"Redbelt" ...please explain! (spoilers within)
 

so i just saw David Mamet's "Redbelt". very good. however, there seemed like there were many holes that weren't explained.

i don't even know what to ask i'm so confused, but 1. what was the whole deal with Chet Frank (Tim Allen) giving him the producer job, having his wife be taken in by Frank's wife and giving her the job of a lifetime with her fashion business, Mike (Chiwetel) figuring out the watch was hot, telling Frank's manager and then everything fall apart from there. why the whole elaborate set up?

was it all to have Policeman Joe kill himself (Mike feel the guilt from Joe's wife), his wife be in debt, he be in debt just to get him in the ring to fight? i mean Frank didn't set him up to lead to this? what was his intent for his actions?

2. and did his wife really sell him out by telling her brother in law (Rodrigo Santoro) about the window and the gun shot so they could use it against him with the "intellectual property" thing? or was that Snowflake?

3. and why did Emily Mortimer's character give him such a deep, heartfelt hug at the end? it seemed intimate and they were only student/teacher for a short while...

please explain it all! thanks.

There's already a Red Belt discussion thread that should have popped up with search pretty easily... but oh well.

1. Policeman Joe killing himself was a side effect, not intentional, though the gift was intended to bring shame to the dojo one way or another. It just happened in the worst possible way (and I didn't buy it personally). And yes, the entire thing was a setup to get him into the ring so they had at least one sure thing sap to bet on.

2. It seems more probable that it was the wife, whose going to talk to her sibling about that kind of stuff, it wasn't necessarily malicious. She did ultimately sell him out though.

3. Because he did what he believed in, and it was obvious what little time they had together meant a lot to her. He looked broken, she felt sympathetic/proud.

That said, it's Mamet, you can interpret the underlying emotions and "what actually happened" anyway you want, the entire movie was through Mike's perspective for this short period of time, not the aftermath where everything gets cleared up.

ok, ok...little clearer.

so was Chet Frank going in to the bar at that particular time planned as well? he goes in, Mike saves him, Chet befriends Mike, gives hot watch, shame ensues...all because Chet and his manager could ultimately make a killing betting on the MMA matches in tourney by stealing his marbles doctrine and using the principle of handicapping and scamming using the magician to make it all go their way?

and thanks Rich.

I'm not sure it was the plan from the get go, it seemed more like pieces fell into place (there is a lot of happenstance in the movie, like Mike just happening to see the sleight of hand). Chet showed up to the bar, and Jerry Weiss basically took it from there. It was Jerry Weiss who got him the watch, it was Jerry Weiss that had the connections to MMA, and it was likely Jerry that convinced Chet to go with it.

Of course, these details are actually fairly insubstantial.

Really well made movie overall (though the suicide didn't fit and ending was a bit corny) but the only solid answers you get are the ones you decide fit.

Thing is that his brother in law owned the bar, so there could have been some collusion already in place.

Yeah, it could have been a setup from the get go, it's tough to say.

i got it. you put it nicely. i don't think you really need all the answers. it is more of a movie that should make you question and wonder and not try to solve. i was hoping i wasn't being stupid to not be able to figure it all out.

the more i think about the movie, the more i really enjoyed it. while you were right the ending is a little Karate Kid-esque, the fact that he didn't fight in the ring was different and not expected.

i just wish it was a little cheaper this release week or i would get it instantly.

i have "Spartan" (which i absolutely was blown away with) and "Glengarry GlenRoss" (which i wasn't taken with the first time, but that was long ago and movie knowledge was far, far, away) in the hopper to be watched and am taping "Heist" which i liked on Saturday.

Mamet has a definite style that i am liking more and more with each new viewing.

You need to get The Spanish Prisoner ASAP.

Agreed with the above about Spanish Prisioner. Excellent movie and Steve Martin rules in that film. The only thing about Spartan is the ending, I just don't like it.
Everything up to the last 20 minutes is pure gold.

k. next in the rental que.