The Man Who Wasn't There Extra Credit Blog Post

While I didn’t make it to the movie night, I recently watched The Man Who Wasn’t There, a film that Mr. Mitchell suggested we watch due to the movie’s shared themes with The Stranger by Albert Camus. I enjoyed the movie, but when I began to draw comparisons to The Stranger, I realized that there were the many key differences between this film and the book that supposedly inspired it.

            I thought that one of the most important aspects of The Stranger was the senseless nature of Meursalt’s murder of the Arab. Meursalt shot the defenseless man on the beach with no real motive. This is not the case at all in the pivotal murder scene in The Man Who Wasn’t There. Ed Crane actually kills Dave in self defense. Even if we disregard the fact that Dave attacked Ed first, Dave was sleeping with Ed’s wife, creating another obvious motive. The cold and uncaring character of Ed is certainly inspired by the unemotional and detached Meursalt, but the situation in which the murder occurs is completely different from the book.

            The trial of Ed’s wife again diverges from the novel, since there is nothing in The Stranger to compare it with. However, I did think it was an intriguing addition to the story that provided additional moral complexity for Ed’s character to confront. The defense lawyer is a much more important character in the film than in the book, which I think was a good choice on the part of the screenwriters since I felt that character was missing in The Stranger.

            Finally, the film wrapped up with the trial of Ed, where, without a solid defense, Ed’s character was put on trial and he was sentenced to death. Disregarding the alien scene (which I considered unnecessary and silly), this part of the movie certainly included themes from Camus and was a satisfying conclusion to the film.