he could think about was giving his new friend the gift he made. The new friend that killed him.
Good lord, I hope he didn't figure out that Peter killed him. I don't think I could live with that.