Picking Nits
Frank’s reinstatement; Lily’s availability; false alarm; ballroom escape; elevator decisions; unpaid bet; Oswald account; phone tracing; rescue; gun drawing
In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:25Read transcript
- Returning Frank immediately to protection without even a fitness test is criticized as implausible.
- Lily’s apparent availability and attraction to an older troubled man are questioned; the characterization of Frank as a raging alcoholic is disputed.
- Frank remaining involved after the balloon false alarm is questioned.
- Repeated official dismissal of Frank’s credible threat warnings is criticized.
- Mitch surviving the failed shot and moving Frank to the elevator without being shot or restrained is considered implausible; crowd confusion is a tentative explanation.
- Mitch’s failure to kill Frank in the elevator is criticized as an overlong victory speech.
- Mitch’s failure to recognize that Frank is transmitting instructions is criticized.
- An unpaid $20 Super Bowl bet lingering for years is questioned; the opponent is corrected from Buffalo to Denver.
- The film’s unquestioning acceptance of the Oswald account is questioned given its release shortly after JFK.
- Mitch’s repeated ability to defeat phone tracing is questioned; specialized assassin technology offers a possible explanation, and the keep-him-talking trope is enjoyed.
- Frank trying to save Mitch is questioned, with duty and the distinction between death and justice offered in response.
- The wheelchair expert openly drawing a gun before agents is considered implausible without a violent response.