MovieChat Forums > Pete Postlethwaite Discussion > Favorite scene

Favorite scene

posted 10 years ago by boudicea1967
3 replies | jump to latest

He has been in many productions and movies and it may be hard to pick just one. But, the scene that has always stuck out for me was one when he was in "In The Name Of The Father." His character, Giuseppe, is imprisoned unjustly, but never stopped believing in the system. In some scenes you see him collecting his paperwork and sending it off asking either for someone to represent him and for his appeal.

The scene that I most loved in the movie was the scene when Giuseppe is talking with that one English guard who was not very popular with the inmates and was a big of a hard ass. The guard asked him how he got the name Giuseppe and he tells the guard that there was an Italian Ice Cream making in the village where he was born and his name was Giuseppe and his mom liked the name. Then the guard asks him if his mother and the guy were lovers and instead of getting angry or being resentful, he laughs it off and you see the guard smile at him and he tells the guard no but that she just fell in love with the name. Even though the guard was not liked by some of the inmates and he kept a close eye on them, I could not help but get the feeling that in spire of what he was accused of, the guard liked Giuseppe and was respectful to him.

I don't know what it was about that scene that made me always remember it and I have wondered about it at times. The only thing that I came up with is given the situation and the tensions at that time between the Irish and English, there are moments, maybe just a few and maybe just one inch in the never ending miles of life that people have to go through, people become human beings to each other and in this case, it was not an English guard and an Irish prisoner, just two men talking about something ordinary and mundane and for that moment, they were not "enemies" or adversaries, just human. It was a very human moment.

It is interesting that the guard was a target of Joe's who set him on fire and that is when Gerry changes his view.

Does anyone have one scene that he did that has always stuck in your mind for some reason? I would like to hear it.

[–] bostontolalaland 10 years ago

Mr Postlethwaite filled every character with a real life. As you so ably wrote, in In The Name Of The Father, was acting of hope and humor, maybe hubris, where all the realities of his life would shut down a person but some still try or at least shore up others by trying even though they might not have hope for themselves. I just saw Dark Water and Mr Postlethwaite was again someone of import and action whilst in position of servitude, guilt and hopelessness. [Dark Water a 'thriller', I do recommend because of Mr Postlethwaite, Cameryn Manheim and John C Reilly]. Most of all, I thank you for you wonderful words.

[–] Howlin Wolf 9 years ago

Same film; "Did you foul the ball?" ...



"Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?!"

[–] lawrenceconwayvulcan 8 years ago

The Town. Where his character talks about how to geld a horse in order to get Ben Affleck's character into line. In this scene alone he produce more palpable evil than Jack Nicholson did with his constant gurning through out The Departed. Pete Postlethwaite was nominated for a BAFTA (UK Oscar) just on the basis of this scene.