I enjoyed the movie more so than the book. I think this is because there is so much interrupting of one another’s sentences that it became a little difficult for me to follow at times.
I think that although the women are not physically present, they play a huge role in the play. The men talk and act like they’re powerful and brutal. In the scene where Mr. Lingk comes to the office to speak to Roma, it is quite apparent that he is not there to negotiate. He is there on one solid mission and that is to cancel the deal because his wife told him to. Roma seems to know why Lingk is there because it’s obviously written all over Lingk’s face that he is having doubts. Lingk’s expression on his face also looks very apologetic and slightly fearful. Roma trys to buy time and tries to leave without making it obvious, but Lingk blurts out, “My wife said I have to cancel the deal” (page 82). He also mentions to Roma that his wife controls their business deals, not him, making her the powerful and dominating figure. In other words, she wears the pants in the relationship.
Levene’s “daughter” is also another example of a strong feminine character, even though she, too, never appears. I doubted at first if she really existed. I thought that Levene tried to use his “daughter” as a potential sob story to try to keep his job. But in the scenes showed in class, Levene was trying to get in touch with his daughter. I think that Levene’s daughter symbolized a strong motivation for him to try to break his bad streak. I also think that he went along with Moss’ plan to steal and sell the leads to Jerry Graff and to pocket the money for his daughter. So in the end, Levene thought he was coming out on top. He had “closed” the deal with the Nyborgs and he had made a profit from selling the leads to Jerry Graff. But instead, Levene lost everything.
Although the women are not physically present, they hold a strong effect on the characters.
I thought Lingk's wife was in control as well. I really liked how fearful Lingk seemed to be because of his wife.
ReplyDeleteI also think that Levene's daughter was a great motivation for him. I think she brought out more of his human side. I didn't really think about this until I read your blog, but I do think that Levene was so desperate to win money to pay for his daughter's hospital bills that he would resort to thievery. I agree that although we do not see the female characters or know much about them, they greatly effect the men. I think without the women, these men would be uncontrollable and destroy everything.