MovieChat Forums > The Draughtsman's Contract (1982) Discussion > Some Questions (Spoilers)

Some Questions (Spoilers)

posted 14 years ago by noahs12dice
3 replies | jump to latest

Okay I have some questions if anyone can help

1.During the opening sequence Mr Noyes suggests he is going to be very rich soon and indeed later on takes advantage of the murder situation and becomes 700 pounds richer. Its what happens in between with him i dont get since he didn't know the murder was going to happen and he would be blamed but then expolit his way out of it. He and Mrs Herbet were in private when he confronted her later, if they would BOTH in on it they could discuss it freely then wouldn't they?

2.When Mr Neville threw the apple at the stone thing what did he see that was different?

3.Later on do you think Mrs Talman (and i suppose before her Mrs Herbet) always intended to sleep with Mr Neville from the start OR was his original dubious terms unexpected and she took advantage.

4.Have I understood it right that the drawings contain something which the principle cast of characters atleast can see relates to them somehow?
Mr Neville has recorded a crime scene, Mrs.Tallmans infidelity etc and if so does that mean Mr Neville is not an intelligent man but a very good artist going by Mrs Talmans speech?

Thank you

Excellent film hands-down in my top 5 films i have ever seen. The language, the music, the visuals all of it wonderful.

[–] calindreams 14 years ago

Mr Neville has recorded a crime scene, Mrs.Tallmans infidelity etc and if so does that mean Mr Neville is not an intelligent man but a very good artist going by Mrs Talmans speech?

Yes - I think the idea is that he is just drawing what he sees, not what he knows. He fails to put pieces together and see the bigger picture and ends up paying for it.

To be honest, I've watched this film on numerous occasions and have never quite understood the story. But I will keep trying.

[–] noahs12dice 14 years ago

Thanks for reply - The (mis)fortunes and opportunities presented to the characters change so frequently throughtout the film but im sure the central conspiracy starts with Mrs Herbert.

[–] Tetra123 13 years ago

*Spoilers*

When you think of the story in the context of the political conflicts between Scotland and England at that time - remember how Mr. Neville is taunted for his Scottish ancestry by the German aristocrat married into an English aristocratic line - and the unavoidable presence of "The Green Man"...who also happens to be the Celtic god of fertility, the pieces begin to fit together. It's The Green Man - or, The Oak King's - turn to rule the scene and he's the nuisance the aristocrats don't want to face. It's his mischief that gives that Scottish "upstart", Mr. Neville, opportunities within the household that he wouldn't otherwise have been given. Desperation for an heir in the line, allows The Green Man to shape events - he's representative of the primal drive, lurking in the background of every carefully pruned environment and underneath the skin of every person, even the most stoic aristocrat. Mr. Neville's virility is the biggest threat of all and because he has trained himself to not see the true nature of things, only to draw a shallow impression of what he sees - he's simply a sitting symbol, waiting to be sacrificed. It is that innocent virility that wins the favor of "The White Queen" or Mrs. Herbert - for a little while.

But Mr. Neville's served his purpose. Autumn's approaching; The Red King (or British redcoat, emerging in scenes towards the end, mostly hidden from view) and the material wealth he represents, has come to kill The Green King, embodied in the raw, unsophisticated virility of Mr. Neville and the threat of his Scottish blood. Wealth and material resources wins the attention of The White Queen, again, and the Green King must be done away with, not to rear his head for some time. Despite the great, blustery battles between "kings" or themes, it's all decided by the "queen" and it is her cunning that decides what's needed at the time, which provider wins her favor. Despite the seeming helplessness of the women, at the beginning of the story, it is their drive for what they need that determines how events will unfold.