#that Jack would adopt a public persona of aloofness for his own safety

[mangle-my-mind]

Wow this is a phenomenal analysis. Everyone read this!!!

Micko really did so much with so little, though. Like Jack literally only speaks onstage, he doesn't have a single line otherwise, so you're left trying to glean anything he's thinking from subtle expression and body language

Like, at least to me:

When Brian approaches him it takes him a split second to notice he's being Observed, and the whole face shuts like an iron gate. Mouth closes, jaw tenses. His expressions here suggest that: A. this is absolutely not the first time someone has barged in in his private space uninvited, B. having noticed Brian staring at him earlier he's not in the least bit surprised to see him (particularly to see him looking v. predatory) and C. he's bracing for whatever this particular intrusion is going to cost him. It's an extremely subtle face journey, but ...the first blink is just "Ah, of course." and the way he lowers his eyes, it's...like it's not "Go on, then" as in consent or as in encouragement so much as it's "Let's get this over with"

Jack could probably fight someone off, or at least make them damn well regret putting their hands on him if he absolutely had to, but I'd imagine this is one of those, 'this guy in particular is a completely unknown quantity and he does not look like the sort of person who would take no for an answer' situations. Jack almost looks...there's a split second when Brian grabs him where he almost looks like he wants to roll his eyes? Like he's thinking "Ugh. Amateur." and again, just get-on-with-it. Gives him no reaction, no response. And there is a zero percent chance he could not have noticed an earring being removed from his own ear (someone stole a pin off the back of my bag once and I felt that, and I had the same non-reaction, because if someone is going to be blatant enough to take your property off your body, what else might they do if you try to stop them?). He spends a second kind of processing it, like that was not what he expected and he certainly isn't happy about it, but it's certainly better than getting hate crime'd or worse.

And the bit w/ Mandy is so interesting, and it's set up in such a ...like Mandy is done such a disservice by Cecil's narration, because we meet him first and he describes her as 'a constant source of amusement,' like all of her mannerisms are artificial and performed, and implying also that she really believes she's someone fooling people into thinking she's charming and interesting (but in actual fact everyone barely tolerates her because it's amusing to watch her make a fool of herself)

So that coupled with Jack's non-reaction to her v exuberant greeting, as a teenager I did not attribute it to his composure and poise but rather to her being a sort of Edina Monsoon, sweetie darling, who everybody sort of laughs at. But with fresh eyes??? This is probably Jack's...like he probably adopted his wall of unflappability precisely to discourage behaviour like Brian's, like he'll let you kiss him in public if you absolutely have to but he's not going to react to it one way or the other, because doubtless that would cause manifold problems. He's got an entire little entourage of attendants and hangers-on, pay too much attention to one over the other and that's going to cause rumours and drama, allow random strangers grabbing at him to get a response and that will only mean it happens more often (because a reaction from Jack, positive or negative, is no doubt what some of them want).

He lets her hang off him like a slightly drunk kitten but that's the extent of it, at least In Public. And of course he's already assessing a threat across the room (probably because that is who she's whispering in his ear about). And of course...he was absolutely right to be cautious.

Even with Curt, who of everyone in the entire film he actually seeks out and chooses to interact with as opposed to standing there like a torch surrounded by moths, there's a difference In Public.

There is The Smile: I love the way he's sort of bopping in time with the window crank, this is the least-polished we ever see him. Unadorned save for lipstick and earrings, and it's markedly not a practised smile, which he may well have a version of (it would be as subtle as every other expression and absolutely closed-mouthed, for when he's directed to "smile" in a photo shoot or something). This is the least-guarded and most open we see him the whole time and it shows so beautifully, because the bopping is a little dorky and it takes him a second to get control of the smile, like he's forgotten quite how to do it or that you kinda have to keep doing it after you've started (but he's not sure for how long). His eyes know what they're doing but his mouth isn't entirely sure.

But then of course in the diner or cafe or whatever it is

He's still with Curt and he's CLEARLY comfortable with Curt because otherwise he absolutely would not have taken the window seat and been boxed in like this. Even though it is Curt, he's still leaning ever so slightly away from him (Curt is leaning by contrast, ever so slightly towards Jack, his only source of emotional support). And this is not bc Jack is shying away from Curt but because he's shying away from any kind of implication of physical intimacy with Curt on camera, especially given the subject of the interview. Whatever is going on there is not for the international media (because look what happened the time it was, and look what it did to Curt when it went to hell). You get the sense that if they'd gone to him, alone, he'd have very graciously declined to be interviewed but because Curt was involved, he felt he had to go along for morale, even though he contributes nothing but sitting there looking beautiful and delicately smoking (and fidgeting with this ciggie a bit). Said ciggie does not actually look finished, when he leans over to the ashtray: leaving the possibility literally on the table that he leaned over not because he needed to stub it out but because that was his subtle way to reach over Curt's space in a difficult moment.

@mangle-my-mind Thoughts????