What Lies Beneath

Factual error: In the end, the husband calls her friend and tells her to check on Claire at home. But he's calling from his home phone, so the police will know he was there.

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Suggested correction: Norman tells Jody that he and Claire argued, and he is going to sleep at his lab. This is not necessarily suspicious. It sounds like he is on his way out the door, while Claire is upstairs, avoiding him or wanting to be alone after their argument.

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Mistakes

Continuity mistake: When Harrison Ford is watching his wife laying in the bathtub ready to drown, the camera shoots her head several times between cutaways to Ford and the running water. Watch her head relative to the top of the tub in the various shots. In some her head is much higher than in others yet her body never moves.

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Quotes

Jody: You stole the dead woman's shoe?

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Trivia

Trivia: There are more than a few Hitchcock references in this movie. Most notably Harrison Ford's character - Norman (Psycho), suspecting the neighbour of murdering his wife (Rear Window), Michelle Pfeiffer falling in the shower and pulling the shower curtain down with her (Psycho). There are many others if you watch for them.

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Questions

Question: If Norman married Claire when she was "touring with a baby" (Caitlin), why is he not referred to as Caitlin's stepfather? When they take her to college, Claire refers to him as "Norman" when speaking to her. I've seen the movie a few times and always thought this was a little odd. Many people would even think of a stepfather as "father" if he was the one who raised them for most of their life.

Azalea

Answer: There's no rule about how a step-father is referred to. Caitlin may simply not consider him a father figure to remain close to her real dad. Many step-children call their step-parent by their first name, regardless of how long the parents have been married. Most likely this is a plot device so that the audience isn't confused about or doesn't forget that Norman is not Caitlin's real father. Some may be offended by a father killing his biological child's mother. It makes Norman less attached to either Claire or Caitlin.

raywest ★

I am not trying to be rude, but have you seen this movie? You say that Caitlin might be close to her real dad. He is dead. Claire was "touring with a baby" after he died, and then she met Norman. Hence why I found the situation a bit odd. Norman has been in Caitlin's life since she was a "baby."

Azalea

I saw the movie some years ago and don't remember every small detail. However, my main point was that calling Norman by his first name was a plot device to keep the audience focused on him not being Caitlin's biological father. This kept his character more detached from Claire and Caitlin, and made him less sympathetic. It showed an emotional/personal divide existed between Norman and Claire and her daughter. He has less resistance in killing Claire if they did not share a biological child.

raywest ★

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