Why was Turner in prison?
Was this ever answered in the film?
he threw his son down the stairs
shareI believe it was insinuated in the movie that he lived a life of petty crime i.e. Josh Lucas' character thought he had stolen the spoon from the jewelry store. As far as I remember it is not clearly said why.
shareI thought it was made pretty clear he was a thief, probably to support his H habit.
share[deleted]
I don't think he would have still been in prison for hurting his son, some thirty-ish years later. I'm sure it was some some other unspoken reason, besides if he was in prison for hurting his son, i'm pretty sure his son would have know about it.
steven.
Sure, but that doesn't explain his time with AA. Obviously, he had returned to prison for another crime. What was it? Doesn't further the plot, so why mention it.
shareIt does further the plot, because it explains why he didn't show up for 4 years after getting a letter from his son saying that Henry was dying. The estranged wife tells the son that he walked out of a prison hospital during a blackout, and that he was getting dialysis because his kidneys failed 6 months prior. So apparently this was his first opportunity to come see his father. Also, his willingness to stick around after Henry dies is more significant, because he also is dying without the dialysis that he needs. Turner says he was in prison for "nothing very bad, and I didn't do it."
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