Touch of Evil

What Happens

An unknown person hastily places a crude bomb in the back of a car, as a man and woman approach it from another direction, getting in and driving down a busy downtown street where competing music blasts from various nightclubs. The car passes Ramon "Mike" Vargas (Charlton Heston) and his new wife Susan (Janet Leigh) The newlyweds pass the car as it parks on the street a moment. The car starts moving again in roughly the same direction as the couple stop for a border crossing checkpoint to enter the US. They speak with the border guard. Susan tells them that she's an American citizen. They recognize Mr. Vargas by name, the guard asking if he's "on the trail of another dope ring." and announcing Vargas' presence to another guard. Vargas explains that he's only "on the trail of a chocolate soda" for his wife. They congratulate him on catching "Grandi" but Vargas downplays it by saying he only caught one member of a large family.

The man driving the car has been waiting to get through the whole time, and the guards finally give him their attention with Vargas gone. The main guard states "No purchases, Mr. Linnaker" and asks if the woman with him is an American citizen.  The woman in the car complains of a ticking noise she's hearing in her head and they let the car through. The Vargas newlyweds cross the border and Susan remarks that it's the first time they've been together in "her country" Mike responds "Do you realize I haven't kissed you in over an hour?" As they begin to kiss they're stopped by a loud explosion. We see that it's Mr. Linnaker's car just on the US side of the border. Mike Vargas tells Susan they'll have to postpone the soda while he finds out what happened. She follows him anyway and he tells her again to stay back:
Mike: This could be very bad for us.
Susan: For us?
Mike: For Mexico, I mean.
He tells her to go wait at the motel as he tries to talk with the police arriving to find out what happened. He knows one of the men responding who knows he has the Grandi trial coming up later in the week. Vargas explains that he planned to head to Mexico City for the trial, but he isn't sure with the explosion that just happened, since the car and bomb came from the Mexican side of the border.


Susan makes her way towards the motel, but A Mexican man starts following her, and barely stops her from stepping into the street in front of a speeding car. When he makes an advance in Spanish, she asks an English speaking person nearby to "tell him that I'm a married woman and that my husband is a great big official in the government, ready and willing to knock out all those pretty front teeth of his." The English speaking man then says that the boy wants to talk about her husband and he then hands her a note written in English which says "Follow this boy at once, we have something very important for Mr. Vargas." She decides to follow him, saying "What have I got to lose?" and then "Wait, don't answer that."

We return to Mike at the explosion scene, where Al Schwartz, (Mort Mills) the Assistant DA meets up with DA Adair (Ray Collins) who asks for Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles) The DA remarks "An hour ago, Rudy Linnaker had this town in his pocket." Linnaker's daughter, Marcia (Joanna Moore) shows up to identify her father. The DA sees Quinlan's car arriving and tells Vargas "you've heard of Hank Quinlan, our local police celebrity." Vargas says he'd like to meet him, but another guy on the scene says "That's what you think." We see Quinlan getting out of his car, with cigar in mouth, asking gruffly if they threw the bomb or planted it. When asked "Who?" Quinlan responds "Whoever did it, you jack ass."

Susan is still following the Mexican boy to the Ritz Hotel to meet an older man. The man immediately asks her why she called the boy she followed, "Pancho" She answers "Just for laughs I guess." and reminds the man that the note promised something for her husband. He says his name is Grandi, which she recognizes from her husband's case, as well as a local nightclub. He tells her that yes, it is his nightclub and asks the boy for his gun, which he shows to Susan. Grandi explains that some Grandis live on the US side of the border and others in Mexico. Susan isn't intimidated and scolds Grandi, telling him he's seen too many gangster movies, and that her husband won't be intimidated by threats.

Quinlan has quickly taken charge of the crime scene. When the Police Chief asks how he knows it was a bomb, Quinlan remarks "Well. Rudy Linnaker could've been struck by lightning." Quinlan tells them to let Linnaker's daughter go, and to put a tail on her. Quinlan remarks on the DA's "monkey suit." The Chief explains they were all at a dinner. Remarking on the many agencies that happen to be present, Quinlan says "G-Men, T-Men, Quite a little tea party for Rudy Linnaker's bonfire. Yeah, I hear he even invited some kind of a Mexican."   The DA says "I don't think Mr. Vargas claims any jurisdiction."  Quinlan responds "I should hope not. Two people, Americans, are blown to hash, with dynamite, practically in my own police station...
Vargas interrupts "I wonder, what makes you so very sure it was dynamite?" Quinlan says "My leg." confusing Vargas. They explain that Quinlan gets "intuition" which he feels in his "game leg"  Someone adds, that Vargas has a theory that the murder was committed outside of American jurisdiction. The Chief quickly adds that they're all going to cooperate. Vargas adds "I'm merely what the United Nations would call an Observer." Quinlan tells Vargas that he doesn't "talk like one, like a Mexican I mean"

Susan tells Grandi that Mike is probably looking for her  and that'll mean trouble. Grandi and the boy laugh and talk in Spanish to each other. Grandi explains that the boy asked if her husband is jealous, prompting Susan to call Grandi a ridiculous, old fashioned, jug eared lopsided little Ceasar. He tells her he didn't understand that and she'll "have to talk slow." She threatens to yell, which Grandi advises against. He rants that this used to be a quiet town until Vargas came along. Susan demands what he promised he had for Vargas.Grandi tells her to tell him to lay off his brother in Mexico city. "That's advice. That's what I've got for him." She asks if she's free to leave then and Vargas explains that no one was keeping her or laid a hand on her. She excuses herself and heads to her hotel.

Quinlan brings his partner Pete Menzies (Joseph Calleia) the Chief and Schwartz into Mexico, although the Chief voices concern about it. Quinlan remarks that tourists do it every day and they're just being tourists. Quinlan says he needs to talk to all the "stripteasers" to check up on the girl who was in the car with Linnaker. Menzies justifies "there's no law against visitors asking questions, is there Mr. Vargas?" only to realize that Vargas is no longer there. 

They look and see Vargas in front of his hotel with his wife, who's eager to tell him what happened. Quinlan remarks "Well what do you know, She don't look Mexican either." Vargas leaves the hotel to catch up with Menzies and Quinlan. He doesn't realize someone is following him until hearing his name called, followed by a thrown glass bottle full of acid, just missing him. Vargas chases the attacker but can't catch him. Menzies checks on Vargas while the rest of the group questions the girls, none of whom seem to know the girl in the car. Quinlan says it's a waste of time and notices a fortune telling place place across the street and remarks "Tana's still open for business?"

The group waits outside while Quinlan goes into Tanya's place. He seems surprised that Tanya (Marlene Dietrich) doesn't recognize him. She tells him "You should lay off those candy bars." They talk a little bit about old times and Quinlan asks if she knows anything about the bomb. She says the only thing she heard was the explosion. Menzies tells Quinlan that Vargas got in trouble. Meanwhile the group is questioning Vargas about the incident. Quinlan tells them it must have been Grandi related and Vargas ask Quinlan if his intuition said anything about the trouble his wife just had. Vargas describes the situation, and Quinlan says it was "Uncle Joe Grandi" He admits to Quinlan that she wasn't taken by force or attacked. Vargas demands that Quinlan do something about it anyway, but Quinlan tells him he has to file a charge. Quinlan insinuates that his wife was simply "picked up" on the street. The Chief tries to settle things down between them. Vargas and Quinlan argue about the law, until Quinlan says "Let's get back to civilization" indicating it's time to return to the American side of the border.

Susan is in the Hotel room, which doesn't have a window shade. She's being harassed by a man across the street who keeps shining a flashlight in the window. Vargas returns to the room and finds that she's busted the light bulb in frustration. On the street, Uncle Joe Grandi is chasing Vic, the kid who threw acid at Vargas. "Who told you to throw acid at Vargas?" he asks. When he asks Vic who's in charge of the family, Vic answers "My old man." Uncle Joe reminds him that his father is in prison and that he's in charge until he gets out.

Vargas, meanwhile is explaining to Susan that "this isn't the real Mexico" saying that "border towns bring out the worst in all countries." Susan is determined to leave. Vargas tells her that he'll be glad if she takes the early plane back to Mexico City. She says "I'm very glad you're very glad." but he isn't listening as he has taken a phone call about official business.

Uncle Joe and Vic continue to squabble, Vic revealing that he's worried his father will die if he has to endure prison for ten years. Uncle Joe tells him that his father is as good as convicted but tells Vic to leave Vargas to him. They see Susan in the lobby and Uncle Joe sends someone to deliver an envelope. She opens it and sees that it's a picture of her standing next to the Mexican boy who first brought her to Uncle Joe. When Mike is done with his call, Susan says she no longer wants to go back to Mexico City, although he's convinced it's a good idea. He says he has to meet Quinlan, and she tells him she's going with him. They agree that they'll drop her at the American Hotel Mirador before the meeting.

Uncle Joe vows to get Vargas "where it hurts" without laying a hand on him. Vargas tries to explain to his wife why he's so interested in the car bombing business, ( as opposed to his honeymoon) telling her it could be a real scandal for Mexico. She isn't interested and distracts him in the car by kissing him,which is interrupted by Quinlan pulling up. Vargas leaves her there, getting in with Quinlan, while Menzies offers to take her to the Hotel. Menzies realizes he has Quinlan's cane and explains to her that Quinlan got his leg wound stopping a bullet that was meant for him. He also tells her that Quinlan gave up drinking a long time ago and it was the "bravest thing he's ever done." Menzies realizes that Uncle Joe has been following them and pulls him over, waking Susan up and asking her to identify him, which she does. He reminds them that he's never laid a hand on Susan. Menzies insists that Uncle Joe come with him regardless, until Quinlan decides what to do with him. Menzies remarks that she's probably the only one staying at the motel, which causes a chuckle from Uncle Joe, (who's the Hotel owner.)

Once she gets everything in her room, she hears country music coming from a speaker in the room. She sees the hotel clerk 9Dennis Weaver) out the window. He tells her he turned the music on for her and brought sheets as well. He drops the sheets on the bed and says he isn't going to help make it as he's "the night man" She asks if the day man can help and he tells her there is no day man. He twitches and jumps when Susan moves, clearly not right in the head. He remarks that "her friend Grandi" isn't going to leave her there for long.

Quinlan and Vargas stop at a construction site that reported stolen dynamite. Quinlan asks if they've fired anyone lately and the foreman says they fired a kid named Sanchez who was fooling around with the boss's daughter. Schwartz is also in the car and recognizes a worker, who Quinlan tells him is Eddie Farnum. He asks Farnum how long he's been out and Farnum says three months, also telling Quinlan that his lawyer (also Grandi's lawyer, Frantz) got him the job. They hear a report that Sanchez has been picked up at Marcia Linnaker's place.  Vargas asks if it's the same Sanchez that Quinlan's been talking about all day. Arriving at the place Vargas asks Quinlan if he really has anything on Sanchez. Quinlain says "not yet. Just going on my intuition."
They recognize Grandi's lawyer's car outside Marcia Linnaker's place.

Frantz tells Marcia to let him do the talking. Sanchez has heard about Quinlan though and fears he'll be treated roughly as he doesn't have an attorney of his own. When Vargas speaks Spanish to Sanchez, Quinlan reminds him that it's not up to him to interrogate. Quinlan starts talking to Marcia who answers his questions without thinking, until Frantz, reminds her to let him do the talking. Quinlan assumes that she's been living with Sanchez although Marcia's lawyer prevents her answering. Sanchez tries to leave with Marcia and Mr. Frantz, but the police grab him to prevent him leaving. Quinlan asks an officer to look in the desk. Sanchez starts speaking Spanish to Vargas which annoys Quinlan, who demands they keep it in English. Vargas tells Quinlan that Sanchez is worried about some kind of "third degree" and he tells Quinlan he told Sanchez he had nothing to worry about. In the bathroom, Vargas knocks over an empty shoe box, and puts the top back on it, while Quinlan asks Sanchez questions.

Schwartz and Vargas talk while they overhear Quinlan hitting Sanchez. Vargas remarks that the boy could be innocent. When Schwartz asks "Intuition?" Vargas says "Why not? Quinlan doesn't have a monopoly on hunches." Vargas says it could have been Farnum from the construction site, as they all worked for Grandi's company. Quinlan remarks that the apartment is too nice for Sanchez to afford and asks if Marcia pays the bills. He tells Quinlan that this has been going on since Marcia's father had him fired from his construction job. Quinlan says "Naturally,he objected to having a Mexican shoe clerk for a son in law." Vargas remarks that while Quinlan can show motive,he'll need more than that. Quinlan says "We'll get it." Quinlan excuses himself saying it isn't his case (which pleases Quinlan) He finds a store nearby, and asks to use her phone. He's embarrassed when he asks the store keeper for a phone book and she tells him that she's blind. He calls information for the number of the Mirador.
Menzies shows up with Uncle Joe, and tells Quinlan what happened. Quinlan deduces that Uncle Joe thought he was following Vargas, because Menzies was driving Vargas' car. Mike reaches Susan at the Motel. Susan is wearing a negligee,and seems happy to hear from him, although she is quickly disappointed when Vargas only talks about how bad it is that Quinlan is arresting Sanchez. To answer her disappointment, he tells her he really called to say he's sorry and that he loves her, although he clearly feels awkward with the blind girl sitting right next to him. She attempts to have a more personal conversation but looking at the blind girl, he turns businesslike and hangs up. Susan calls the front desk and tells them she doesn't want to be disturbed. We see that Grandi's man is at the front desk.

Vargas returns to the room where they have Sanchez. Quinlan isn't in the room and Sanchez tries to explain that Marcia was chasing him to marry her, not the other way around. Before they get anywhere, Quinlan returns. Quinlan tells Menzies to go search Sanchez's place while they talk. Quinlan insists that Sanchez admit he stole dynamite and blew up Marcia's father, but Sanchez refuses. Menzies yells that he's found something and seems delighted saying "Hank has done it again. He's nailed his man." Quinlan tells them that he's found two sticks of dynamite in the bathroom. Sanchez pleads with Vargas, swearing that there was never any dynamite in the apartment. Vargas asks about what they found in the bathroom and Quinlan points out that Menzies found it. Vargas realizes that the dynamite was found in the shoe box that was empty  when he'd knocked it over earlier. He tells Quinlan his thoughts and tells him he knows he framed the boy. Schwartz warns Quinlan that a man of Vargas position testifying could seriously hurt him. Schwartz gets in Vargas' car and tells Vargas that although he didn't see that the shoe box was empty, he believes him.

Uncle Joe tells Quinlan that they're now both looking for the same thing. Initially Quinlan tells Uncle Joe to get lost, but Uncle Joe reminds him that he himself said that someone's reputation would be ruined. "Why shouldn't it be Vargas'?" Quinlan encourages Menzies to leave him and get to work before talking further with Uncle Joe. Menzies watches the two of them walk off together. We see Susan at the hotel, watching as cars start showing up playing loud rock music.

Vargas and Schwartz discuss getting proof about what Quinlan did. Vargas decides to check the records on dynamite sales. Susan calls the front desk to complain about the loud music, although Grandi's man isn't any help.The night man returns and is nervous when he finds the office full of Grandi's men. Susan calls the front desk and asks to be connected to the police department, which of course they don't put through. Quinlan and Uncle Joe keep talking, Uncle Joe putting a drink in front of Quinlan. Quinlan insists that he won't make a deal that involves knocking someone off. Quinlan takes a drink, and Uncle Joe orders him another.

Vargas calls the Police Chief and DA to his room to show them proof of what Quinlan's dynamite purchase. They are clearly behind Quinlan and they reason that he could have needed dynamite for his ranch. Susan gets a warning from someone on the other side of her wall that the men are trying to get in her room and that they're on drugs. Menzies meets with Quinlan, telling him what Vargas has said and that they're taking it seriously. Quinlan tells Menzies that Sanchez was stupid to use dynamite for the murder, reminding Menzies that strangling is the best way to kill someone being silent and clean."That's how my wife died." Quinlan continues. Menzies remarks that Quinlan never talks about his wife when he's sober. He recounts to Menzies that his wife's killer got away from him, but he was the last killer that got away from him. He tells Menzies that if Vargas wants to fight dirty, that's the kind of fight he'll get.

Quinlan shows up in the room where Vargas has the DA and the Captain. Quinlan states that Vargas doesn't care whether killers  hang or not.Vargas points out that a police officer is not a dog catcher and that police work is only easy in a police state. Quinlan asks "Where's your wife Vargas?" Vargas asks why he's interested but Quinlan doesn't give a straight answer.  Vargas asks insistently about the dynamite saying he's asked at his ranch, and his ranch hands say he used fifteen sticks leaving two unaccounted for. The Chief says "He's just asking." Quinlan gets angry and throws his badge on the desk, saying "That's for letting him ask." After launching into an outburst about his thirty four years of service, the Chief and DA turn on Vargas demanding an apology. They accompany Quinlan out and he tells them that Vargas is a dope fiend who has his wife drugged up at the hotel.

Vargas has Schwartz show him to the records of Quinlan's old cases. Susan meanwhile is terrified to find Grandi's men letting themselves into her room. They restrain her and close the door as she screams. Menzies calls Tana looking for Quinlan. She tells him that he hasn't stayed there for years, since he used to drink. He remarks that Quinlan isn't sober now. Menzies then confronts Vargas in the records room. He demands to know what Vargas is doing. He points out all the cases where the suspect denied the existence of he evidence. Vargas then heads to the hotel and finds the night man not very helpful and the motel empty. The night man mentions a "party" in room number 7 and shows Vargas the room. Hey find the room a wreck, with clothes all over the place, and his gun missing from his briefcase. The night man remarks that the room stinks. He reveals that Susan is now at Rancho Grandi. We see Uncle Joe standing over Susan who is drugged heavily. Quinlan comes to see this, and tells Uncle Joe to turn out the lights. Quinlan pulls a gun on Uncle Joe and makes him call the police station and ask for Menzies. Uncle Joe reminds Quinlan that if he turns him in he'll have "a story to tell" He tells Menzies that Susan is on drugs and to send vice out to get her. Quinlan then strangles Uncle Joe to avoid any threat of blackmail. Susan wakes up just after the murder and runs out on the fire escape in a sheet screaming.

Vargas shows up at Grandi's club and starts beating on Grandi's men, telling them that he's not there as a cop but as a husband. Schwartz finds him there and tells him that they have his wife in jail being charged for narcotics and for Uncle Joe's murder. Menzies watches showing a twinge of doubt. Menzies tells Vargas that there isn't any formal charge against his wife. He also gives Vargas Quinlan's cane telling him he found it in the hotel room  with Grandi's body. Quinlan is sitting by the piano at Tana's place. Vargas tells him they need to get him out of there as Menzies has agreed to wear a wire to get information from Quinlan,but the piano is too loud to hear. Schwartz has arranged to get Vargas wife home while they do this.

Quinlan asks Tanya to tell his future, but she tells him, he hasn't got any and that his future "is all used  up."  and to go home.


Menzies gets Quinlan to come outside and demands that Quinlan tell the truth. He asks Menzies about that "thing you're wearing." which Menzies thinks refers to his wire, but  then Quinlan tells him he means his halo,  warning him that Vargas will turn him into an idealist. They talk on a bridge while Vargas holds the recording device below it. Menzies remarks that Grandi was strangled just like his wife. He asks Quinlan how many people he framed. Quinlan answers "nobody" then adding "nobody that wasn't guilty." Menzies then calls him out for playing him as a fool making him find the evidence he planted. Quinlan hears an echo from Vargas' recording device and realizes that Menzies is wearing a wire. When Menzies demands Quinlan's gun, Quinlan shoots him, and realizing what he's done, runs down to the water to wash his hands.

Vargas tells him this is something he can't talk his way out of, but Quinlan disagrees telling him he's using Vargas' gun, and he'll say that Vargas killed Menzies. Vargas turns to walk away and Quinlan fires a warning shot. Menzies manages to shoot him before he can fire again. Schwartz shows up delivering Susan to Vargas, and the two drive off.  Schwartz plays the tape and finds plenty of incriminating evidence on it. Quinlan hears it as well and when he looks up to talk to Menzies, the reality dawns on him that he's dead, and he falls into the water below, dead himself.

Schwartz finds Tana on the bridge watching and tells her that Quinlan was right about Sanchez and that he confessed to the murder a little while ago.
Tana: Isn't somebody going to came and take him away?
Schwartz: Yeah, in just a few minutes. You really liked him,didn't you?
Tana:  The cop did. The one who killed him. He loved him.
Schwartz: Well, Hank was a great detective alright.
Tana: And a lousy cop.
Schwartz: Is that all you have to say for him?
Tana: He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?

What About it?


"Touch of Evil"  is a true masterpiece of film, but with a couple of interesting flaws. The first is that it was drastically re cut by the studio, diluting Welles' original vision. The version presented here is the "reconstructed version, which was pieced together based on a long memo that Welles wrote to the studio after they had taken it out of his hands. Nevertheless it's a great film even if possibly a little short of what Welles originally intended. The other problem I've had with the film is that I never thought Charlton Heston was convincing as a Mexican. I do have to say however that after my most recent viewing I don't have as much of a problem with it. It makes sense when viewed in light of Quinlan's observations that Vargas "doesn't seem Mexican." His performance is good, and this time that was enough for me.

Based on the visual experience alone, this is a beautiful film. It's work with texture and shadows and character placement is brilliant. The congestion of characters and their separations all echoing the plot, giving it visual reinforcement. And yet, every character is caught in the same net. The black and white (which really give us mostly grey) suit the film perfectly as one of the major themes is the impossibility of living in absolutes. Conflict is everywhere, and nobody succeeds in communicating. The film deals with racial issues, sexual issues, authority issues. If there's a way to misunderstand another person it's in this film.

Putting aside the conflict between Vargas and Quinlan, we start with Vargas and his wife. This is a couple just married before the wedding night. While it's understood that Vargas has a position that requires him to possibly be on duty at all times, he's presented with a problem that he could easily wash his hands of and let the American authorities handle (as they would prefer it) It says much of Vargas, that he not only gets involved, but pushes to get involved, although only as an "observer" at first. He not only chooses his work over his wife, but he practically forgets her, sending her off alone in a town foreign to her, where a car bomb was just planted and he clearly has enemies. There is no choice involved for him. Vargas is the character who sees in black and white. He believes that he has the moral high ground, while not seeing the reckless neglect of his wife except as an afterthought. He eventually thinks to check on her, but not with any interest until she is placed in undeniably real danger. Up until then, he gives the bare minimum effort to keep her pacified. Susan sees this in her husband, and in some respects takes pride in his "authority" practically cheer leading for him when faced with "Uncle Joe." Nevertheless, she rightly feels jilted and tells him so quite directly just before Quinlan shows up to interrupt their kissing. Again he gives no thought to how she'll find or reach the hotel. Once he's in the car with Quinlan, proving himself superior takes precedence over his wife's safety. It's Menzies who steps in offering to take her to the Hotel.

Menzies is the closest character to a conscience in the film, and as such he's relatively quiet, content to be a supporting player to the more powerful personalities. He's good natured and honest but easily fooled, requiring absolute certainty before he can think badly of Quinlan. Menzies has seen the best of Quinlan as well as the worst. Quinlan is a man who took a bullet for him and taught him everything he knows. It's in no small part, thanks to Quinlan that Menzies thinks of himself as an honest cop who does things the right way. It's this belief that forces Menzies to help Vargas.

I think it's also quite intentional that Vargas the Mexican authority is the character arguing for "due process" while the American Quinlan makes his own rules, reversing the stereotypical behaviors of each culture, so that we can't dismiss the characters with those stereotypes. This isn't really a question of right and wrong. The only question is how difficult it is for people to agree on what the right thing is. Quinlan never takes Vargas seriously until Vargas becomes a threat to his career.  Unlike the viewers, he can dismiss with the Mexican stereotype although this doesn't work out well for him. Quinlan delights in telling Vargas about procedures, when Vargas demands action on his wife's behalf. It's also the one point where Vargas doesn't care about "going by the book." And yet, the fact remains that Vargas is not required for the investigation and has no authority in it. He could easily attend to his wife himself, and his true interest is determined when he drops the issue with Quinlan.

When he finds his wife is in grave danger, he has himself primarily to blame. By that time he's essentially powerless, and only this bothers him enough to become irrational. He beats on several men at the bar, not because it's necessary to get information, but because he has no choice but to see himself as completely ineffective in his duty as a husband to keep his wife safe. However, even with his wife framed for murder and drugged in a prison cell, he can't abandon his vendetta against Quinlan, reasoning that he's pursuing justice. The Villain in the film "Uncle Joe" turns out to be powerless, except for the temptation he offers Quinlan. He only exists as a go between to accelerate the collision of Quinlan and Vargas. We see that he's terrified of the consequences of Vic throwing acid at Vargas, and Susan is more than capable of putting him in his place in person.

While Vargas appears to be the "hero" of the picture, he only exists to help us look at Quinlan. Welles' performance here is brilliant, the contradictory nature of the character comes through so solidly, that he becomes the character. Quinlan believes in justice as much or more than Vargas does, but he also believes that the system needs a little help to see that justice is done. He couldn't catch his wife's killer, so he has determined that he will catch every killer he can, no matter what. Despite his sloppy, lumbering appearance, he is a great detective. We question his accuracy when we learn about his evidence planting habits, and we question it again when we learn that his hunch about Sanchez was right. As Schwartz and Tanya establish, he's a great detective and a lousy cop. He is also similar to Vargas isn that both men love nothing more than their job. Rather than a wife, Quinlan keeps an addiction, booze first, which he replaces with candy bars. We see the sadness of his character in the brief first reunion with Tanya, their conversation, revealing how he misses who he used to be, before the years took their toll on him. It's well after this moment that Uncle Joe puts a frink in front him, and the man confronted with his reputation (the only thing he has) being ruined, and the reminder of his former self, is ready for  drink, because that's what it takes for him to cross the line and become the thing he hates, a criminal and a murderer. Quinlan is doomed the moment he takes the drink, although it isn't until he finally realizes that Menzies is dead that it hits home. Quinlan calling out to his dead partner and friend is powerful moment. He's killed all that was worthwhile in himself and there's nothing to keep him going anymore.

At the end, we're left wondering what was accomplished, other than the fall of Quinlan. Nobody's hands are clean and everyone is damaged. Menzies, the conscience of the film is dead, the Vargas newlyweds will not enjoy their honeymoon, and Mike Vargas will have to live with his part in Menzies' death as well as Quinlan's, knowing that he was wrong and Sanchez was the murderer. He completely neglected his wife to complicate a situation that he would've been justified in leaving alone. He did catch a cop planting evidence, but was his focus worth what it cost? We get no clear answer, other than a bigger mess than we started with and people who will never be the same again. The world isn't black and white. Sometimes all of our speculation leads us right back where we started. People aren't that easy and neither are the reasons for what they do. As Tanya says in the brilliant closing:
"He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?"

The Mechanic

What Happens?
"The Mechanic"is a different twist on the "hit man's last job" movie, presenting Charles Bronson as solitary and stoic as ever, yet forced to realize he's aging and can't do what he once did. Rather than try to retire or get out of the business, he chooses to train someone else to thin his workload. At least that's how it appears on the surface.

Arthur Bishop (Charles Bronson) is the best hit man or "mechanic" around. We see his meticulous methods right away, opening the movie with Bishop on the job. After learning his target's daily routine and securing an apartment with a window facing his target's window. He takes pictures of the man's apartment and scrutinizes his information at home for the perfect way to kill him. He breaks into the man's apartment and prepares it for the hit by placing a malleable explosive in a book in the man's bedroom rigging the gas oven to leak and drugging his tea. From the facing apartment, he watches the target drink his tea, and get drowsy, He waits until later that night, before shooting the book in the bedroom with a sniper rifle, causing a big and fatal explosion.


Bishop next meets with Harry McKenna, (Keenan Wynn) a longtime friend of his father.  Harry explains the the Organization says that Harry broke "the agreement" and won't take his calls any longer. He would like Bishop to talk to them on his behalf. Bishop doesn't see what difference that will make, but Harry explains that the reverence they had for Bishop's father, might make them more agreeable. Over a drink, Harry reminds Bishop of a story about Harry, Bishop's father and Bishop as a boy on a fishing trip. Bishop had fallen overboard and couldn't swim, which prompted his father to say "he'll learn" not moving a muscle to help him. Harry recalls that he himself had to reach out and pull him back into the boat.
Harry: Your old man, he laughed like hell!
Bishop: That was a long time ago.
Their visit is interrupted by Harry's son Steve (Jan-Michael Vincent) who shows up looking for money. Harry initially gives him a hard time before handing him the $1,000.00 he wants and Steve remarks, "My father gets uptight when I ask him for money he steals from other people." Harry apologizes for his son's manner and asks Bishop to call when he knows something.

Bishop gets a delivery which is the contract on Harry. He pins up all of Harry's personal information and plans out the hit. He scouts a remote beach location and tells Harry the Organization has asked him to meet there. When they arrive, Bishop drives up to a hill overlooking Harry on the beach. He takes shots at Harry from his hidden location and then acts as if he's discovered a sniper and is attempting to help Harry get away. Harry runs to the car, exhausted and Bishop approaches him gun in hand revealing his intention. Bishop then suffocates Harry in the car.

Bishop visits a girl (Jill Ireland) who role plays a rather mundane drama with him, playing his neglected girlfriend, including reading a letter she wrote, requiring him to comfort her.  After they spend the night together, she announces that the letter was difficult and will cost him another hundred. He agrees, remarking that the letter was a good touch, recommending something like it for next time.

Bishop runs into Steve again at Harry's funeral. Steve isn't too bothered by his father's death, describing his father to Bishop as "Harry McKenna, fixer extraordinaire, pusher, pimp, thief, arsonist..." Bishop asks, "You liked him a lot?" Bishop tells Steve that Harry had worked for his father years ago. Steve realizes that this means Bishop's father was in the Organization and he asks Bishop if he's in himself, surmising that he is although Bishop tries to change the subject, reminding him to pay attention to the funeral. When Bishop remarks on Steve being sure of himself he responds "I live in my mind, Mr. Bishop."
Bishop: "Sounds like something I read someplace.
Steve: And so do you.

Bishop leaves the service and Steve asks him for a ride home. Bishop agrees and finds that Harry's (now Steve's) house is full of Steve's friends having a party. Wading through the crowd, Steve tells Bishop, "My father never really liked my friends, and I'm not so sure I do either." Steve gets a phone call from a girlfriend, Louise, threatening to kill herself. He asks Bishop if he'll come along to visit Louise. They find Louise with razor blades, preparing to slit her wrists. Steve makes a show of not caring and Louise cuts one of her wrists to prove she will, still getting no reaction from Steve or Bishop, other than Bishop telling her how long it will take her to die based on her weight. Louise insists that Steve will stop her before she dies, but Steve says "Listen, if you don't care anything about your life, then why should I?"  Steve throws her some car keys and tells her she might live if she heads to the Sheriff's station in Malibu right away.


Discussing the situation, and the idea of watching someone die, Bishop he tells Steve "It just means you have your own rule book."
Steve: I can dig that.
 Bishop: It takes a very special kind of person to pick up the tab for that kind of living. You say you dig it, but you're talking about something you really know nothing about.
Steve: And you do?
Bishop: Do I?

Bishop attends to his routines including martial arts, and knife throwing as well as talking a lot of pills. Visiting an aquarium he passes out, and wakes up in the hospital. The Doctor at the hospital recommends he see his own doctor, and says it sounds like he's experiencing "Acute Anxiety Reaction" adding that if it isn't that, he may want to try a psychiatrist.

He wakes up the next morning to find Steve parked outside his house. Steve is impressed with his place and Bishop explains he inherited a lot. Steve tries to convince him to let him in on his "action" Bishop takes Steve out in a plane, letting go of the controls and forcing Steve to take over, which he quickly does. At a bar later, Bishop explains that his father was a "Judge" who had the final word settling Organization disputes,until someone didn't like a decision and put a contract out on him, when Bishop was sill in school. Steve shares that his father never let him in on anything, although he wanted to know the business. Bishop lets him witness a karate match which turns pretty brutal. Steve remarks "He practically murdered that guy." and Bishop answers "Murder is only killing without a license and everybody kills, governments, the military, the police."
Steve: Do you think Yamato's a killer?
Bishop: He's a killer that doesn't kill. It's funny. No, for him, the rules are important.
Steve: That's your expert opinion?
Bishop: That's my opinion.
Steve points out that Bishop is being evasive about giving real answers. Bishop reminds him that he better be sure he wants the answers he's asking for. He asks Steve what he knows about the term "Mechanic" and Steve tells him it can be used as synonymous with hit man. Bishop reveals that's what he is and tells Steve that sometimes he could use a back up. Steve asks, "You do this for money?"
Bishop: Money is paid, but that's not the motive. It has to do with standing outside of it all, on your own.
He offers to teach Steve all he can, and confirming he's in, Steve says "You've got a partner Mr. Bishop." Bishop corrects him, "Associate."

Steve demonstrates an aptitude for the work and they start training for real. Going through a museum Bishop tells Steve "There are killers and there are killers, to tell you the truth they all have a different book of rules. To get away with it depends on the book of rules you have in your pocket at the time, your own country, somebody else's country, or your own personal book of rules. All this (waves at the museum figures) heroes, half of them are killers. Napoleon was one you know, Pancho Villa, Genghis Khan, and the we have our own domestic brand, like Billy the Kid, Jesse James and John Dillinger. Yeah, they're about as famous as our own honest to goodness heroes."

Bishop gets an assignment to kill three men, who are in the habit of riding around on dirtbikes, but live behind heavy security with constant guards on watch. Bishop includes Steve in the job, including the surveillance. Bishop surprises Steve by watching one of the men in a conversation via binoculars and reading their lips to discover a "Chicken Licken" truck set to arrive at the guarded compound for a delivery. Bishop finds vats of acid at a plating plant to dump the bodies afterwards. Steve and Bishop take the Chicken Licken truck and enter the compound. The hit is messy though and one of the men escapes forcing Bishop to chase the man on a dirtbike. Although the man ends up dead, the chase causes quite a commotion running through backyard parties and causing car accidents.

Bishop is called to meet with one of the Organization heads. He takes a plane to meet a chauffeured car which brings him to the estate. The man (Frank DeKova) is paining a leopard which he has tied in the yard. The man comments that the last job was very messy and asks about Harry McKenna's son and how he's involved in things. Bishop takes exception at the thought of having to ask permission. The man reminds him that there are rules in place which ensure the Organization survives, implying that Bishop has broken a rule.
He gives Bishop a new assignment saying it has to be done fast.
Bishop: I'll handle it the way I always do.
Man: There may not be time enough for that. The word is he's getting ready to talk to some people. The problem is considerable.
Bishop: I'm not some wild Cleveland shooter. I don't cowboy!
Man: If he talks, things could get complicated, sloppy. That would disturb a lot of us. It's not really open to discussion, Mr. Bishop. This business of McKenna's son has upset a few of our associates.
The man tells him that the target is in Naples, where they have him a room already.

Bishop gets home and heads to Steve's place. Finding Steve is out, he looks around and finds that Steve has taken a contract to kill him. He puts the papers back and goes home. When Steve shows up at Bishop's house later, he fills him in on the Naples job, telling him they want it "Cowboyed"  He also tells Steve that he is nevertheless going to do it the way he's always done.

They head to Naples and start watching the target, discovering that the man is very unpredictable, rarely doing the same thing twice, with the exception of returning to his boat. Bishop shares a local wine with Steve, explaining that it doesn't travel well and they don't export it. He reminds Steve to savor it and the time he has. He also gives Steve advice about planning hits, telling him, "You've got to be dead sure, or dead." Bishop tells Steve he'll pick up some scuba gear and they'll use it to get on the boat undetected to kill the target. They succeed and Bishop plans an explosive before they leave. As they get off the boat, some Organization men show up after them in speedboats. They watch as the men get blown up with the boat. Steve asks who the men are and Bishop explains that they're Organization men, after him because he broke a rule by not asking them to start training him. More men show up soon, leading to a car chase. Bishop blows up a car chasing them and then sends an exploding car into a roadblock set for him, and pushes the last pursuing car off the mountain road with a bulldozer he finds on the side of the road.

Back at their room, Steve offers Bishop a glass of the local wine he likes. Steve watches with interest as Bishop has a sip. Bishop insects the glass himself suspiciously before picking up his bag to go, only to double over in pain. Steve says "Brucine! You'll be dead in a few minutes. Listen, you'll really appreciate this. This stuff is absolutely clear when it's in solution. I just coated the inside of the glass with it and let it dry. When the wine hit it it went right back into solution. No trace. Looks just like a heart attack." Bishop keeps struggling on the ground in agony. Steve continues "You said every man has his jelly spot. Yours was you just couldn't cut it alone."
Bishop: Was it because of your father?
Steve: You killed him? I thought he just died. You see? There you are. They told you who to hit. Kept the whole idea from being what we talked about. You needed a license, their license. I'm gonna pick my own mark, hit when I want. Just like you said, standing outside. See Naples and die."

Steve heads to Bishop's place, as if making it his own. He picks up the ball Bishop would squeeze to strengthen his fingers and then gets into his car and finds a note taped to his rear view mirror. We hear Bishop reading it to him " Steve, if you read this it means I didn't make it back. It also means you've broken a filament controlling a thirteen second delay trigger. End of game. Bang, you're dead." 

• 
  

What about it?
While "The Mechanic" could be accurately billed as an action film, it's a very thoughtful one, using the model of the hit man to ask some existential questions such as, what does it mean to "live outside?"The hit man is often used for questions like this. To it's credit the movie doesn't throw these questions at characters until we realize the questions suit them. The sub text is delivered beautifully suggesting the psychological scars of the lead characters, without putting the camera to them directly. Bronson's Bishop has many issues with family, relationships and society in general. We first hear his father mentioned when Harry describes the younger Bishop almost drowning. Harry remembers that the didn't cry or scream, just stared up at his father who didn't move a muscle to help. "That was a long time ago." Bishop answers to dismiss the story, but we wonder if Bishop has really put it behind him. He tells Steve that his father was a "judge." for the organization, and that he didn't talk about the Organization to him. When Steve compares their fathers suggesting that they were cowards, Bishop takes exception, claiming his father was "the best." He works for the Organization that his father helped build and has the same job as the man from Chicago who killed his father. When told he has to "cowboy" a hit, Bishop claims he's not a "wild Cleveland shooter." and we get a possible reason for his meticulous planning and methods, Cleveland not being too far from Chicago and possibly where his father's killer hailed from. Bishop possibly hopes he can be better at his job than the man who killed his father, which would finally give him some power in their relationship, or at least his idea of it. This also affords him the idea that he is "outside the system" to which his father was devoted.

Bishop's justifications for killing echo the question wrestled with by Rasalnikov from Dostoevsky's classic, "Crime and Punishment." which is reinforced when Bishop tells Steve that Napoleon was a killer, the same thought that Dostoevsky's character had and wrestled with. Like Dostoevsky's character, Bishop can't put himself in the same place that Napoleon did, we see it suggested that his physical problems are psychologically based and possibly due to the stress and guilt from making a living killing people. Bishop imagines himself outside the rules, yet must admit that everyone has rules, the distinction he makes is that some people have their own rule book.
"There are killers and there are killers, to tell you the truth they all have a different book of rules. To get away with it depends on the book of rules you have in your pocket at the time, your own country, somebody else's country, or your own personal book of rules. All this (waves at the museum figures) heroes, half of them are killers. Napoleon was one you know, Pancho Villa, Genghis Khan, and the we have our own domestic brand, like Billy the Kid, Jesse James and John Dillinger. Yeah, they're about as famous as our own honest to goodness heroes."

He speaks contemptuously of those who "need a license" to kill, but Steve appears correct when he accuses Bishop of using the Organization to provide a license for him, a fact which we can surmise Bishop himself must have considered, and possibly the reason he "broke the rules." and brought Steve in without asking permission. Despite his challenging tone to "the man" in the Organization, we know that Bishop has spent most of his life enforcing contracts on other's who broke these rules, so ignorance is not believable. This is supported by his lack of surprise, finding Steve has taken his contract. Ultimately, we have a man so lost in his own contradictions, that he is ready and willing to orchestrate his own death.  His disconnection from life is also illustrated in his paying a hooker, to not only have sex with him, but to convincingly act the part of his disappointed girlfriend, as if he can forge human contact by emulating it.  


While evaluating Steve, after watching Louise cut her wrist, Bishop tells him "It takes a very special kind of person to pick up the tab for that kind of living. You say you dig it, but you're talking about something you really know nothing about." We know that Bishop himself is wrestling with "the tab." Choosing Steve as his protege is not accidental, having parallels to his own story. We know that Steve's father once saved Bishop's life, and that Steve considers himself outside the rules. It's Steve that points out that they both live "in their minds." While on the surface, we don't see Bishop with any ethical compunctions about killing, we do sense that his disconnectedness is becoming to much to bear and training Steve may be an assertion of his humanity, the chance to let someone into his head. Bishop plays out his death perfectly, not tipping Steve off in any way that he knows he's planning to kill him. Even when after the last hit, the Organization miraculously arrives gunning for him, knowing that only Steve could have tipped them off, he doesn't show the least suspicion.  His own death is in fact, necessary to build Steve's confidence in order for Bishop's hit on Steve to work. Bishop doesn't succeed at living but can succeed in dying "by his own rules."

This is a solid film by Michael Winner, who seemed well suited to bring out the best in Charles Bronson (also notably collaborating in Death Wish.) The opening sequence is brilliant and you become so involved in Bishop planning his hit that you don't realize you've witnessed 16 minutes without any dialogue whatsoever, as close as we can get to living in the character's mind. This paints the character beautifully and is particularly good for Bronson, an actor who acts with his stony face, more than with anything he says. Jan-Michael Vincent is great as Steven, a cocky kid, too full of himself for his own good. And it's also a treat to see Bronson with Jill Ireland, his longtime wife, although her part was small here. The action sequences are exciting and original, and this is as much an action film as it is a dramatic one, which is suitable for the questions it poses.

Bronson is great as a hitman and the term "Mechanic" suits him. his disconnected, technical approach to killing makes the taking of someone else's life an engineering problem, rather than a cruelty. He shows no emotion even when killing Harry, an old family friend who he remembers from childhood. Yet, we do get glimpses of emotion turning behind his eyes. He considers things obsessively, yet his stoic determination and adherence to his own rules puts any qualms at bay, yet, not completely enough that his subconscious lets him off the hook. He does, "live in his mind." but his longing for some sort of connection must be placated somehow.  

"Be dead sure or be dead!" Bishop tells Steve, and this observation hits in a couple ways. Bishop is no longer sure about many things, and sees this as a logical choice, accepting the latter. Steve says he'll "Try to remember that" but Bishop tells him "Don't try. Remember." Steve doesn't have time to grasp the full meaning of the advice, and pays for it, his sudden explosive ending the only fitting reminder for not considering all the angles. "The Mechanic" examines the "tab" that must be picked up by those who think to "live outside." presenting it as an inevitable fact, which you will pay eventually, even if you're too skilled to be forced to pay it by anyone but yourself.

*There is a remake coming out shortly, directed by Simon West (Con Air) starring Jason Statham, Ben Foster, and Donald Sutherland. I'll be curious to see how it turns out but can't imagine it will top the original classic.  Jason Stathams a solid action guy, but you can't compete with Bronson.

The Road to Perdition

"There are many stories about Michael Sullivan. Some say he was a decent man. Some say there was no good in him at all. But I once spent six weeks on the road with him, in the winter of 1931. This is our story."
This narration by Michael Sulivan Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) begins the film and we're quickly brought in to take a look at family life in the Sullivan household.

Young Michael Jr. and his little brother Peter sit quietly at the kitchen table while their mother Annie (Jennifer-Jason Leigh)  oversees. He struggles with his homework until his mother tells him to go get his father. His father is in his bedroom in the process of emptying his pockets, and taking off his jacket, getting ready for dinner. Michael walks quietly up to the room observing as his father takes his gun out of his pocket.  Although fascinated, he doesn't mention it, just waits a moment and tells his Dad that dinner's ready.

We then see the Sullivan's heading to a wake thrown by John Rooney (Paul Newman) who greets the Sullivan kids warmly asking for hugs and even taking them off privately to throw dice. After Michael Jr. comes out ahead, Rooney sends Michael upstairs to get something from his jacket pocket. He's unable to get the jacket though as Rooney's son, Connor (Daniel Craig) is lying down in the room smoking and tells him to come back later. Downstairs the wake is underway and John says a few words about the man saying "lose one of us it hurts us all."  He tells a story about the dead man tackling his own quarterback in the last moments of a game, adding "Mistakes, we all make em." John then calls the dead man's brother, Finn McGovern to say a few words. McGovern says his brother was "loyal, brave,and he never told a lie." However, possibly due to being a little drunk, McGovern says a few words against John Rooney, saying "You rule this town as God rules the Earth, you know, you give and you take away." Michael escorts McGovern out of the room, with Connor following along. John also follows them out. McGovern threatens Connor before Michael puts him into his car. John asks for Connor's thoughts on McGovern's condition. Connor says he probably had too much to drink and he'll be fine. He does say he's going to go "talk to him" John insists that he bring Michael along and that he "just talk to him"

They all rejoin the wake and John and Michael have a moment playing the piano together. Connor looks on grinning. The younger Sullivan brother taps Connor and asks "Why are you always smiling?" Connor stoops down to look him in the eyes and says "because it's all so fucking hysterical." They go home and the kids go to bed. His little brother asks Michael Jr. what their Dad does for work, Michael Jr. says "He goes on missions for Mr. Rooney." The next morning Michael tells Peter that he can't make his concert that evening because he has to work. Michael Jr. asks "working at what?" prompting a stern look from his mother who says "putting food on your plate young man."



We see Michael loading his case in his car and leaving. He stops to pick up Connor. Michael asks "We're just talking to him right?"Connor gives him a flip "Sure." We see that Michael Jr, is hidden beneath the back seat, lifting the seat slightly, trying to sneak a look at the front. Michael and Connor head into a warehouse to meet with Tim McGovern. Michael Jr. sneaks out of the car and peeks in at them pressuring McGovern to come to his senses. McGovern agrees to keep quiet for the sake of his life and job, and leaving, Connor says he's "sorry your brother was such a fucking liar." This prompts McGovern to disagree, which Connor doesn't appreciate. McGovern insists that his brother never stole anything but that he 'knows something is going on" and will find out what it is. When McGovern almost accuses Connor of stealing the money his brother was blamed for, Connor shoots him in the head. Michael shoots McGovern as well to make sure he's dead. He then berates Connor for what he did. Connor notices, movement where Michael Jr. is hiding and watching and they scramble towards him. Michael finds his soon huddled against a fence, he asks if he saw the whole thing and Michael Jr. nods. He tells him not to speak of it to anyone. Connor comes out and sees that it's Michael Jr. and asks if he can keep a secret. Michael says "He's my son." which Connor claims is good enough for him.

On the ride home, Michael tells his son about the house that Mr. Rooney gave them and the life he made possible. Michael Jr. says he understands, but seems upset at home, prompting Michael to tell his wife that Michael had hidden away and seen his work. Michael Jr. is about to take a bike ride and finds John Rooney in the driveway asking about "their secret." Michael Jr. doesn't say a word, but Rooney says "I'm talking about the dice. A man of honor always pays his debts and keeps his word." He hands Michael Jr. a coin and smiles at him, but Michael Jr. just says he's late for school and leaves.

John and Michael have a drink alone discussing the issue. Michael assures John that his son understands. John tells him he sympathizes, telling Michael that "sons are put on this Earth to trouble their fathers." We see a flash of Michael Jr. at school, fighting. We then see a board meeting with all of John's people. John asks Connor if he has anything to say about it. John gets angry with Connor's smirk stating "we lost a good man. Do you think it's funny? Try again." He tries another time angering John for saying he's "like to apologize" and finally at his father's insistence, he stands and directly apologizes. One of John's men mentions a lot of unpaid debt, and Michael says "just give me the names" They all head upstairs to do so except for Connor who sits at the table stewing. When Michael leaves, Connor rushes out to catch him,handing him a note, saying his Father forgot to give it to him and it's a reminder that a Tony Calvino "is light again." Connor apologizes again and Michael accepts before driving off to see Tony Calvino. He heads to a busy nightclub to find Calvino. The doorman clearly knows his name and Michael has to tell the man to frisk him He asks if he can put a good word in to Mr. Rooney for him and escorts him to Calvino. When the doorman announces that Michael is there to see him, Calvino isn't pleased and hides a gun beneath a magazine, before having him sent in. Michael hands Calvino what he says is a letter from Mr. Rooney.   Michael watches Calvino's expression change reading the leader and also realizes there is a gun beneath the magazine. When Calvino attempts to reach for it, Michael grabs it and shoots him and then the doorman. He reads the letter,finding it says "Kill Sullivan and all Debts are Paid"


He attempts to call the house realizing his family is in danger,but the phone is off the hook. Connor is in the house already and kills Michael's wife as well as Peter. Michael Jr. gets home on his bike and hears the shots from outside and sees Connor leaving. Michael Jr. enters the house and sees what's happened. Michael Sr. arrives soon after and wails when he sees what's happened. He tells Jr. that this is no longer their home.

John has been informed about what happened and furiously curses Connor, who tells him the kid would have talked. Michael makes a stop to see someone, telling Michael Jr. to wait in the car. He pleads with his father not to go,but he explains that he has to protect them now as people will be after them. He forces Michael Jr.to take a gun, and tells him if he's not back in ten minutes to go see at Reverend Lynch at First Methodist, and NOT to go see Father Callaway. He enters a building and finds a Mr. Kelly.Michael says he doesn't have business with him, but Mr. Kelly says that he has business with Michael. Mr. Kelly offers Michael a case with $25,000.00 in it and tells Michael that Mr. Rooney has said there's more if he needs it. Mr. Rooney suggests that Michael take Peter and go to Ireland. Michael informs him that he can't take Peter, as he's dead. Michael asks where Connor is and Mr. Kelly tells him he's in hiding, but refusing to tell him more, explaining that if he tells he's a dead man anyway. Mr. Kelly reminds him that he's only the messenger. Michael nods and says "Then give Mr. Rooney a message for me." When Mr. Kelly asks what the message is, Michael shoots him in the head. Michael gets back to the car and takes the gun back from his son. He explains that they have to go to Chicago to see "a man who runs things" and where he stands.

They get to Chicago and Michael has his son wait while he goes to see Mr. Nitti., (Stanley Tucci) one of Al Capone's officers. He offers Mr. Nitti his services in exchange for him turning a blind eye to him killing his family's murderer. Nitti tells him it isn't possible, and Michael concludes that Nitti is already protecting Connor. We then see that John and Connor are also in Chicago and had listened to the whole conversation. Connor tells his father they should get him while he's in the building, but John tells Connor to go upstairs, as if sending him to his room. John struggles to make a decision and Nitti advises him to think objectively, as if Michael were "just some guy." John says "Make it Quick" but tells him not to hurt Michael Jr. Mr. Nitti mentions they have a "gifted" guy who's done work for them in the past that can handle killing Michael.

We then see Harlen Maguire (Jude Law) bringing camera equipment to a crime scene. He's taking photographs of a stabbing victim. The cops give him two minutes to take pictures. When Harlen sees the victim move, he chokes him cloth and then takes his pictures. Harlen takes the call from Mr. Nitti, who agrees to his rate. Maguire tells Mr. Nitti that he knows Michael's work.

Michael Sr, and Jr. talk in the car, about going to Michael Jr's. Aunt Sarah's house in Perdition, as she'll take him in. He tells Jr. that it's by a lake and they all went there together once. Mike Jr. remembers there was a dog there. We see Harlen attending Michael's family's funeral although Michael isn't there. He calls the house and speaks with Sarah telling her that they're heading to her place,if it's alright. Harlen picks up the phone after Sarah hangs up and tells the operator he was cut off and needs to be reconnected.

Michael stops at a diner for food, although Jr. says he isn't hungry and wants to stay in the car and read. Harlen shows up the dinner, and gets a table facing Michael. Michael talks with Harlen about a camera he pulls from his pocket. He tells Mike about his job photographing the dead and his fascination with the look of them. Mike excuses himself to use the restroom and Harlen gets his gun ready only to realize Michael snuck out and is driving away, having popped his tires on the way. Harlen shoots after the car,and when a cop asks him what he's doing, he shoots the cop dead. Michael realizes they can't go to Sarah's as Harlen knew they were headed there. He tells Mike Jr. that they're going to convince Capone to give up Connor by taking their money until they do. He teaches Mike Jr. to drive and they stop at a bank where Michael asks for "dirty money only" demanding everything they're  holding off the books for Capone. When the bank official tells him they'll figure out who he is, he volunteers his name even spelling it. He informs the bank manager that he "won't  be happy" if he reports it or hears about a farmer's savings being wiped out by a bank robber.

They continue robbing banks, Mike Sr.,getting the money while Jr.drives. Over dinner Mike Jr.asks when he can have his share of the money. "How much do you want?" his father asks. He says "$200.00" to which Sr.says "Ok. Deal."   After thinking a minute Mike Jr. asks "Could I have had more?" and his Dad answers"You'll never know."

We see John Rooney in Chicago ignoring a ringing phone looking angry. We then see Connor with the phone in hand, getting angry and throwing furniture when his father won't answer. Nitti gets a call about the stolen money. Connor bursts in on Nitti, yelling that he's not a prisoner and wanting to see his father. Nitti is clearly not pleased with Connor, reminding him that he can't take care of himself or he wouldn't be there. Connor tells him not to talk to him that way again, as he is "the future" his father being an old man.

Michael hits a bank and finds that Chicago took out all their money two days ago. He gets the name of the accountant that withdrew it, Alexander Rance (Dylan Baker) We see that Harlen has a room rented across from Rance's room and is waiting for Michael to show up. Rance knows Sullivan so is immediately frightened when he enters the room, instead of the room service he expected. Rance makes a point of walking past the windows causing Michael to shut the curtains, which makes Harlen grab his gun and head across the street. Mike Jr, sees Harlen heading into the hotel with a gun and starts honking the horn, although Mike Sr. can't hear it. Rance tries to stall Michael acting as if he doesn't know which key will open the trunk with the files Michael wants. When Michael tells Rance he gets one more try, he finds the key, but jumps out of the way as he opens out. Michael avoids the blasts from Harlen entering with his shotgun and manages  to hit Harlan,disfiguring his face. He sees that the blasts hit Rance, killing him, and he takes the files and leaves Harlen in the room,  finding himself shot in the arm. When Michael Sr. passes out in the car, Mike Jr. stops and screams at people on a farm they're passing to help.

They take him in and remove the bullet, letting him recover. Mike Jr. helps them with the work on the farm and they come to really like having him there. They get some time to talk, and Mike Jr. asks if he liked Peter better. His father explains that he was harder on Mike Jr. because he reminded him of himself and he didn't want him to be like him. Going through the files, Mike Sr. realizes that Connor has been stealing money and blaming the men that got killed. Michael drops in on John Rooney at church and tells him they need to meet downstairs. He tells John what Connor's been doing. John asks "Do you think I'd give up my son?" He says he knows that Connor betrayed him and tells him he should leave before it gets worse. Michael points out that when John dies they won't need to bother protecting Connor anymore and will likely want to get him out of the way. John tells him he still can't deliver his own son to be killed. When Michael mentions that Connor killed his wife and son, John says "There are only murderers in this room. Michael,  open your eyes!" John begs him again to leave if only for Michael Jr.'s sake. 

That night, Mike Jr. sees his father assembling a gun. When he asks what he's doing he tells him he has one more thing to do and he'll be done, and tells him to go to bed. We see John being escorted to his car in the rain by a group of men only to find that his driver is dead. Michael kills every one of them except for John and then approaches him walking up close. John looks at Michael and says "I'm glad it's you." before Michael shoots him.


Michael calls Nitti for Connor's room. Nitti says that Al Capone wants his assurance that after this, it's over. Michael walks into the hotel, all of the guards move aside for him and allow him in and he shoots Connor while he's sitting in a bath.

With Connor dead, they head for Sarah's house.  Mike Jr. plays on the beach with a dog that runs out to greet them and Mike Sr. goes in the house to look for Sarah. He finds the house immaculate but Sarah isn't there. Standing at the window watching Mike Jr. on the beach we see Mike Sr. get shot from behind by Harlen, who is now getting his camera ready for the death picture. Mike Jr. then comes up behind Harlen pointing a gun. Harlen tells him not to do it and tries to ease up closer to him. We hear a shot and see that his father has shot Harlen so he wouldn't have to do it. He tells his father "I couldn't do it." and he smiles and replies "I know." His father repeats "I'm sorry." several time and dies.  We see Michael Jr. driving to the farm where they had nursed his father to health and we hear him in voice over:

"I saw then that my father's only fear was that his son would follow the same road. And that was the last time I ever held a gun. People always thought I grew up on a farm. And I guess, in a way, I did. But I lived a lifetime before that, in those six weeks on the road in the winter of 1931. When people ask me if Michael Sullivan was a good man, or if there was just no good in him at all, I always give the same answer. I just tell them... he was my father. "

The Road to Perdition is both a great hit man movie and coming of age story. Sam Mendes does a wonderful job maintaining a dark and somber mood and creating a world where gangsters operate as a family business. Everything, including betrayal is handled in order for the business to look out for it's own interests. While the relationship between John Rooney and Michael Sullivan Sr., is more family than business, we see that on higher levels, the same principles apply. Rather than everybody rushing to kill each other, they first attempt to use the proper channels. Undoubtedly already aware that Michael Sullivan will not stop at anything short of killing Connor, attempts are still made to settle things quietly. John Rooney offers him money,  Nitti offers him a reminder of their resources.

Rooney's line that "Sons are put on this earth to trouble their fathers" is a large theme in the film. We see that Rooney loves Michael like a son, and has open contempt for his own son Connor. Yet, bloodlines are important here, and no matter his feeling Rooney can't choose over his own family no matter how disastrous the decision is. Likewise, when all Michael has left is Michael Jr., his first thought is to take care of his own family. The circumstances force him to be a father in a way he probably never had to before.  Although their bonding experiences are far from conventional, such as teaching his son to drive a get away car, the time and interest are what come through as real. Despite living in the same house for his entire childhood, Michael Jr. knows little about his father, who has been content to keep the bills paid while his wife "manages: the kids.  His father has been a figure rather than a man. The dire circumstances allow them to connect on a human level, each directly interested in the other. Michael Jr., finds that his father is tough and uncompromising but not uncaring. Michael Sr.'s fear that his son will be like him, has never been put into words, but they both come to see it and confront it.

Both John Rooney and Michael spend most of the story acting to protect their sons, although Michael must also avenge the rest of his family. The differences in their backgrounds is another key factor in their struggle. Raised with the surroundings of privilege, Connor sees himself as untouchable and justified in acting out his every whim. The scene early in the movie where he prevents Michael Jr. from retrieving John's jacket, tells us all about his character. Although allowing him to get it would be no more trouble than having the conversation with Michael Jr, already is, he prevents him simply because he can. It's also telling that John passively allows this to occur, only rectifying it later in order to make a point to Michael Jr.  Jr.,on the other hand is raised working class. He has no idea how much money his family has, but he thinks of his life as average.  He has a respect for authority, because he sees his father's respect for his employer, even seeing John as a grandfatherly figure until he realizes what he's really about. He refuses, however to call Connor, "Uncle Connor"  showing that his respect does have a limit.

Michael makes no apologies for what he is or does. He sees his occupation as an honorable way to make a living. He doesn't hesitate to kill people, but neither does he kill anyone or do anything without a practical end in mind. Robbing banks of "only dirty money" shows his practical sense. The money, to him, is only a means to exert pressure having little interest as a thing on it's own. He deduces accurately that Capone's organizations greatest loyalty is to profit, and then to John Rooney, and acts to position himself  so that allowing him to kill Connor doesn't conflict with either motive. The ease with which he kills Connor after the elder Rooney is dead, shows how exact the organization's principles are, Connor's protection even holding open the doors to allow him in.

This is a film where all the parts work perfectly, great direction, a smart script, and a dream cast combine to form an authentic story. The screenplay by David Self, based on a graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner, is based on true events.While I don't always care for Tom Hanks' choice of roles, there's no doubt he's a great actor and he shines here, while playing against his usual type, but still using his "wholesome" persona on some level to give his character depth. We need to believe that Michael Sullivan is a man of contradiction as suggested in the opening narration. He's a loyal family man, who also kills people for a living. Tyler Hoechlin is great as Michael junior giving us a convincingly young twelve year old, with enough sense and gravity to be taken seriously as a player in the story. Paul Newman's part is small by comparison, but his presence in small scenes is memorable enough that his presence is never absent from the film. We can believe him as the father Michael never had, his sorrow at his own choice, and as a result we feel Michael's regret when he must eliminate him. Daniel Craig is also perfect, his spoiled arrogance is played well, his absurd constant smile giving us this character exactly. Entitled, but fatally shortsighted, playing on loyalty without grasping the responsibility that comes with it.

Jude Law's Harlen is perfect as a foil for Michael Sullivan. We sense that no one is a match for Michael one on one. The way he effortlessly mows down John's men, indicates that. Harlen is the sneaky where Michael is straightforward. Where Michael is used to death he isn't blood thirsty, while Harlen revels in it to the most ridiculous degree imaginable with his dead body pictures. Harlen although completely repulsive, is also very capable and efficient, which Michael sees immediately, taking great pains to avoid Harlen while he has a mission to complete.

We begin with the question was Michael Sullivan a good man? or without any good at all. What we see in the film is that Michael Sullivan contains all kinds of things, but with "he was my father." we grasp the enormity of what family means. Both Michaels understand this. After finding Michael Jr. had witnessed Finn's murder, Connor asks if Jr. can keep a secret and Michael Sr. answers with similar language, not saying yes or no, but only "He's my son."  Questions of good or bad and right or wrong, take a back seat to the idea that this is who you have in the world.  Connor is the only one of the four characters that doesn't appreciate this, though he does realize it, using it in an opportunistic way, without a sense of reciprocity. You could almost say, there's good and bad, and then there's family.

You could spend a long time assigning blame, but as John says to Michael, "There are only murderers in this room." The situation Michael is in is a fact of his lifestyle, always a possible consequence. The same is true of the Rooney's, and John to his credit, doesn't claim otherwise. Michael addresses his son's concerns that it was his fault everything happened due to his sneaking in the car, and although he doesn't say it, we sense that he agrees with John's assessment. What happened was a result of the business he's in. Michael doesn't spend time bemoaning his fate, only attempts to correct it in a way that gives his son a chance to be different than he himself was. His last act is an act of giving Michael Jr. the chance to keep his hands free of the blood, that Sr. is so used to, by killing Harlen, a figure who couldn't be a better symbol for an obsession with murder. So Michael Jr. is "raised on a farm" but he sees the road trip as "a whole life before that." He's seen one road all the way to it's end, and whatever anyone can say of his father, he did succeed in giving his son a chance to "see Heaven."

Breathless

Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo) starts off the film telling us about himself "After all, I'm an asshole. After all, yes, I've got to! I've got to!" We don't see him yet, but a newspaper he's reading featuring a pin up girl. Lowering the paper, we see that he's wearing his hat pulled down to hide his eyes, while he clenches a cigar in his mouth. Rather than adjust his hat to look around, he cranes his whole head back to see.

He has a young woman working with him. We see them signal to each other as a woman is about to leave her car unattended. He hotwires the car when the coast is clear, and although his assistant asks to go with him, he firmly tells her no and takes off. Driving down the road, the cigar never leaving his mouth, he says "I collect the dough. I ask Patricia if it's yes or no." He debates picking up a couple of ladies hitchhiking until he gets close to them and pronounces them "both dogs." He finds a gun in the glove box and points at passing cars, mock shooting them saying "Pow. Pow."

Hitting some traffic,he attempts to keep going but the police spot him. He attempts to evade them and pulls off on a side road hoping they'll pass by. The car stalls and he needs to hot wire it again and an officer on a motorcycle pulls up to arrest him. Michel shoots the officer and runs away on foot to Paris. He ditches his hat, coat and cigar, and gets a ride to Paris, where he visits a hotel, asking for Miss Franchini's room. Finding she's out, he takes advantage of the unattended front desk and grabs her key, visiting her room to wash up and search for cash. He stops and orders breakfast, excusing himself to grab a newspaper, which he uses to shine his shoes before dropping in on a girlfriend who he asks to borrow money "until noon" She tells him he's rotten and offers a lesser amount which he tells her to keep, and then quickly grabs all the money out of her pocketbook while she has her shirt over her head, dressing. He offers to take her to breakfast knowing she's running late.

He puts on a hat and coat and finds a new cigar and then looks for Patricia Franchini, (Jean Seberg) an American girl hawking the "New York Herald Tribune" newspaper in the streets. He greets her saying "It's crazy, but I love you." asking her to go to Rome with him. She asks about his travels and asks why he's there as he hates Paris. He replies "No. but I've got enemies here." before asking her to go to Rome again. Patricia tells him she has too much to do. She walks with him while selling papers, pausing conversation to yell "New York Herald Tribune." They discuss a previous encounter.
Patricia: You're mad I left without a goodbye.
Michel: No, I was furious because I was sad.
He tells her he has to see a man in Paris who owes him money, adding that then he has to see her. She talks down the idea, stating that there are prettier girls around. Michel says "No. It's weird. I've slept with two girls since you. We didn't jive at all." He again asks about Rome and Patricia again claims too much to do. She says she has to enroll at the Sorbonne or her parents won't send money anymore.
Michel: I've got money.
Patricia: We only  spent three nights together.
Michel: No, five.
Michel sees the time and says he has to go. She agrees to meet him on the street that night. Michel witnesses a hit and run, walks over takes a look at the victim along with several others, and crosses himself and walks away. He then finds a description of the motorcycle cops murder in a newspaper. He heads to a travel agency and asks for Mr. Tomalchoff, who owes him money. Tomalchoff say the money is ready. He's upset that his check is "crossed" so he has to sign it over to someone else to get it cashed. Tomalchoff mentions "Berutti" who Michel says he can't stand, although Tomalchoff thought they were friends. Michel asks to us the phone.

Two men show up looking for Michel. Tomalchoff greets them saying "Hello, Inspector." They respond asking sarcastically "In the travel business now?" The inspector tells him "Remember how you ratted on your friend Bob?" Tomalchaff gets upset and asks "What if I did?" The Inspector answers "You're going to do it again."  He then asks about Michel and if he's been in to see him lately. Tomalchoff says no, and the Inspector asks the receptionist if anyone's been in to see Tomalchff. She says yes, five minutes ago, and they run to try and catch up with him.

Michel is on the street reading another paper and smoking a cigarette. He stops to look at a picture of Humphrey Bogart who's smoking a cigarette the same way.He stares at another picture for a moment as if trying to match the expression in Bogart's eyes. He meets up with Patricia,who wants him to take her out for dinner. He has to make a call first and visits a public restroom, where he mugs a man to get money for dinner and rushes back to Patricia. Walking down the street, Michel tells her a story about a man who stole money to impress a girl, noting that after he was found out she stood by him, and even helped him commit crimes in the future. Patricia suddenly remembers she has an appointment to meet a journalist on the Champs-Elysees, to go to a press conference. Michel is upset that she's leaving and tells her to meet him tonight. She says she can't but will meet him tomorrow. When she doesn't see any taxis, he offers to give her a ride. She notices that he's driving a different car, and he claims the last one is in the garage. He pushes her to let him stay with her. He tells her that he can't be without her, but she keeps contesting the idea. She gets out of the car seeing her meeting place before Michel can park.

She meets a man at a table in a restaurant, apologizing for being late. She tells the man that she's like to dig a hole to hide in. He advises her to "do like elephants do when they're sad." and vanish. She explains "I don't know if I'm unhappy because I'm not free, or if I'm not free because I'm unhappy."  He tells her a story about a  woman he met for lunch and forgot to suggest that she sleep with him, and remembering later, sent her a telegram telling her so,only to have her send a reply back that she had thought the same thing. The man tells her to come to the office tomorrow. Michel is in the building and sees them leaving together and then get into the man's car. He picks up another newspaper and looks over to see Patricia kissing the man before they drive off.

Patricia arrives at her room the next day and finds her key missing. When she gets in she finds Michel in her bed. She reacts calmly asking "What are you doing here?" He tells her "The Claridge was all booked up."  She points out that there are other hotels and tells him he's crazy. Michel says "Don't make such a face, it doesn't suit you." Patricia stands at the mirror and asks "What's making a face?" Michel says "Going like this." and demonstrates a few funny faces for her. She then tries them herself while looking in the mirror and says "I think it suits me just fine." Michel says "You're crazier than me." Talking to himself in the bathroom mirror he says "I always fall for girls who aren't my type." He asks Patricia if she noticed that he followed her last night. She tells him not to bother her as she's thinking. Michel asks her what's wrong, but she says she doesn't know adding "I'd like to think about something but I can't seem to." Michel tells her she should've stayed with him rather than seeing the guy last night. She explains that the guy gets her articles to write, which is very important to her. Michel tells her that going to Rome with him is what's important. She says she didn't sleep with the guy. Michel tells her that he loves her, but she says she doesn't know if she loves him yet. He asks her when she will, and she tells him "Soon." He asks her why she won't sleep with him and she tells him that she's trying to figure out  what she likes about him and wants them to be "like Romeo and Juliet." He insists that he can't live without her. He demands that she smile at him nut she refuses. He says he'll count to eight and if she doesn't smile he'll strangle her. He then puts his hands around her neck and counts to eight, doing a lot of stalling between seven and eight until she laughs. Michel calls her a coward and when she asks why, he says that "if a girl says that everything is fine and then can't light her cigarette, she's scared of something. "


Patricia finds Michel's passport and asks if it's his. He quickly explains that it's his brother's, although not his real brother (explaining why it says "Laszlo Kovacs") Michel lights a cigarette easily, pointing out that he's not scared. Michel continues asking her to sleep with him and she keeps changing the subject eventually telling Michel that she's just found out she's pregnant and thinks it's his baby. Michel makes a phone call to tell Tomalchaff he can't find Berutti. He informs Michel that the police were looking for him. He turns his attention back to Patricia, who is getting ready in the bathroom, then makes another call to arrange the sale of another stolen car. He turns back to Patricia who admits she's scared."It's true, I'm scared, because I want you to love me.But at the same time I want you to stop loving me. I'm very independent you know."
Michel: I love you, but not how you think.
Patricia: Then how?
Michel: Not the way you think.
Patricia: But you don't know what I think. You don't know.
Michel: Sure I do.
Patricia: No, you can't. I want to know what's behind your face. I've looked at it for 10 minutes now, and I still know nothing, nothing. I'm not sad. But I'm scared.

She tells Michel that she's writing a novel, which surprises him. She asks him if he likes William Faulkner, who he's never heard of. He's more interested in trying to take off her top, but she wants to read to him from "The Wild Palms" reading "between grief and nothing, I will take grief." and asks Michel which he would choose. After trying to change the subject, he answers that he'd choose nothing, because grief is a compromise, and he wants all or nothing. Patricia closes her eyes and tells Michel that she's trying to make everything go black, but can never make everything entirely black. She gets under the blanket with him and agrees to stay with him. Later she gets up and tells him she needs to go buy a dress. She agrees to let Michel go with her to the office to prepare for the press conference she needs to attend. They walk outside and she waits for him to get his car, not realizing that he needs to find one to steal. He eventually finds one and they go to her office.He sits in the car reading the paper, noticing that the police have put a big picture of him in it which a man on the street also seems to notice. The press conference is for a writer named Parvulesco (Jean Pierre Melville.) The reporters ask him questions about love, and the differences between men and women.

While she's at the conference, Michel goes to sell the car. The buyer however, wasn't expecting the model that Michel brought, but offers a price saying that he can't pay until next week. Michel calls him a bastard, and the man answers "What are you Mr. Kovacs?" showing Michel the picture from the newspaper. Michel asks to use the phone and looks around the office for cash. He asks to speak to Berutti, but is told that Antonio wants to meet him later. The buyer walks in on him and tells him not to bother searching. Michel attempts to drive the car away but finds the distributor cap has been removed. He punches the buyer and makes him pay for his taxi.

Michel picks up Patricia in the cab, telling the driver to step on it constantly. He tells Patricia he was in an accident, but unharmed. He has the cab stop so he can meet Berutti at the agreed upon place, but as he ran late he finds Berutti gone when he gets there and returns to the cab. Patricia needs to go back to the Herald. Michel asks her "Why bother writing?" She answers "To have money and not rely on men." Michel leaves Patricia at the Herald. Shortly after he leaves, the Inspector looking for Michel comes to see Patricia and asks if she knows Michel, showing her his picture in the newspaper. She denies knowing him initially, but when the Inspector cautions her, she identifies him, saying she wasn't sure at first because it's an old picture. The inspector asks where Michel is, but she tells him she doesn't know. She says she only met him recently and doesn't know him well. The inspector asks if she thinks she'll see him again, and she says she might. He the asks her about her working papers, suggesting that if she doesn't want passport problems, she'll call if she sees him again.

The cops then split up,one following Patricia and the other presumably looking for Michel. Michel sees this happening from across the street as he pretends to read a newspaper. Patricia sees him and points to the man following her. Patricia then loses her tail by sneaking out the window of a movie theatre restroom. She finds Michel on the street and they agree to go see a western movie after dark. The news announces that police are closing in on Michel. Patricia reads the newspaper while he drives. She asks him about his marriage, which he says was a long time ago and he can't remember who dumped who. She wonders how the police knew they were together and Michel says it was an informer. Patricia says that's horrible, but Michel says "No. It's normal. Informers inform, burglars burgle, murderers murder, lovers love." Michel decides he needs to switch cars and Patricia suggests a nearby Cadillac, which he has her drive. He tells her they need to find Antonio Berutti. Eventually they find Berutti. in the middle of setting up blackmail pictures of a businessman kissing a girl,that works with him. Michel gives Berutti the check and they agree to meet the next day at an agreed upon hideout. Patricia tells Michel she has some doubts. The next morning at the new hideout, while Michel makes calls, Patricia takes a walk and calls the inspector with their location.

She returns to the hideout and tells Michel she called the police. She explains that she doesn't want to go away with him and called the police because she doesn't want to be in love with him, claiming that being mean to him proves she doesn't love him. Michel tells her that despite claims that there is no happy love, "there is no unhappy love." She claims she's independent. Michel says "You think you are but you're not."
Michel: I'm better than you are.
Patricia: Now you have no choice but to go.
Michel: You're crazy! That's a pathetic argument. [lights a cigarette] (as he did in the hotel room, proving he wasn't scared) You're like the girl who sleeps with everyone except the one man who loves her saying it's because she sleeps with everyone.
Patricia: Why don't you go? I've slept with lots of men. Don't count on me. What are you waiting for?
Michel: No, I'm staying. I'm in bad shape. I prefer prison.
Patricia: You're mad!
Michel: Nobody'll talk to me. I can look at the walls.
He remembers Berutti, and runs out into the street to tell him to go, because Patricia turned him in. Berutti gives him his money and tries to convince him to get in the car but Michel refuses, saying "I'm fed up. I'm tired. I want to sleep." Berutti tries to offer Michel his pistol but Michel won't take it. The cops pull up  and take aim at Michel. Berutti drives off throwing the pistol. Michel picks it up to throw it back at Berutti, but the police fire on him. He runs down the street after the car losing strength with each step. Patricia, hearing the shots, runs out after him. Michel falls to the ground. The police and Patricia stand over him as he looks up. Looking at Patricia, he "makes a face" as he did in her room. and says "You make me want to puke" He reaches up with his hand and closes his own eyelids, dying.
The officers repeat, He said "You make him want to puke" and she asks "What's puke?"
(There are other translations of the last lines, one has Michel saying "I'm a real scumbag." which the Inspector distorts as "He says you're a real scumbag" Patricia asking "What's a scumbag." The actual French lines are:
Michel: C'est vraiment dégueulasse.

Patricia: Qu'est ce qu'il a dit?
Inspectoe Vital: Il a dit que vous êtes vraiment "une dégueulasse".
Patricia: Qu'est ce que c'est "dégueulasse"?)

"Breathless" is a hugely influential movie, one of the most notable and well known films of the French New Wave.  Godard is always present here, taking a fairly straightforward story and reminding us that we are not seeing just a story of two lovers, but that we are watching a movie about them. Michel's internal monologue, while driving, unexpected and unusual cuts, focusing on artwork while we listen to the characters speak, artistic shots framing Jean Seberg's face, while Michel praises her attributes. Michel praises her neck so we take a look at it too. Most of the men in the film, Michel especially, have borrowed their sensibilities from Humphrey Bogart, a fact well confirmed by Michel's rapport with Bogart's pictures. We sense that this is a man who is supremely conscious of how he holds a cigarette in his mouth, and as we see in the opening, how he wears his hat.

What we see here is not accidental, the unpredictable score draws attention to signs as we pass them. We get the sense that these characters view life as a movie almost as much as we see their lives that way. We see only what we're shown, a fact which Patricia alludes to when she says, " I want to know what's behind your face. I've looked at it for 10 minutes now, and I still know nothing, nothing. I'm not sad. But I'm scared." It's difficult to really know anything, especially who someone is, particularly a man who painstakingly imitates the movie gangster look. The pivotal scene in the film is the long conversation in Patricia's room, and it revolves around the question "would you choose grief over nothing?" Michel quickly agrees and his all or nothing choice is confirmed by his actions. Michel spends most of his time "just doing" stealing cars, shooting a cop on the spur of the moment. He is madly in love with Patricia, but he doesn't want to talk about it, he wants to make love. Patricia agrees with the idea, closing her eyes, attempting to make everything go black (which she can't do) She examines ideas from others, yet can't commit to them for herself.

The ideas which inspire him are affectations, how he looks while he's trying to live. Patricia however is paralyzed by ideas she hasn't embraced, she continually mentions her "independence" yet she goes on dates with a journalist to further her career. While she loves Michel, this fact presents a dilemma. She fears that in loving another, she will lose her "independent" self. While for him, this is obvious, Patricia is doing a similar thing. She is casting herself as the independent forward thinking woman. The questions asked of Parvelesco at the press conference are not accidental, reflecting conversation on gender roles that Patricia was exposed to at the time. We are greatly influenced by culture, whether we realize it or not. The questions asked by the press are what presumably, the public wants to know. Patricia's questions about a woman's place in society, are answered by Parvelesco's fliratious compliment, which tellingly pleases her, despite not getting an answer. When Michel asks her "Why bother writing?" She answers "To have money and not rely on men." She finds the idea intoxicating, but not an easy one to live up to, craving the attention of men.

The only time that both are free of their facades is in bed, without "costumes." Yet even there, the sense of connection is fleeting. Patricia bemoans the fact that "sleeping together" is not really sleeping together, as when lovers sleep they separate. She longs for a real connection as much as she praises independence. She is so conflicted between the two ideas that she is unable to trust any feelings of her own. She agrees to stay with Michel because she sees a Romeo and Juliet story, another cultural influence. She calls the police on Michel, in order to force him to leave. It's not conceivable to her that he has embraced his "stoic tough guy" role so entirely, that he'll stay with her despite the cost of losing his freedom. Michel is as indentured to ideas as she is, however his only conflict is between the idea of "true love" and that of the "doomed loner." She doesn't realize that by calling the police she has given him a way to reconcile them. This is also a conflict of ideas well established by film noir protagonists, which Michel is certainly aware of, as evidenced when he bemoans always choosing the wrong girl. He is conflicted, but unlike Patricia, welcomes the conflict as it fulfills his chosen character.

Each of the characters chooses between grief or nothing. Michel, true to his word, chooses nothing and dies in the street receiving it. His seeming nonchalance in the face of the police closing in around him, might indicate that he'd chosen it all along. Does he really think that Patricia will go to Rome with him? Probably not, but he has to behave as if there's no other outcome possible, in all or nothing fashion. Death is the ultimate nothing, no complexities to struggle with. Patricia chooses grief, her state from the time we meet her. All of her extremes ultimately can't overcame her need for a safety net. She lives as an expatriate in Paris, yet her parents send her money. She speaks of a woman's independence, but uses her femininity as a shield. She wants to think but doesn't know what to think about. She gets swept up in adventure, but then corrects herself when she feels too free. Michel calls her a coward, using the lighting of a cigarette as the test. She admits that she's scared, but Michel's test is biased, as he has already given up.   "an informer informs, a burglar burgles..." he says an attitude which allows for little interest in your own life.  Michel can always light his cigarette because the way he lights it is something he's practiced in the mirror a thousand times or more.

But aside form the analytical, Michel and Patricia are simply young, stupid, naive and in love. They haven't accepted that there is any more to life than their ideals, even if they don't know exactly what they are. Love is playing second fiddle to self obsession and neither really gets that they are not the center of the universe. As Patricia says "When we talked, I talked about me, you talked about you, when we should have talked about each other.” Yet, even this idea is something of a novelty. As we see from their conversations they explore the surface of ideas, but never apply them. content to have said siomething that sounds meaningful, but unlikely to apply it. They flirt with ideas as they do with each other, as likely to entertain as dismiss them depending on the moment. 

The unpredictable energy in Godard's shooting helps us feel how alive they are, as if there's nothing more important in the world than a few hours in a hotel room, finding money for dinner, or the momentary flash of a woman's neckline, while reminders of mortality happen all around them. Any moment could be the important moment, as long as you're alive. But love can cloud everything, although they likely wouldn't complain, as it leads Michel to his nothing and Patricia to her grief. It's sad that it never occurs to them that there may be more than two choices.