MovieChat Forums > The American (2010) Discussion > For Those That Were Confused (SPOILERS)

For Those That Were Confused (SPOILERS)

posted 14 years ago by naf-1
36 replies | jump to latest

I came to this board to see what others thought of this movie and found massive confusion over major plot points. Some I understood the confusion over, others made it sound like people fell asleep in the middle of the movie.

SPOILER ALERT!

1) Mathilde was NOT shot by Pavel (or anyone else). Jack rigged the gun to misfire. They explicitly show him modifying the gun (even though Mathilde only wanted the scope adjusted) and give a good hint when he looks at it again before delivering it to her. It goes by fast, but they also show sparks and smoke coming from the back of the gun right after she pulls the trigger. The next shot of her shows a large wound around her eye. The same eye that was looking down the scope. It went by fast, so if you were in a theater it might have been confusing, but if you were watching at home and can rewind, it should be pretty obvious.

Why did he modify it? Either he realized it was a setup after he called Pavel to tell him he "wanted out" or he did it for more personal/emotional reasons (or both). If, at this point in the movie, you didn't understand that Jack is completely paranoid, I'm not sure if we were watching the same movie.

2) Jack was not the target from the beginning (if he is, then only Pavel knows this). Mathilde had multiple chances to kill Jack when they were testing the gun. It is presumed her target is someone else, otherwise she would have killed him by the river when they were testing the gun. It is not until Jack tells Pavel "he wants out" that we can presume Pavel wants to kill Jack and then tells Mathilde to do it. Mathilde was supposed to kill him when Jack gave her the gun, but "the opportunity didn't present itself" so Pavel tells her to find an opportunity, thus she is forced to try to kill him in the streets with the rifle. She shoots some woman to get into her home and quickly get to a high vantage point. When the gun misfires, Jack's paranoia is confirmed.

3) Jack asks Mathilde who her employer is and she replies "same as you" - now Jack knows Pavel is trying to kill him.

4) When Jack shoots Pavel, you hear three shots but only see two flashes from Jack's gun. This is a quick hint that Jack has been shot. At the least, you know Pavel got a shot off.

5) An aside about Roger Ebert's review: Ebert seems to think that Mathilde or Clara calling Jack "Mr. Butterfly" is some hint that one of them is going after him. I don't see this connection.
When Jack and Mathilde are testing the gun, a rare butterfly lands on Mathilde and Jack espouses his knowledge of butterflies (there is an earlier scene where you see him reading a book on butterflies). He also has a tattoo of a butterfly just below the back of the neck that Clara has seen. Both Mathilde and Clara call him "Mr. Butterfly" (although both appear to have valid reasons for calling him that). I'm not sure why Roger Ebert seems to think there is some special significance in Mathilde (or Clara?) calling him this. If you can explain this, I'm all ears. Although both of them calling him this add to his paranoia.

This isn't a debate over meaning or style, but just an explanation of plot points that are not open to much interpretation.

[–] Cassandra_Love 13 years ago

If the gun misfired because he modified it why was he running around as posessed looking for the killer then ?

[–] kyotousa 13 years ago

because now he know he is the target!!

[–] mroberson03 13 years ago

I completely forgot about the rigged gun. Great insight.

And yeah, I think Ebert was overreaching on Mr. Butterfly. They did both have reasons for doing it. Seemed more about making it even harder for Jack to trust, let go. Great post.

[–] ebhead 13 years ago

Still confused. :-)

Weren't the men clara was talking to-when george was spying on her- swedes, or hitmen? that made her suspicious. her gun- I always knew that was for her protection, not to kill him. so, I was not really suspicious of her 'til he watched her talking to those men. Please explain that part.

Also, why were the Swedes after him in the first place, and then again in Italy? We've established that his boss did not want him dead 'til he said he wanted out, so to have the swedes come back after him in Italy, while he's building the weapon? It just doesn't add up.

[–] Anthony81 12 years ago

I thought he was the target from the beginning when his boss told him he was losing his edge, and he wanted to know how the Swedes found him.

I thought that was all setup by his boss, and I thought that upon first viewing. It was just a weird conversation to me, and vague. Also, when he was on his way to his next destination he threw the cell phone away and went to a different town than the one he was told to go to.

I figured he suspected his boss from the beginning.

[–] eYeDEF 11 years ago

so, I was not really suspicious of her 'til he watched her talking to those men.

This was explained by her to him in the movie when he confronted her. Those men were police who were asking her details about the serial killer targeting prostitutes. We know about this because the newspaper he's reading earlier has the headline of "two more prostitutes slayed by killer" or something to that effect.

Also, why were the Swedes after him in the first place, and then again in Italy?

The motive of the Swedes is never established so it's obviously not that important to the plot. The significance is that the Swedes were onto him at all, demonstrating that he had definitely "lost his edge" to have been sloppy enough to allow that to happen. As we saw he was obsessively paranoid, so the fact the Swedes caught him by surprise was an important point.

[–] michaeltrenton 11 years ago

Weren't the men clara was talking to-when george was spying on her- swedes, or hitmen? that made her suspicious. her gun- I always knew that was for her protection, not to kill him. so, I was not really suspicious of her 'til he watched her talking to those men. Please explain that part.

No, they are the police showing her pictures and warning her against the serial killer that has killed two prostitutes in the area (the case Jack reads about in the newspaper in an earlier scene btw).
Jack probably doesn't know this and thinks she's talking to assassins, not police, adding to his growing suspicion towards her. (she subsequently tells him they were the police when he confronts her about the gun).

it's pretty clear that Jack is the target when he calls Pavel to say he's out

I think that's the moment he becomes the target for Pavel as well (at the beginning only the swedes were after him...). That's why Pavel calls up Mathilda immediately afterwards (likely telling her to kill Jack when he delivers the rifle to her).
If Jack had been the intended victim all along, like some people on this forum suggests, then she could just have killed him off when they were alone by the river testing the rifle. Why wait?

.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] cobysdad 8 years ago

Among other things the butterfly is an (obscure) reference to PAPILLON ("butterfly" in French) starring Steve McQueen as a convict with a butterfly tattoo on his chest who keeps escaping and is making a (successful?) escape at the movie's end. Clara knows about the tattoo because she's seen Jack naked,and the butterfly motif is made explicit in the riverside scene with Mathilde.

It seems we're supposed to think Pavel's bullet killed Jack but the wound (as shown in final car scene) is in the lower left quadrant of the abdomen just below the ribs. Such a wound isn't necessarily fatal. The director may have wanted us to think Jack died because he shows Jack collapsing at the end and his death fits in with the film noir scenario. From a medical viewpoint, however, Jack's collapse is more likely to result from low blood pressure secondary to blood loss and possibly shock, but shock seems unlikely since he drove a long way after being shot. For those of us who want Jack to survive we imagine Clara uses her cell phone to call a Pronto Intervento (EMS) unit, which gets him to a hospital in time to save him.

By the way, I don't think Jack was paranoid. It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you!

[–] KutWrite (1317) 7 years ago

Good summary. I was hoping for confirmation of some points of which I was unsure.

I'd add what someone else mentioned: The sweet touch of that same rare butterfly fluttering towards Heaven at the end. It implies forgiveness via the Priest. Remember, he says "I'm sorry, Father" near the end.

Those who dislike this film, I think, haven't seen it as a European film. Plot points and action sequences are in large part emotional or cerebral. Plus a touching or sad end.

Anyone who liked this film would also like "The Last Run" with George C. Scott. It's probably a better film, in spite of its lower budget. Tony Musante and Scott's ex-wife Colleen Dewhurst as the understanding hooker. Some great quotes in there, too.

Another similar film is "The Hit" with Terence Stamp and a young John Hurt and younger Tim Roth. The opening music is a great guitar solo by Eric Clapton!