Unforgettable Ry Cooder score.
posted by Lemkin at 12:53 PM on May 13 [1 favorite]

I want to get a copy of his book Written in the West so badly, but the prices on eBay and the used book market in general are insane.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 1:27 PM on May 13

And the lovely Gotan Project cover of the namesake song.
posted by Candleman at 1:49 PM on May 13

Okay, can I rant about this movie here? SPOILERS below.

At the end of the movie we learn that Travis was such an alcoholic, controlling abuser that, to stop his wife from the desperate escape from him she wanted and kept attempting, he tied a cowbell to her leg to alert him to her attempts. When that failed, he tied her to the stove with his belt, and she had to burn down their house to flee with their child. He then disappeared for years, abandoning that child without a second thought.

Are we supposed to feel sorry for this guy, or glad he found his ex-wife, or literally anything except disgust at this psychotic monster? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills reading about this movie. It's like a movie about that victim of Jeffrey Dahmer's that escaped and was returned by the cops from the POV of Jeffrey Dahmer, and people keep saying how emotional and touching it is.
posted by star gentle uterus at 2:16 PM on May 13 [1 favorite]

It’s a movie about a man who has a psychotic break when he realizes that his actions make him a monster. He craves redemption and forgiveness from his ex, but in the end he realizes that he does not deserve any, and that the best he can hope for is a better life for his son, who doesn’t deserve to suffer for his father’s actions. YMMV, but I don’t think the movie makes any attempt to handwave his actions.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 2:36 PM on May 13

@sovietguy17
I think an under-remarked and brilliant aspect to this film is that objectively speaking Travis really did not "redeem" himself at all through his final act. Not only was he an an awful and abusive alcoholic deadbeat partner to his regrettably young wife, but even within his attempt for redemption he commits what can only be described as a selfish and irresponsible act by kidnapping his own son from a loving and stable home at the expense of his brother and his brother's wife who in every way have been nothing but supportive to Travis and great parents to Hunter, and placing Hunter in an ultimately unstable position with a broke underrage single mom who does peep shows for a living, since Travis himself chooses to leave rather than stay and raise Hunter.

Through this ultimate act, as well as other reminders through the final third of this movie, such as Travis' inability to confront his own brother over the phone over the theft of their stepson, instead forcing his 7 year old son to reveal the news to them, his inability to face Jane directly while recounting their relationships and his follies, and even his decision to lie to Jane about visiting her the first time but finding himself unable to reveal the truth to her then, we are reminded that Travis is still a coward. Just as he abandoned his family the first time, his tendency to flee the situation and not look back has not really changed. We even get a hint that he may be returning to his old alcoholic ways in the final bar scene.

Regardless despite Travis being a frankly objectively shitty guy who makes irresponsible choices again and again, the final act of this movie and the voice memo he leaves for Hunter demonstrates that the love that he has for his son and for Jane is genuine and even if he is incapable of providing it, a truth he metabolizes himself by the end of the film, he wishes for only the best for the two of them. And thus we cannot help but empathize for his struggle as the audience. Really complicated and brilliant movie.
posted by Lanark at 2:57 PM on May 13

And thus we cannot help but empathize for his struggle as the audience.
Lanark

No, see, that's my point: I can, actually, help that, and it's why I think

but I don’t think the movie makes any attempt to handwave his actions.
1970s Antihero

is wrong. The film actually does, as this quoted review argues, invite you to, if not handwave away, then sort of overlook or forget the gravity of his actions and instead focus on the emotion and find some empathy for Travis.

Like I'm glad he still had love in his heart for his wife and kid but, again, and by his own admission, he imprisoned his family in his home to the point of tying his wife to their oven. I don't give a shit at all how he feels or what he wants or what's truly in his heart, and it's truly bizarre to me that anyone would feel otherwise. This almost borders on the old "he beats her because he loves her" excuse.
posted by star gentle uterus at 3:47 PM on May 13

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