Disagree, there is no history of abuse. The Wife could not convince the police that DFENS was a dangerous man, because there was no proof! You cannot call the police on a man because you THINK he MIGHT do 'something' to you. Hell, if that was the case, the wife could have called the cops on any random person down the street on Venice Beach. She could have said the same reasoning, "well, no, that man walking by my house never did anything violent to me, but I didn't want to wait until it happened you know?"
What is true is that DFENS is psychology gone by this point in the movie. But Beth, the wife, definitely was a contributing factor to the downfall of an otherwise productive member of society, who lost his temper once on videotape. Like no other parent ever lost their temper at their child before? Again, no proof of violence, no proof of any physical abuse ever perpetrated by DFENS, NONE!
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Patman111196 (1570)
3 years ago
What do you think she should have done in that case? Taking him to a shrink might not have worked at all seeing as he never blames himself for his own problems. You don't EVER take chances with someone like Foster in a relationship if he can't control his behavior. You try to distance yourself from them ASAP if they don't stop the temper tantrums or instant mood swings.
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Ace_Spade (9506)
2 years ago
She convinced a judge he was dangerous (she had a restraining order), but because they couldn't charge him with anything they couldn't actively go out and get him on a manhunt. They couldn't hang around all day waiting for him to show up. The first cops believe her, too, they just can't hang around all day.
She wasn't making things up. Bill couldn't hold his temper long enough to not come off as a threatening jerk on a home movie for his daughter's birthday. That video is disturbing. That's not a parent just losing his temper at his kid, that's a parent watching his kid not want to ride a horsey toy and yelling at his wife and daughter to force her to have fun his way. The wife's body language says it all, too; she's scared of this guy.
Bill didn't physically hurt anybody, but it seems clear to me that he was pretty emotionally/psychologically manipulative.
Oh, and insisting on "coming home" through a restraining order is threatening. Making multiple harassing phone calls is creepy and threatening.
Prendergast is right: Bill's the bad guy.
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