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The original was posted on /r/movies by /u/ShaunisntDead on 2025-03-25 03:54:06+00:00.

This has been one of my favorite films since I was 18 years old, it hit me at just the right age I think. I love this movie. I don’t find it slow at all. I love the pace of the opening and the wedding sequence. It feels like a documentary. It gives us time to get comfortable with the characters as real human beings, not just movie characters. The acting is so naturalistic. Every scene in Clariton feels very much like an Altman ensemble film with its wandering camera, overlapping dialogue and the very naturally realistic acting style. The characters aren’t given big monolgues to express themselves, they do it all in a look. Character interaction and quick expressive moments build the characters and their stories without pandering to the audience. It’s an exceptionally subtle piece of filmmaking. The fact that Michael and Nick are in love with the same woman is pretty clearly set up in the wedding sequence. Nick is very often framed with a stuffed deers head on the wall, foreshadowing his death by “one shot” later in the

The film deals with so many themes that are crystallized in the famous POW sequence. The gambling over death defying acts of masculinity is set up earlier in the film with Michael and Nick gambling over the car race. Their focus on guns and the ‘one shot’ philosophy is set up during the deer hunting sequence. The idea of never leaving a friend behind is set up when they jokingly leave John the bartender on the side of the road when driving to hunt the deer. Michael’s use of a flamethrower is set up in the opening scene when he’s making steel in the hellish factory. The death of SPOILERS Nicky is foreshadowed by his repeated framing with a stuffed deers head and a photo of JFK.

There is quite a bit more subtle foreshadowing and callbacks throughout the film but I’ll stop here. It’s a very subtle, emotional, beautifully atmospheric small town epic. It feels like a novel that gets better on repeat viewings.