Killing of an Arab

Doris and Hayden are a couple and Andrew is their friend who also has feelings for Doris. Andrew tells a story about an Arab storekeeper being shot in the face during a robbery.  Hayden responds:   “So what?  He was an Arab, wasn’t he?

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Hayden is insomniac and does not show much interest in Doris and does not have a job. Doris works at Pizza Haven while Andrew has a real estate license. However, they make good money from small robberies and heists.

One day Hayden plans a robbery and Doris and Andrew participate.  They need Doris’ GT car for it which was sent for repairs before. Doris asks Andrew to get it for her. The charge for the repairs comes up to $1250 but Andrew is broke and is not able to pay, so he decides to get it anyway. The mechanic files for a car-theft.

So the gang uses two cars for robbery. Doris in a Prius pretending to deliver pizza, while Hayden and Andrew in her GT. They reach the house late at night and no one is there. Doris at the front door, Hayden and Andrew from the backdoor. Somehow the police show up. Andrew makes it seem as if Doris and him both were there to deliver the pizza and Hayden gets caught for breaking and entering.

Doris and Andrew head out of town to avoid being caught with little money they have. They eventually start sleeping together. Andrew also tries to do a few real estate job to make money. He has a nightmare about shooting an Arab.  A clip is inserted here from Visconti’s film “Lo Straniero”, based on Camus’s novel of the same name.

Most of the time Doris is shown having the guilt of cheating on Hayden and same goes for Andrew.

In the prison, Hayden is seen interacting with a fellow prisoner and tells him that he thinks his buddy is screwing his girl.   This man is an Arab, who has been in Guantanamo.   The Arab tells Hayden about a Malibu safe behind a Picasso painting. As soon as Hayden is out on parole, he sends a note to Andrew and Doris to meet him at the Hotel Refinement.

As soon as Andrew and Doris arrive at the hotel, Andrew loves it – the ambiance, the relaxing environment, everything. He also tells Hayden about it who is keen on planning to rob the Malibu safe and wants Andrew and Doris in as well. Andrew does not want to do this and says that he’s out.

Hayden is unable to control his anger any more and tells Andrew and Doris that he knows about them. Andrew immediately gets up and leaves while Doris is seen calming Hayden down. She confesses to him about everything and asks for forgiveness as well.

In the next scene, Doris tells Andrew that she will get back together with Hayden. Andrew has already made up his mind not to get involved in the latest heist Hayden has planned and leaves.

Years later, he reads a news article saying that two robbers were caught red-handed while attempting a heist.   They were arrested.  The Arab was shot while trying to escape.