Peacock : Pragmatic male perspective

I found this movie both addictive and unpleasant, but aside from that, what I thought most was:


Can a railroad company just abandon a giant train car in your yard? When they almost kill you and destroy your property, do they control the schedule for removal? Do their property rights (the car) supersede the property rights of John?

- So in short, "Train Company WTF!"


Also, in general, what is with all the talk of "we need to talk to both you and your wife" to fill out an accident report? Give me a break. The whole town seems to go from "We don't pry in the town of Peacock"to walking in houses uninvited and just milling around in your backyard.

- So in short, "Weird town WTF!"


Other than that.what a sick puppy.

Personally, I think that the things you mentioned actually are significant for the interpretation of the movie, especially of Johns existence and of his relationship to the town folk. They also point out the differences between John and Emma: John is the insecure one as Emma takes over towards the end.

Speaking of the differences between the two personalities, there are many which are easy to spot. Emma is easier to get on with as it is almost impossible to do social with John. Furthermore, John is a kind of a co-pilot of his own life, while Emma runs the bussiness, heading towards an independent role as the chef of the house. Emma is the normal one whereas John suffers from the lack of social skills and psychological problems, one of which is the creating of a tributary personality, Emma. At least this is what the public is wanted to presume.

As John is the one who is trying his hardest to keep a low profile, he is also the easiest one to interrupt and disturb by coming too near to him, so to say. Whenever someone speaks to him he feels awfully awkward and insecure; probably due to his mothers insulting behaviour when he was a child, abusing him and controlling him. This, I believe, is to enhance the characteristics of John. His life is represented as this unimportant and fragile little piece of paper that is thrown around the town by the people living there. Things can be written on him, interpretations of him can be made of him freely without asking. He is not able to define himself but is obliged to go with the role designed for him by his mother in his childhood: a secondary creature, a humble private in a war of minds.

I cannot reach a complete conclusion in this message of mine, but I do think the town and its people were weird on purpose. If they had had respect for Johns privacy, he wouldve had some control over himself.