i loved the first half of this, of course. little dialogue, little plot, and big ballsy score. the score puts this huge weight on every step and it has this big ‘this is what happens’ allegorical feel to it where i don’t question anything the characters do. even when we do get to little boston the scenes feel sparse enough that nothing is really nailed down. we have daniel calling eli’s sermon a ‘goddamned hell of a good show’ and eschewing his blessing of the well, but the nature of their relationship and the overall arc of the themes still feels open and ambiguous. i loved that for sure, and loved the freedom to read into it what i will. i just started ‘king leopold’s ghost’ and thought this start could be a suitable metaphor for the insanity of that or another imperialistic story. each side with some clear motivations but twisted not just for the outside world but between the two knowing parties.
i think the turning point for me is after daniel’s baptism. i liked that scene a lot, but from there on it’s simply character study and less interesting. it’s also my failing as a viewer that i just don’t really want things resolved but they had to come to some conclusion on daniel’s character and motivations. the fireside chat with his brother has some interesting observations, but i wanted a followup to muddy the waters on his competitiveness. and the final showdown with eli, as fun and watchable as it was, i thought was a bit redundant and not illuminating at all.
and to answer jefe’s question, i didn’t realize they were two different characters until the bowling alley scene when daniel mentions giving paul $10k. i realized they were using two different names at various points, but figured it was his middle name or something. i think the big problem is when daniel’s doing his first purchase and eli is so knowing combined with daniel’s obvious deviousness with the quail hunting and their awkward handshake.
