In the scene where Lloyd Bridges' character was about to be blown up on merry-go-round, why was Tommy Lee Jones' character crying? Was it because he was gonna kill a fellow Irishman? I never really got it.
It is better to be feared than loved.
He was crying, but his character was also a madman so perhaps they were tears of joy and delight at what he was currently doing and planned to do.
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I don't think so,...because right after the Bomb blow's Max/Lloyd to "Kingdom Come" Tommy Lee/Ryan starts smiling. It was just a way of showing his emotional madness, he then pulls up behind the explosion in Max's El Camino to see the damage before speeding away.
The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get!
Maybe he was thinking of his sister while waiting for the explosion?
shareAt the time, he was cutting onions to put on a corned beef and cabbage sandwich he was making.
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He starts pray while crying so maybe he was asking God for forgiveness. He was crying because he committed a sin.
shareIn the scene that follows shortly after Max's death you'll see Anthony looking up all the info on Ryan in the PD's computer system.
If you watch through you'll see that when Anthony checks all the known associates it lists Liam (who is now Jimmy on the bomb squad). When he clicks on Liam's name (no picture available)he sees a list of relatives and Max is listed. I think it says that Max is Liam's uncle. That's how you learn how they are all tied together.
Ryan and Liam go way back and Max is Liam's uncle.
right on, boyle...
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Ryan (Tommy Lee) is crying because he WAS sad about killing Max (Lloyd Bridges). Later on in the movie you find out that Max was Jimmy's (Jeff Bridges) uncle so they probably knew each other back in Ireland. Also if you recall during the fight in the bar Ryan calls Max "old friend". This can be taken as a simple greeting, but I believe that they DID know each other in the past. Plus, while he's sitting in the room waiting for the bomb to detonate, if you look at the his hands it looks like he has them in a preying position(for Max's deliverence probably) which is not something he does for any of his victem's AND he turned away from the window, like he couldn't watch Max getting killed (which is different then his normal character because I recall Jimmy saying that Ryan like to watch as his bombs go off).
On the note of him smiling after the bomb goes off. He is happy because he caused Jimmy pain (This is also why he targeted Jimmy's friend -the bombsquad-and his family). He blames Jimmy for his sister's death and his imprisonment.
Gaerity can't have known Max.
They met in the pub (after Max got the tip off) and Gaerity didnt recognise him.
Also - FWIW - Max said he left Ireland when he was 12, which was well before Gaerity was born. He could have been lying, I suppose; also he could have gone on trips back. Either way, Gaerity wasnt close to him, and almost certainly had never even met him before.
I dont really know for sure why he was crying. But my take on it was that he was thinking to himself that Max and Jimmy were each willing to die for each other, and was reflecting that no-one was willing to do that for him. He was also a bit drunk.
There are many references to the Irish taking very seriously the killing of another Irishman.
Even though Garrity had to kill Max, he was still upset that it was the death of a real Irishman
He was crying because he was about to kill a fellow Irish man, but bombs still turn him on. Plus, he might have known that the Bridges character would be there. He got his revenge; Liam "killed" his sister in front of him, and Jones character killed his relative in front of him...;)
shareSPOLIERS AHEAD
I also think Ryan was crying because he was about to kill a "fellow" Irish Man, but that the bomb still turned him on. With the lost of his sister and his subsequent incarceration, Ryan became completely consumed by revenge and hatred towards Liam. And even though he was certainly enjoying the retribution over Liam's partners and relatives, I don't think he was exactly at peace with it. His obsession was not only destructive for his victims, but for him as well, I think. I also think that it's part of the reason why he looked so relieved at the end, death being a liberation from his suffering after the completion of his revenge against Liam.
Bill Foster: I'm the bad guy?...How did that happen?