Yes, that's a tough one. I think it's more empathy from her side, given that she once fell in love with Hendrix (or at least that's implied). I guess she wants to save him from that pain, especially as she'll be the one experiencing a stranger falling in love with her. She can only ever know him for a matter of hours or days, whereas Cage has known her (or at least been around her) for many possible lifetimes.

>I think the arcade thing was real but the Peyton thing was just him being playful, because they both know it isn't true.

Yeah, I can see that. I guess I've always viewed it from a slightly different angle, where misdirection is his motivation.

>The sugar scene is just to push forward the plot point where she realizes he's been stalling in that barn or whatever it is

I have no problem with it on its own, it was more to do with it immediately following the whole misdirection scene with the middle name conversation. I can now see there's a different intention in that dialogue, so the following scenes flow better.

Ah, that's a very good point and something I hadn't considered. What you've said actually does make sense within the scene - throw out enough wrong answers and eventually she'll correct him.

Many thanks for the input, I will try to keep this in mind on my next re-watch!

I can only suggest you go and preach elsewhere.

I have no interest in someone's opinion who cannot understand that people of all (consenting) ages fall in love and have relationships. I'm not suggesting every age-gap relationship is the best in the world, but to immediately jump to the conclusion that every relationship of this type is predatory, abusive, and manipulative, it really shows your own character, more than it does the people in the relationship.

If it's a little gross to you, then that's fine, but to other people it's not an issue - they see the person, their personality, their humour, their passions, their individuality - they don't check their driver's licence for their age and then decide if it's appropriate to speak to the person.

I guess I can go with the whole small talk business to get her to open up more, but why not use some actual information he's obtained from previous loops? He mentions Hendrix and she immediately starts asking how does he know that - why not use more of those snippets to show her she opened up to him in previous loops? That's an even better way to show he's done this all before.

The scene feels a bit like filler to me (a cardinal sin in screenwriting), and it stands out in what was otherwise a very tightly written script - everything else said and done has a purpose and a reason, but this scene feels slightly out of place. If the scene's purpose is to show how many loops he's done or how he's fishing for information, I think it could have been done in a better way, without the made up middle name and lost brother story.

>He is just probing and showing her that she has, in fact, already told him some of her past.

Then why not tell her her actual past and then she'll know that she trusted him enough to open up - then she can just carry on in conversation, knowing she trusted him enough in another loop.

>The three sugars thing is just an honest mistake, I think.

Agreed - but it makes the previous scene a bit redundant.

She was 31 at the time of filming and he was 52 - that's not an incredible age gap when you're over 30. I've no doubt that in the film, Cage's age was probably around 40 to mid 40s, making the age gap even less of an issue.

When you look younger than your age, as Cruise does in his 50s and 60s - he can get away with playing younger characters in their mid 40s without it seeming too far fetched.

I also don't see the fascination with age gap relationships, if they're 2 consenting adults in a loving and non-abusive or manipulative relationship, then that's all that matters.

I don't see how this has any relevance to the scene in question.

If he wanted to get her to open up more, I'm not sure how lying to her about stuff she would definitely know, is the right way to do that.

She does say in that scene "maybe I just made it all up just to keep you quiet" - which is something we'll never know for sure. In the scene, it certainly comes across as though he is the one making things up to see her reaction.

What would you say your biggest influences are? I love your style and it's reminiscent of something else I can't quite put my finger on.