Directed by: David Koepp
Starring: Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Timothy Hutton
Revealing mistake: When Shooter pins Mort against the tree with the shovel, you can see that it's a rubber shovel because it's bending around Mort's neck. [Mentioned on commentary]. (00:40:45)
Revealing mistake: When Mort stops at the gas station to talk to Ted, and he gets out of his Jeep, the key is still in the ignition but there's no dinging from the door being opened (which we know it does from an earlier scene).
Continuity mistake: In the opening scene, Mort closes the door of his jeep before he goes into the hotel room. You can hear the sound of the door closing and it's visible in the rearview-mirror. As the camera moves out of the room, the jeep door is completely open. (00:02:05)
Suggested correction: The door just didn't actually catch. I've had cars like that, especially during the winter.
Given that we see it stay closed for almost 4 seconds and hear it catch, it's a valid mistake.
If you've ever lived where it snows a lot, you'd know that door catches accumulate moisture (ice) and can open slowly, as it did in this case.
John Shooter: You strike me as the kind of guy who's on the lookout for a head he can knock off with a shovel.
Trivia: One should really stay to the very end of the credits, as Johnny Depp (Mort) sings an amusing little tune.
Question: What is the meaning behind the Morton salt and other groceries that Mort buys at the end of the movie?
Answer: Mort Rainey buys the salt, butter, and napkins for eating the corn he grew in the garden above Ted and Amy's graves. The "Morton" brand of salt uses the advertising slogan, "when it rains, it pours." Mort Rainey's name can be translated to "raining death." The "Vanity Fair" napkins could be a refernce to Mort's personality.
The term Vanity Fair was coined (I believe first) by John Bunyan in 1678, as a place in a story called ‘The Pilgrim's Progress'. Mort is referred to as ‘Pilgrim' by a few different characters in the film, including himself, without much explanation until the serviettes. Brilliant. Vanity Fair in John Bunyan's story is a never-ending fair of frivolity, which is similar to Mort's charade of denial. Found this info when I searched the meaning of Vanity Fair on vocabulary.com.
Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress was also the inspiration for William Thackeray's 1847 novel, "Vanity Fair."
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