Dr Modernist wrote:Kenji wrote:About the characters, at first I thought why didn't Holly have any big reaction to her father's murder and then I realized and thought again later when there were more murders she must be as crazy as Kit. And that made it more interesting for me - I was waiting for her to do something and that made a tension for me...
Holly's impassive, emotionless behaviour throughout the film seems to be pretty close to an extreme case of autism or Aspergers. She does not know how to read situations and seems impervious to the context of events, for example one of the oddest scenes in the film has her carry on an inane conversation with Cato as he lies dying from a stomach wound (or similarly her teenage chit chat with the girl who Kit forces in the storm bunker and probably kills).
I don't know if Malick intended that Holly's behaviour was meant to be read in this way, I don't know how much they knew about these conditions in 1973, but it is an interesting way to understand the way she behaves throughout the film.
I want to watch again because I want to watch her character to the time of her father's death. Is there any hint she has a serious mental problem before then? I can't remember now...
Until that point I just thought she was a usual 15 years old kid - a little strange or shy or like that. Of course after we can see how she reacts to murders we know she isn't a normal teenager...