From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Heath had his own understanding of the characters.

Indeed, from a cinematic perspective, only Evan has a clear narrative and character arc. The other characters are presented in fragments because the film is like a microcosm with Evan at its heart. The audience follows Evan's journey as he repeatedly returns to the past to alter history, creating parallel universes.

However, from the characters' perspective, although they are passively influenced and altered as supporting characters, they each possess their own storylines in different parallel universes. Their anger, sadness, improvement, or deterioration are not arbitrary or spontaneous. Even supporting characters have their own worlds and developmental trajectories.

The butterfly effect impacts every character.

Take Tommy, for example.

Originally, Tommy was wholeheartedly devoted to protecting Kaylee, rejecting anyone who tried to get close, including his childhood friend Evan. This is why Evan and Kaylee couldn't progress further in the initial timeline.

Now, after Evan changes history and saves Kaylee, their father vents all his anger and pain on Tommy, pushing him into hell, completely distorting his mind, making him not only more violent but also more dark. Naturally, Kaylee becomes the only lifeline in his life again; she is the only one who won't leave him and will always protect him.

Therefore,

when Tommy learns that Evan and Kaylee are together, he loses control.

He believes Kaylee is about to abandon him, that he will be left alone to descend into darkness, and that without Kaylee, he will have nothing and no reason to live—

Heath's eyes lit up slightly, a flash of inspiration in his mind.

"That phone call, it was from Tommy, right?"

During that scene, a phone call interrupted Evan and Kaylee. Evan answered it, but there was no sound.

Instantly, Heath connected the dots.

"Tommy heard Evan's voice, so he remained silent and refused to speak."

"At the same time, Tommy heard Kaylee's words, 'Ignore him.' Although Kaylee had no idea who was calling, the speaker was unintentional, but the listener was mindful. This became the last straw that broke Tommy."

"Therefore, Tommy brought a baseball bat, prepared to die together with Evan."

In the script, Tommy's appearance is sudden and murderous. Everything happens too fast, and the whole world spins into chaos.

One second, Tommy beats Evan half to death.

The next second, Evan retaliates with a heavy blow, killing Tommy.

For the average viewer, the dramatic tension and plot twists come one after another. Even if the logic and emotional connections are not entirely clear, it doesn't have much impact.

But as Anson said earlier, these details and the space for filling them in are precisely the key to the climax of the third act.

Anson: "Do you know how difficult it is to kill someone with your bare hands?"

Heath: ...?

Slightly stunned, Heath still followed, "So the final blow in the movie was Evan grabbing Tommy's baseball bat and using it."

Anson shook his head, "That's the point, but it's not."

Heath remained patient.

Anson: "From a script perspective, I can understand Evan's loss of control. On the one hand, he fears that his hard-won happiness will slip away again; on the other hand, the near-death experience makes him retaliate regardless."

"Moreover, Tommy has harmed him terribly. He killed the pet dog in front of him, tortured his good friend, and killed innocent neighbors and children."

Mackey and Eric had indeed put countless efforts into the script, with no obvious loopholes. Every "dramatic event" is supported by a corresponding set of reasons. This is undoubtedly the case.

Heath nodded slightly in agreement, "As you just said, Tommy clearly needs to take significant responsibility for pushing the blame onto others."

So, Evan lost control.

But here—

Anson raised a question, "Is this reason enough to turn the gentle and kind Evan into a brutal murderer? To kill Tommy with his bare hands."

Heath was about to correct Anson, "Baseball bat," but Rachel spoke up, "No, that's not reasonable."

Although the final fatal blow was with the baseball bat, the whole scene involved Evan frantically and continuously punching Tommy, directly bringing him to a near-death state before using the baseball bat to deliver the final blow. How crazy, brutal, and cold-blooded would that require?

Returning to Anson's question: How difficult is it to kill someone with your bare hands?

Heath couldn't help but look at Rachel. The two quickly exchanged a glance. They finally understood what Anson meant.

Indeed, from the perspective of the script or the movie, such minor detail deficiencies would not affect the viewing experience. Even they only noticed the anomaly after peeling back layers, and the average viewer probably wouldn't even notice it.

But from another perspective, if these details could be filled in completely, not only would the plot be more complete, but the characters would also become more complete.

Just like that scene between Anson and Rachel—

Good, everyone says it's good; but not everyone can say where the goodness lies. However, such goodness can make the movie more complete, even taking it to the next level.

Of course, this is not the job of the director or screenwriter, but of the actor.

So, what is Anson implying? How should the actors fill in the flesh and blood of the characters completely? What exactly caused the usually kind Evan to lose his mind completely?

Various thoughts whirled frantically in his mind.

Then.

Heath's eyes lit up—

Tommy.

The answer, of course, should lie with Tommy.

Heath looked up at Anson, his eyes showing an eager expression.

"What if Tommy provoked him?"

Anson didn't speak, but just looked at Heath, his eyes showing a focused expression.

"Hey, let's make a hypothesis."

"Tommy is a madman. He has no attachment to this world anymore. From the beginning, he came with the mentality of dying together, destroying everything."

"He prepared to beat Evan to death, completely disregarding his own life or death. Maybe he also planned to commit suicide, or spend his life in prison."

"Later, Evan used pepper spray to turn the situation around, completely suppressing Tommy. But Tommy didn't care, mocking and provoking Evan, constantly enraging him, making Evan completely lose his mind and make a mistake."

"That is to say, he used his own death to completely destroy the possibility of Evan and Kaylee being together. He wanted Evan and Kaylee to forever bear guilt, leaving his mark in an immortal way."

Hiss!

Rachel gasped, looking at Heath with disbelief.

However, Heath stared into Anson's eyes with excitement and fervor—

In this way, not only are Evan's motives and character completely fleshed out, but Tommy's character also becomes richer and more three-dimensional.

Whether it was Heath or Anson, a storm arose in their minds. The characters and stories beyond the script seemed to have their own vitality, growing and spreading recklessly.

Rachel noticed the madness in their eyes, and her heart trembled slightly:

Two madmen.