Why it might be hard to identify with these heroes
- It’s unclear who the hero is. We meet Jack and Danny separately. Jack seems insincere (but we all do in job interviews). He doesn’t seem to genuinely care if his wife or son will like living there. Jack enjoys telling his son about the Donner Party in a sadistic way. Danny, meanwhile, is five and lacks agency.
Connect
- Danny’s imaginary friend Tony in his finger is fascinating and something we haven’t seen before. We’ve also never seen a family in this situation before, and the copious details of the job interview makes this extreme situation believable.
Care
- We always feel sympathy for kids who are being forced to move. Then, of course, Danny has a flash of blood pouring out of elevators and creepy little girls, so now we’re terrified for everybody.
Commit
- Tony knows that Jack is about to call and say he got the job, so we can see that he has magic powers, which we know will come in handy. We kind of admire Jack for quitting drinking, I guess, but for the most part we don’t trust or commit to him, which makes the movie alienating because he’s pretty clearly the main character.
Five Es
- Eat: Jack accepts coffee in the job interview. Danny is eating a sandwich.
- Exercise: Never for Jack. We eventually see Danny pedaling around the hotel on his Big Wheel, but not for a while.
- Economic Activity: Jack is in a job interview.
- Enjoy: Danny sort of enjoys big-wheeling around, but not much. He seems to enjoy doing the hedge maze with his mom. Jack never seems to enjoy himself.
- Emulate: Jack is pretending to be a family man. Danny is pretending to be normal.
Rise above
- Jack will eventually abandon his responsibilities in the name of a, um, higher calling.
High five a black guy
- They eventually meet a friendly cook.
Kind
- No, neither Jack nor Danny.
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