Speaking of ambiguous endings - it's what hurt the otherwise excellent No Country For Old Men (2007) for me...
WARNING: "Spoil" spoilers below
The protagonist is seemingly randomly killed off in the second half.
Tommy Lee Jones sits in his kitchen and soliloquizes.
And the bad guy rides off into the sunset.
Tommy Lee Jones sits in his kitchen and soliloquizes.
And the bad guy rides off into the sunset.
WARNING: "NCFOM" spoilers below
How is any of that ambiguous, though? You know where all three of the leads have ended up by the time the credits roll.
In the Departed:
WARNING: "Holy Cripes, don't click" spoilers below
I'm often stuck on the premature killing of protagonists. I usually hate it.
For instance, was I supposed to maintain interest once Leonardo DiCaprio was killed? Seemed like a silly and meaningless death. I wasn't rooting for Matt Daemon's character....so who was left? Wahlberg?
But THEN, if they follow too much of a predictable path, they'd run the risk of being accused of "conveyor belt writing".
I'm often stuck on the premature killing of protagonists. I usually hate it.
For instance, was I supposed to maintain interest once Leonardo DiCaprio was killed? Seemed like a silly and meaningless death. I wasn't rooting for Matt Daemon's character....so who was left? Wahlberg?
But THEN, if they follow too much of a predictable path, they'd run the risk of being accused of "conveyor belt writing".
WARNING: "Departed" spoilers below
I mean...yes? Damon is the co-lead - regardless of whether or not you're "rooting" for him, you should have some interest in seeing how he turns out by the end of the film, especially when you consider the complicated nature of his double life (and how he was essentially pushed into it by Nicholson) that ultimately leads to him wanting to make up for it (and whether or not he ever truly can). DiCaprio's death isn't silly and meaningless, it's an actual tragedy that the closest thing this movie has to a hero is unceremoniously killed off (and the fact that it happens after Damon is working to redeem himself by killing Nicholson only compounds matters). It's worth noting that, in the original film Infernal Affairs, the Wahlberg character does not exist so the Damon character is left alive at the end to think on his mistakes whereas Departed just has Wahlberg neatly tie things up by killing Damon, who bluntly accepts his death. I've always thought that was the fundamentally lesser ending, but I think it makes sense when considering Infernal Affairs' emphasis on Buddhism versus Departed's emphasis on Catholicism.
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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0
I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.