Question: After the robbery and once the dust settled (business was back-to-normal at the bank, etc.) why did the bank president not immediately go to open the safety deposit box and see what happened to its contents? He knew it was the target of the robbery. Reason would dictate that one of the first things he would have done would be to open the box and see what was there... Not leave it to the NYPD to open it and discover a mostly empty box except for the big ring, chewing gum and note.
Answer: Arthur Case did not want anyone to know about the safe deposit box or what was in it. In fact, the box's number had been left off the bank records. The police did not immediately know if anything had been stolen during the robbery. Case going to the bank to check on the box, would only have drawn attention to it. The contents, the diamonds, were a link to Case's criminal Nazi past that he wanted kept hidden. It was only by chance that Detective Frazier discovered the box and the clues that had been left inside it by Dalton Russell.
Question: Was the ghostwriter murdered? Why? The book had already been published, and he only discovered the truth about Ruth minutes before, so who would have wanted him dead?
Answer: Who would want him dead? Ruth, for one, as well as Professor Emmett (her CIA recruiter) and others involved in the conspiracy. Yes, the book had been published, but the secret message only comes across if one is in possession of all the knowledge that the writer had acquired, which the casual reader would not have. And minutes is plenty of time for Ruth, Emmett, or anyone else to make a phone call and arrange the hit.
The published book was a rewrite and would not have the secret message in the chapter beginnings.
The published book was a rewrite of the original manuscript. He gives her the original manuscript that he was working off, not a final draft.
We know the beginning of the book was rewritten as he didn't like it. Almost certainly, the clue is not in the published version of the book. Ruth was shocked to read the note and is delivering her speech so is unlikely to be complicit in the murder of the Ghostwriter. The ending suggests that Ruth, too, is little more than a pawn in the whole conspiracy.
Makes no sense, he was run down 2 minutes after she read it.
Question: In the scene where Hal, Rosemary, the cripled friend, and Nurse "Sourpuss" go out of town, Hal and his friend got to buy snacks leaving Rosemary and "Sourpuss" to talk. There is a scene where thy cut to the front of the car and Nurse "Sourpuss" is now good looking. So is that her real look and Hal only sees her as old and ugly?
Chosen answer: Yes. Just as Hal sees many unattractive and/or overweight women to be thin and beautiful due to their true personalities, he sees Nurse "Sourpuss" - who is a beautiful woman - to be old and ugly due to hers.
Answer: At that point Hal and his friend had already turned their backs and went to the store so Hal was not even looking at her.
Question: After they search Leary's hotel room, they find a piece of paper that says "SW SKELLUM LA." We learn that the SW stands for Southwest (a bank he was using) and SKELLUM is a phone number. What does the LA mean?
Chosen answer: LA is short for Los Angeles, which refers to the city Leary attempts to assassinate the president in.
Question: Are the characters in this movie based on actual people? Is it a true story or a fictional story that was entirely possible?
Answer: The movie was written by Tom Hanks and some what reflects the music industry during that time period. It is not about a real band, but shows how a lot of bands were treated at the time and how quickly you can rise and how you can fall even faster.
Question: When Nikki came to see Terri, he laid his hat and coat in the chair - no package. Later, he went to the chair and got the package that contained the scarf. Was the package placed there at a later time?
Answer: In earlier versions of the "Annie" story, she is orphaned when her parents are killed in a car accident. In the musical, they died in a fire. In the 2014 re-imagining, Annie lives in foster care after being abandoned by her family. Early on, she hopes to one day be reunited with them. We, the audience, never learn their whereabouts, nor whether they are alive or dead.
Question: When Georges is being deported back to France, why didn't Brontë go with him? They realised they were in love with each other plus there was nothing stopping her from going to France with him.
Answer: It's implied she will be coming with him when George says he will write to ask 'when are you coming cherie?' and the way they laugh and exchange rings. She just has to wrap up loose ends in NY then she'll be on her way to him.
Question: If the ship's artillery is only equipped with 5-inch starburst rounds (as stated more than once), how do they use the much larger guns to sink the submarine?
Answer: The smaller guns were only equipped with the Starburst rounds. The 16 Inch Cannons were still supplied with live ammo. None of the characters left to fight had experience with the 16 inch guns except for the Gunner's Mate, therefore none of them thought to use one of the 16 inch guns.
Question: When Rosemary gets into the Castavets right at the end, she walks past a man, and then the man says something. She then replies "Be quiet, you're still in [some location]" What was that about...?
Chosen answer: Roman Castavet is trying to get Rosemary's attention, and she says "Be quiet, you're in Dubrovnik, I can't hear you". That was in reference to the fact that Roman and Minnie were supposed to have gone to Majorca or Dubrovnik after she found out that Roman was supposedly dying (which was just a lie Rosemary was told so she wouldn't suspect them when her baby was taken). Roman and Minnie got in a cab and pretended to go to the airport, but never left town.
Question: When they are singing under a tree full of doves, it looks like they were tied to the tree branches. Is this true?
Answer: Yes it is true. They did this to prevent the birds from flying into the backdrops and becoming injured or killed.
Question: Why does Norton lie and say that he "has company" and then make De Niro wait longer during the robbery? Sure, Norton double crosses him later, but wouldn't making his partner wait put both of them in danger of getting caught since it delays them and increases their chances of getting caught?
Answer: Norton already has an advance plan to prevent himself from getting caught. The delay is both to fluster DeNiro, and to prevent him from having enough time at the moment of the double-cross to come up with an alternate to handing over the prize without getting caught himself.
Question: What has ended up with Max? Billy promised to go back and release him, but we never see that happen, and no explanation is given for that in the Epilogue. Is Max a real figure? If he is, what has happened to him? Did he manage to escape, or did he die in prison?
Answer: Max WAS a real character, and a Dutchman in real life, rather than an English one as portrayed in the movie. He eventually got paroled and later treatment for a severe drug addiction he had too.
Answer: It's never stated what happened to Max. The film was a heavily fictionalized version of Billy Hayes' book, and the Max character appears to be fictional as well or at least a composite of other real-life imprisoned Westerners that Hayes met while in a Turkish prison.
Question: In the scene where Vincent is just about to launch, the doctor testing him mentions his son. My brother seems to think that the doctor knows Vincent is not who he pretends to be because he is Jerome Morrow's father. Is there any evidence for this?
Answer: None whatsoever. The doctor seems to have worked out that Vincent is not who he seems to be from simple observational evidence. It's because of his son that he feels sympathy for Vincent and hasn't revealed that he's tricking the system.
Question: Wouldn't David & Jennifer's mom be worried about the sudden disappearance of her daughter, seeing as how Jennifer stayed behind in Pleasantville rather than returning to the "real world"?
Answer: We don't see much of the "real world" after David returns other than his conversation with his mother. I am sure in time she would have been worried but there seem to be many unanswered questions which might make it not so simple.
Considering that a couple of days in Pleasantville turned out to be just an hour in the real world, it's possible Jennifer could spend 3-4 years in uni and cone back with it being just a weekend in the real world. David could just make up something in that period she's gone.
Actually if a couple of days is just an hour than 3-4 years is more than 2 weeks.
Question: Why were the enforcers called sandmen?
Answer: In popular American lore, the Sandman is responsible for putting sand over your eyes to make you go to sleep. In this context the "sleep" is a euphemism for death, and the enforcers are responsible for making sure that everyone dies on time.
Question: I don't quite understand why Dr. Manhattan had to kill Rorschach. That is, I don't quite get why that was the only solution. Rorschach was a valuable member of the Watchmen, and in the type of world they were in (chaos, corruption, murder, etc) one would think that they would want to keep as many of themselves banded together as possible. Couldn't some sort of negotiation or compromise have been reached/agreed to by Rorschach instead of him being killed?
Answer: He has spent years as a costumed vigilante despite the fact that it was illegal. He has a very strict idea of what is right ("never compromise") and has proven himself incapable of doing otherwise. So no, there was no real chance of negotiating with him - Rorschach himself made it clear he'd have to die if they wanted his silence.
Death was not the only choice. Doc M could easily have teleported/banished Rorschach to Mars/anywhere secluded in an oxygen bubble. He could have spared his life and just made him mute or manipulate his brain chemistry/atoms to remove the memory of what happened. The point is Doc M is all powerful and could manipulate matter at his whim; death was just a plot device creating a chance of an emotive martyrdom/sacrificial ending.
Ethically speaking, exiling him to Mars or erasing his memory of the event can be considered just as cruel as killing him, because then his agency is being taken away from him. Rorshach's malcontent with the situation poses a problem for the other heroes, and since Dr. Manhattan isn't willing to let him tell the truth of what happened, he obliges Rorschach's demand that he kill him instead.
Answer: The aforementioned answer fails to keep in mind he is the owner of the bank and could've have done this hours before the bank was opened and or hours after the bank was opened. Dalton spent 3 days behind the wall. Mr Case had a special fixer, and she had the mayor in her pocket. It is a reasonable assumption that a billionaire like Aruthur Case would be able to have the contents of his safety deposit box removed with little to no problem. One way is "yes Mr. Mayor I will be giving you a blank check for your reelection campaign." The issue is this was a major plot hole that almost ruined a otherwise great and well thought out movie.