Alonzo's betrayal . . .

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 2010)

There is one quick line in this feature that is pivotal to the plot: when Alonzo takes Jake to see Roger, the dealer, Roger asks Alonzo about the Russians. Roger says, " . . . you know I've got your back." So, think about the irony: Roger was promising Alonzo protection from the Russians; if Alonzo had not killed Roger, he would have been safe! This, I believe, is the supreme irony of Alonzo's reckless campaign to save his life by killing the one man who was prepared to save him. The hubris that Alonzo demonstrated is a symptom of his arrogant self-reliance - he planned everything in order to get his money, with no thought for the lives of those whom he used to achieve it. And this ties back to the joke Roger told Jake about the snail: Alonzo is like the snail in that he thought he could go anywhere or do anything without being stopped!