Leonard Recounts the Night of the Murder, Explained：a hot potato

What's really going on

Leonard keeps answering like a man with nothing to hide, which only makes the lawyer more careful. His alibi is real but useless — "I can prove that. I can swear to it, in or out of court, in the witness box, anywhere!" — because the only witness is his devoted wife, and Sir Wilfrid warns him that such testimony "does not carry much weight," adding, "Blood is thicker than evidence." The interview is really a rehearsal for court: every honest answer gives the prosecution another thread, from the money he hoped to borrow to the housekeeper's day off. Sir Wilfrid's summary of the case, "they don't look bad, Mr Vole, they look terrible," is the film's sharpest joke and its fairest warning. Leonard may be innocent, but the evidence does not need him to be guilty.

Theme

このチャプターで学べること

• A tidy alibi can still leave a motive wide open.
• The will turns sympathy into suspicion in one line.
• Courtroom talk hides threats inside polite questions.
• A twisted proverb can be a warning, not comfort.

発音のポイント

• went around — Link went and around so they run together.
• half past — The h in half often drops, giving alf past.
• It's a hot — It's a runs together as itsa; stress hot.