The only way to handle people aggressively obsessed with social rules is to impose on them the kind of social rule that renders them harmless. Thus, the hero of Baster Keaton first remains inside the house of the vengeful family, and then marries the daughter, so that they are unable to follow their vendetta. The film is remarkable in its use of visual metaphors for social restrictions: the dog that is trained to follow the master (a similar symbol will eventually be used by Bunuel in "Viridiana"); the hero that has to wear his top hat, no matter what; the train that has to stay on rails, whatever absurd path the rails are on – which leads to a bumpy ride until the train is derailed – and then the ride becomes finally smooth. The dam that holds the natural flow of the river - and when it's exploded, the resulting waterfall saves the hero. As a result of these metaphors, the silent film reads almost like a ballet.
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