The Dynamometer Scene

OK, so I really was very unimpressed with this film at the outset. I found it disjointed, very poorly paced and edited, excruciatingly slow, and generally boring. As time has passed, my opinion has changed. Although I still find the film to have many problems and flaws, it has some very good points as well.

Originally, I thought the whole dynamometer sequence was totally lame. I mean, the guy has done basically nothing but drive around for an hour, and all of a sudden there is this huge flurry of action when he arrives at the shop and the motorcycle is quickly unloaded, tested, and just as quickly reloaded. This scene just seemed absolutely ridiculous, meaningless, and pointless to me.

Upon further reflection, and with the rest of the film as a frame of reference, I believe the dyno scene was intended to be a metaphor for the rape scene to come. The heightened pacing of the scene, the lack of dialogue, and the image of another person mounting and controlling the motorcycle during the test seem entirely metaphorical. But the whole vignette only makes any sense or has any meaning after the rest of the film has been viewed. And in that frame of reference, the dyno scene then becomes interesting and meaningful.

I don't know that I have the patience to sit through this film again, but maybe someday...

And I still believe the film could easily have been shortened to half of its final length without losing anything at all.