#omirambles

[ominoose]

I personally think you should write a whole paragraph on Basil. I'd read it.

You don't have to ask me twice.

First off lets start off with the themes of the short film Lightninface.

The first thing we hear is "Just one week ago, even the word everything meant something else entirely", it's a film about change and evolving. We then see Basil, with a crisp shirt, slicked back hair smiling into the mirror as if laughing at something, he's practicing. Then the smile fades and he swallows sadly. He's crafting an outward persona, first indication he's someone that cares about outside appearances and he literally says "I thought I knew who I was, but I knew nothing" aka this man had a secure identity he cared about but that changed!

Then he's hit by lightning! And what's his first set of reactions? Go to a hospital, call 911, do any sort of medical care? No! It's cry about how he has a facial scar which is gonna impact how people view him and now directly clashes with his current standard of living and go crazy. How is he gonna attend board meetings and dinners with the parents and go out with his girlfriend now?! He can't, so obviously the only choice is scream, wreck the apartment, have a tantrum, take tons of pills, quit work, break up with the gf and leave the country.

The director portrays the entire breakdown as silly. With the music, the childlike tantrum, the noises, the antics, it's goofy. He breaks up with his girlfriend of three years that he's obsessed with, acknowledging she's cheated on him with a good friend but completely brushes that aside and clarifies that's not why they're breaking up! Basil's someone who doesn't care she's cheating because he's not only obsessed with her, but with the appearance she brings. With her he's a guy with a long term girlfriend! A hot one! And then he "has to dump" her because of his scar.

So we've established he's quite narcissistic, shallow, cares deeply about his outward appearance and how others perceive him and his life. Moving on, the whole monkey thing can be summarized as evolving, the theme presented at the start.

Modern man loses it all because of his scar and breaks down, so whats the solution? De-evolve, go back to the basics, go back to ape. Become what you are not, tear yourself down to the most basic concept and then build yourself back up as something new. As... well he doesn't name himself, but he lets us do that for him, and we call him Lightningface.

Also I gotta mention the tidbit scene with the records. He's playing the classical music, and that's been the soundtrack thus far. It's classy, posh, elegant. Then he pulls out this metal record thats not been listened to before, it's still in plastic, and when he plays it he's hesitant. Then he's loving it, thrashing around, metal head moment. Something that's not fitting with his previous image but he's tried it and embraced it.

The second phone call with his ex where he goes "I'm kinda freaking out... I'm fine, nevermind." He's manic, he's unsure of himself, of what to do and he has nothing at all to guide him, Basil can't rely on outward trends or influences to base himself on and is forced to craft a new version of himself from within.

"You will no longer find refuge in what you once were, but what you will become."

Does this go well? No!

If I was to summarize or conclude his personality it would be narcissistic, needy, manic, fanatical, defensive and curious. He's a people person, he is quickly engaged by new ideas, he's excitable, he's erratic and giddy and most importantly imaginative. And regardless of how that credits scene played out, he is still alive in my heart.

[ominoose]

What would you say is your favorite character that Oscar Isaac played?

This is a hard one, so I'm glad it's you that asked because you won't mind a tangent.

There's a lot of variables here, but my favourite overall character is Blue Jones.

I like him because he's eccentric, unique, he's got style and pizazz whilst being the main antagonist. But a key part that places him as my favourite is he had depth. He's not simply "Evil pimp that hates women", he's got more character than that. Blue can be described perfectly as someone who loves control but cannot control himself. He wants control over his environment, the staff, the patient's, how the place runs, wants his name instilled in everyone's heads. Oscar Isaac said in an interview that the brothel dream version of Blue wasn't Babydolls version of him, it's also how Blue saw himself.

We can see Blue, as a person in real life, is a weasel, not well liked, not commanding respect because of who he is but because of fear, because of how position of power. He's got dark bags under his eyes, plain orderly uniform, just a shitty guy that happens to be in power somewhere. Club Blue is not that, he has eyeliner to replace his eyebags, a stylish tache, slicked back hair, sparkly bright suits, a dance routine, he sings and dances, he has glamour.

The end is a perfect wrap up for his character. Despite how much he prided himself on having everything under his thumb the girls managed to almost fully complete an escape mission under his very nose and now he's losing control, the one thing he has and craves. And his punishment to Babydoll for that ends up taking away that too. The lobotomy takes her from him, and when she can't fight back, there's nothing there for him to control.

"You're here with me, in all this shit." He knows his place in the asylum is fucked, he doesn't enjoy the place itself and yet it's clearly all he has and when he loses it, it's enough to send him into frustrated tears.

And he's a stupid bitch. So I love him most!

[ominoose]

Your Blue discourse is excellent! Ngl, I took that one line so differently when I saw the movie first time around.

Here's my thoughts: I had a headcanon/theory that orderly Blue was originally a patient, one that either a) got released wayyyyy before he was ready, b) somehow took over the place from the original head orderly and just made everybody think he was supposed to be in charge, or c) it was originally for men until one of them (Blue) got out, disposed of everyone else, and freed the rest of the patients to be his minions essentially. Overall... I've put way too much thought into this.

Another thought/hc i have, especially for that scene when he's upset over everyone else "playing with his toys" but him, he a) calls everyone 'toys' because he's been treated like one as a child or possibly because if he starts viewing them as human beings, he'll lose control over his own emotions even more, b) he actually craves something more than what he's got (maybe a fucked up version of a romantic relationship with one of his patients) because I see him as someone who if he caught feelings, he'd become the most possessive fucker there is, or c) back the the childhood trauma theory, and now it's his personal mission to never lose control over anything ever again, because he can't even get control over his own self, so he gets it over everyone else.

One more thought/hc for now for Blue's childhood, he was never loved the way he should have been, and that was out of his control. Maybe one parent was abusive to the other while the other was too distant to be there for him (why he freaks out when Babydoll goes into her mind) and now, subconsciously he craves that feeling of love that he's convinced himself he'll never get so he gets power and control over anything/everyone he can because that's what he can control. If someone did show him any willing submission I honestly think it'd probably ruin him.

I cannot describe how happy this ask makes me, I cannot explain how giddy I am getting into and dissecting this horrid mans life.

My personal little hc for his childhood is that his mother worked at the hospital and slept around a lot, he never had a real father figure. She spent most of her time at the hospital, which we know is out the way and in some woods, so with no one else to watch him he was stuck hanging around there too and seeing his mum not so subtly be passed around the men working.

He was neglected, his only example of relationships were sexual, transactional, a power play. Its likely he saw the old head orderly there, someone his mum had to suck off up to for more shifts. Somewhere along the line, when he's old enough, he just ends up working there. It's mostly cleaning or running small errands, but as he gets older the head orderly takes him under his wing a little, showing him the ropes, letting him have a proper job.

At some point his mother would die of an overdose or something, the head orderly dies or retires and Blue is left in charge. Remember at the end when he says "You're stuck here with me, in all this shit", he says it with such venom. Stuck here is such a particular phrase, like he's just as trapped as the girls staying there. I think he is, at least mentally. It's all he's ever known, he has no power outside of Lennox House, he probably lives there too, meaning any power he has is central to there. It's his to own, play with, make it how he wants. It's his prison as much as his home.

Thats also likely reflected in how he treats the girls. Jointly stemming from resentment towards his neglectful mother and from the only way he's seen women treated, his relationship with the girls is one where he feels powerful and treats them as objects. To him, they aren't anything more than an object to make money off of, sheep to be herded and trained.

Switch to the Club version of Blue, and again Oscar himself says this version of Blue is as much of how Blue see's himself, not just how Babydoll see's him. We can apply the hc backstory here too. His mother was a dancer, he spent his childhood here, he saw the women being used. The brothel owner takes him in and then Blue ends up with the business, etc, etc.

Why would Blue see himself, picture an idolized version of himself as some glamorous brothel owner? Likely because it's a world where the few skills and assets he have are more than a depressing, run down mental hospital full of depravity and hopelessness. Here, it's more than selling mentally ill girls to his fellow slimy workers, now it's having pretty girls do elaborate dances to high class clientele.

All that aside, I really love the idea that he used to be a patient that was let out early. What would he be in for? It works because he'd known the ins and outs, he'd know how shit the staff is, he'd be in with some of the worst of them. Him taking over from the head orderly is the most likely though. We know he can forge signatures and documents, would've been not too hard for him to pull the credentials needed for the job outta thin air and make up some story to sack the former head orderly.

I genuinely do think he craves a person to love him unconditionally, in his own twisted way. Someone that see's and acknowledges how deprived he is and is happily willing to put up with his abuse. He's possessive, and Club Blue likes to look his best, so why wouldn't he want someone obsessed over him?

Would he love them back? I'm not sure. I don't think he has enough control or attention to direct to a single person, but he might have favourites. Overall he would just love the feeling of someone worshiping him.

Also how did you take the line first time around?

[saomidewi]

Although I do not know how my future looks like, one thing I know for sure is that I should not give up.

Saomi