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Ann Margaret's Critical Rant at the End vs AMC

posted 14 years ago by M_Cobretti
3 replies | jump to latest

So, I've heard that the now infamous "AMC Edit" cuts out Ann Margaret's creepy rant at the end of the film. To those who haven't seen the theatrical release, prior to throwing the wooden heart up in the air, she swears and rants in a voice not unlike Fats'.

The rant throws brings up a lot of questions.

- If we buy the "possession" angle, was she now going to become possessed by Fats like Corky had been?

- Was she teasing Corky, making fun of his obsession with Fats? Or was she coming around and was going to embrace Corky/Fats in all their insanity?

I'm sure a lot of other questions could come out of discussing this rant. Wherever you land, it added a eerie note to the end, and actually creeped me out more than anything else in this otherwise creepy movie.

Point? By taking it out, AMC basically ruined the movie for everyone who watched it. They robbed the filmmakers of the ending they intended and they robbed the audience of the final twist.

It's insanity.

[–] FangsFirst 13 years ago

I....don't think that was a twist. I think it was a tragic and unknowingly (for Peg) uncomfortable moment.

I think she was just doing a Fats voice to be funny and break the tension, sort of trying to treat it as an injoke or other symbol of familiarity. She is assuming Corky is still alive, so no other explanations really make any sense.

Of course, I read the book years and years ago and only just saw the movie, so it was pretty firm in my mind that nothing supernatural occurred.

But that was definitely an important moment. Building up the absolute crush of this woman who will say something ridiculous and embarrassing to try to draw him out and to her--basically making herself emotionally vulnerable.

...to a corpse.

It's sad and tragic, more than anything else. She made herself vulnerable and decided to try for a happiness that it's simply too late for.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] thorbin 13 years ago

Obviously, people are missing the entire point of Fat's "confession" of how the psychic card trick works.... by bringing up the slutty stewardess line, all Peggy (Ann Margret) thought of was that she was tricked again, being that she was already in a loveless marriage with Duke and she thought that Corky really cared about her (you know, with the 15 year crush and all).

I think another factor of Fats (ie. Corky's alternate personality) desire to kill Peggy was the subconscious fear that by waiting for Duke to show up (so she could "come clean"), she would eventually discover his murder the same way Duke found out about Bill Greene's... so Fat's desire to murder wasn't just an issue of competition, but of survival.