By Rachel Molique
“The Maltese Falcon” is a movie about greed, lust,
desire, and deception, but in a sense, it is also about dreams. In
the last scene in the movie the police officer picks up the falcon and asks
Sam, “What is this?”. Sam responds by saying “The stuff that dreams are made
of.” Whether that be the dream of having a lot of
power, or the dream of falling madly in love, this movie shows the great
lengths that people will go to to reach their dreams.
The bird itself is Kasper Gutman’s dream. He wants to own
the Maltese falcon because it is so rare and of so much value that if he had it
he would have a lot of power. Kasper would do anything to find the black bird.
He spent years of his life searching for it, and he drug Joel Cairo and Wilmer
Cook into the search too. He has killed people, betrayed people, and deceived people
along the way. He betrays his “son-like” partner, Wilmer, by agreeing to let
him be the fall guy. Kasper was willing to let someone that he considered
family take the fall for murder just so he could continue his search for the
bird and that just shows you how valuable it is to him.
I think that falling madly in love is Brigid
O'Shaughnessy dream. Being in love to her means safety and protection, so when
she falls in love with Sam Spade she thinks she has found these things. She was
very deceiving with Sam the whole time, she was constantly lying to him so it’s
hard for me to understand how they could truly be in love when Sam really has
no idea who she is. But when Sam finds out that Brigid is the one who murdered
Miles Archer and Thursby he knows he has he has to turn her in. He doesn’t want
to, but he also doesn’t want to be her fool like she expected him to be since
the moment she met him.
In the movie Kasper Gutman and Bridgid O’Shaughnessy both
got what they dreamed of, but it didn’t end up being everything they thought
that it would be. When Kasper got his falcon it turned out that it wasn’t the
real Maltese falcon. It was a replica made out of lead. And Bridgid fell madly
in love with Sam, but he still could not provide her with safety and protection
because he couldn’t “play the fool” for her, so he had to turn her in. I think this happens with dreams sometimes.
People will do nearly anything to reach their dreams, but they don’t always turn
out to be everything that they think they’ll be. I feel that this movie makes a
point of showing that the reality of dreams isn’t always so great because it
serves as a reminder to keep priorities in order. Sam Spade is the only
character in the movie with his priorities in order and he ends up being the
only one who comes out on top.
I always wondered what Sam meant by saying “The stuff that dreams are made of” about the falcon. I thought it came out of nowhere and was just a closing statement in the movie. Your analysis has definitely provided insight to what that last statement meant in terms of the entire movie. Kaspar Gutman’s dream was to ultimately make money and have fame. He shows the value of his dream through greed and deceit. While many people strive for the best and become good people while accomplishing their dreams, he actually portrayed his true self and even let others fall so he could rise to the top. Brigid was a character in the movie that was very hard to read at times. My interpretation of her wanting Sam’s love was only to make sure she was protected from being prosecuted for her murder. Her intention since the beginning of the movie was to lie and gain money through finding the bird and Thursby. She would go to great lengths to make sure she had someone by her side. She used Sam and manipulated him into thinking she was good and that she was true with her words. I don’t think he believed her even when she said that she loved him, he could see through her the entire time. I also think that Brigid’s dream was to gain status and money through manipulation and acting “innocent” and “in love.” I agree that both of their dreams were crushed because other people didn’t believe their lies and actions. Brigid and Kaspar’s dreams show that taking the easy way out will get you nowhere in the end.
ReplyDelete--Allison Emery
I think that it is interesting that you pointed out the last line in the movie. The fact that "The stuff dreams are made of" was included in the end of the film brought the whole meaning of the movie into perspective. I didn't think that the falcon and the closing statement were connected. But your analysis definitely brought an new light onto its meaning, and made me think deeper into its meaning. The whole movie was based off of dreams and trying to succeed. Whether it be finding the falcon, or trying to prove who committed the murders. I also agree with you on Brigid's characters. I think that one of her main dreams in the film was to find true love. However, I think that it's important to be honest and truthful in order to find true love, and be in a loving relationship. Brigid did not have these characteristics. She was deceitful and not honest. How is she going to find love if she cant even be truthful with herself? I also think that her quest for love was only to protect herself from the consequences of the crimes she committed. She only wanted Sam's love because she knew, or thought that he would save her. Which in the end ended up hurting her. She still had to pay the price. I also like what you said about Sam being the only character in the film that had his priorities straight. This is something that i completely agreed with from the start of the film. He knew that he had one job, and that was to solve the murders. He did everything in his power to do that, even if it meant going along with the things that Brigid said and felt.
ReplyDeleteMolly Koplos