[Blarg]

I like this film a lot, more than you do, and am surprised to see it reviewed here. It's off the beaten path a little, even though it has become much better known than it used to be.

I think the film is more a tone piece. It's about being unable to shrug off the past and the weight it brings to bear on the present, and about being stuck in who and what we are. In a way Mitchum is living out a scenario he undoubtedly foresaw in some form many years ago. Why did he make the choice to put himself into that kind of potential scenario, then? Human nature. His nature. His personal destiny. How much of it is will and how much the inevitable? And what would willing it differently really have any chance of changing a thing?

Remember Cool Hand Luke and the parking meter?