Hi,I am a new member to this forum but I have enjoyed it for some time. The reason I joined is to try and sort out the Sean/John topic. I believe that they are the same person. Being from Ireland we have a Gaelic language although English is the widely spoken language. During the period of this film the Irish revolutionaries were fighting for independence but also one of the main items on their agenda was the restoration of the native Gaelic language. Therefore all the revolutionaries used the Gaelic version of their names. For example Patrick used Padraig, Dennis would use Donnacha and John would use Sean. The authorities would never refer to them in the Gaelic version hence the John Mallory article in the newspaper. So in Ireland he would be refered to as Sean. That is why the Sean Sean theme is only used in the flashback scenes as to emphasise Seans Irish past but he is John when he is Mexico. I hope
I quite like the idea Nolan was Sean too, because when Juan starts his speech about how they have the same name and how it is destiny, it's the moment when Sean gets his first flashback in the film (I think).
I think Sean is the man in the flashback and John is John Mallory. So the previous pair of partners were John and Sean and Sean betrayed him. John says "Sean" when asked about his name because he was thinking of his old partner. So it was John and Sean in Ireland and John and Juan in Mexico.Maybe I'm way off as I've only seen the film once but I think that's how it is.
Beacause the British government doesn't uses traditional Irish names.
There is the suggestion that Sean is in fact the name of the other male figure in the flashback sequences. In the final flashback sequence, we see for the first time the love interest of John kissing the other male. That coupled with the change in the music score to be the same one used in bar where John shoots the "Sean" suggests that there was a love triangle and perhaps a bit of jelously. If you notice the final shot on John whose smile begins to fade while watching his love interest kiss Sean, it gives some credence to the love triangle theory.He says the name Sean when asked his name by Jean because he is haunted by the memory of the "one time he judged somebody" With that, he was referring to his shooting his friend in the bar.What is interesting is that the love triangle theory is suggested in the final moments of the film. And that ending was cut significantly on the American release such that we never see the girl kissing John's friend.
Love always comes when least expected or wanted and it's human nature to want to be the object of desire whether or not the initial intention was a 'playful' relationship or 'no strings attached'. If there's anyone here that's ever been involved in one of these relationships they'll agree that there is no such thing. A relationship between a single man and woman is complex enough without adding more testosterone.