Uncle Ernie


So... Did Tommy's step-dad figure out what had happened or what?
I was kinda confused.

"Adolph Hitler is still alive. I slept with her last night."

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I believe he did. As you can see, he seems a little pissed... burning his paper and all that. The stepdad might have been sleezy, but not utterly dumb.

**********
They blew up Congress!!! HAHAHA!

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I reckon he knew of his brother's "tastes", which is why he seemed rather apprehensive when going out for the night, leaving Tommy under his uncle's watchful eye.

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Except I don't recall him being hesitant about it at all, that was Tommy's mother's job.

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I don't know if Nora knew of Ernie's proclivities either. She seemed concered about the fact that "he's had a few too many tonight".

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The paper Uncle Ernie was reading was called something like " Gay News", so if Frank didn't know before, he probably did then. ( Sorry if my tenses are mixed up there.) I wonder if they found out about Cousin Kevin? There had to be evidence ( burn marks, bruises,ect)

This movie is good enough to have been based on a novel.

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But Tommy could've bruised & burnt himself being blind and all.

Though I think they found him out, which is why Uncle Ernie was given the job instead.

"To the north, where we do what we want."

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I thought the same thing about the burn marks, how would be possibly create fire?
And after that iron his body could have been burned, at least red.

As for Uncle Ernie, I think the dad knew. Him burning the Gay News was pretty much him telling him to stop, because he's destroying his homosexual entertainment.





I'll join you when hell freezes over.
Dumbledore's Army!

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I think Uncle Ernie was the step dad's brother. And I'm pretty sure this had been going on for many years (pre-movie)...at least since puberty, if story line was real world.

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Yeah-I think he did, but only cared because Nora and Tommy were a "package deal", and he knew there was nobody who would take Tommy in.

I think Frank saw Tommy as the next best thing to a potted plant after Captain Walker was killed, and Frank knew he was guilty of killing him.

If something happened to Tommy, he'd console Nora, but I think in a way, he was hoping to off Tommy (not by his own hands, but by "accident"-I think that's why he got his sadistic relatives to "baby-sit"), because every time he looked at Tommy, he saw Captain Walker's death in his eyes.

"The Guilty are safe, but always accused by his empty eyes.", "His eyes are the eyes that transmit all they know. The truth burns so bright it can melt winter's snow."-from Amazing Journey

Later, when Tommy was healed, he was Frank's meal-ticket, so he couldn't just bump him off at that point.

ii:iv

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Yeah, anything Frank tried to do for Tommy was basically to stay in bed with Nora.



I'll join you when hell freezes over.
Dumbledore's Army!

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Since Pete Townsend himself has admitted being sexually abused after his arrest for possession of child pornography my take on Uncle Ernie and who knows what is that most members of a family 'know' somehting isn't right about the abuser but either don't know enough to accuse them of something, or they 'turn a blind eye' because confrontation is for some reason difficult/taboo. Both Frank and Nora may have been uneasy for various reasons but neither could/would act upon what they felt or knew. I think this is being hinted at in the portrayal of Uncle Ernie, who was such a shocking character when I saw this in my teens.

I'm a fountain of blood
In the shape of a girl

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That part of the movie was really gross.

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