# Movies that when they ended you went "Whaaaaat?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612 "2014-01-12T21:46:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/81 "2014-01-15T12:56:11Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Being There. Seemed okay to me. Not wonderful, but I don’t think wonderful was an option. The set-up is amusing, but either the Gardener continues to elevate forever by amazing coincidences or else the unbelieveable coincidences end and everyone smacks their forehead. Instead the film ended with a slow fade. It was a decent slow fade --the Gardener does one last naively logically thing and the image is sorta almost iconic. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/82 "2014-01-15T13:23:16Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > It’s been a while since I saw \4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days,\ but I think it resolved the main story well enough (and the movie deliberately takes place within a single day and following one character’s perspective). What Chekhov’s Gun are you talking about? It did resolve itself I guess, just seemed to have kind of ended. I’ll spoiler the Chekhov’s Gun part though. The abortionist leaves his identification card at the front desk. When the woman leaves the front desk clerk tells her he left the card. When she comes back she gets told yet again. Since the ID card was so important at the time I would have thought something would have come from it, but it just got dropped. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/83 "2014-01-15T15:16:28Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Seemed okay to me. Not wonderful, but I don’t think wonderful was an option. The set-up is amusing, but either the Gardener continues to elevate forever by amazing coincidences or else the unbelieveable coincidences end and everyone smacks their forehead. > > Instead the film ended with a slow fade. It was a decent slow fade --the Gardener does one last naively logically thing and the image is sorta almost iconic. IMHO, the ending proved that Gardener _was_ an elevated being - that we were just as mistaken about him as the people around him, only backwards. I don’t think the film could have made that clearer without sledgehammers. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/84 "2014-01-15T17:43:27Z")
And I thought we were seeing him through their eyes–he’d taken on otherworldly overtones and abilities as they saw him–so obviously multiple interpretations are possible– ---
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/85 "2014-01-15T17:51:02Z")
Well, this one was WTF to me because it’s one of the few movies where I was wrong about the ending. But the ending of Memento I had to rewind to make sure I actually saw it right. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/86 "2014-01-15T17:51:57Z")
[Sleepaway Camp, anyone?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIDM6wqUiuM) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/87 "2014-01-15T19:19:57Z")
> [@Zyanthia](#): > > But the ending of Memento I had to rewind to make sure I actually saw it right. One of the two or three greatest closing lines in cinema, IMVHO. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/88 "2014-01-15T19:21:33Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > And I thought we were seeing him through their eyes–he’d taken on otherworldly overtones and abilities as they saw him–so obviously multiple interpretations are possible– There’s a mumbled line in the closing conversational dialogue, as Gardner walks away - is it “Being is a state of mind”? That’s another viewpoint. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/89 "2014-01-15T19:24:38Z")
> [@Zyanthia](#): > > Well, this one was WTF to me because it’s one of the few movies where I was wrong about the ending. But the ending of Memento I had to rewind to make sure I actually saw it right. I bought the DVD and it sat on the shelf because I had heard a bit about it and thought for sure that it was going to be some hokey trick ending. I just didn’t have time to watch it for awhile. I was pleasantly surprised at the film as a whole. Well done and can still be watched again even if you know how it turns out. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/90 "2014-01-15T22:15:36Z")
_American Psycho_. Did he or didn’t he? Or is he … dum-dum-dum PSYCHO? ---
**Author:** ![QueenOfClubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/53a042/32.png) [@QueenOfClubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QueenOfClubs)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/91 "2014-01-15T22:37:07Z")
_Shutter Island._ A good movie deliberately left open on purpose, but so convincing both ways I watched it a couple more times and ended up feeling jerked around either way. Still a good movie. _Lawn Dogs_ On the verge of surreal, and very good, at the end I still wanted to know what happened to everyone. I watch this one off and on over again, because it’s complex and it’s nice to examine separate little angles and themes and of course it’s visually stunning. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/92 "2014-01-16T02:41:27Z")
I forgot about this one: _Basic Instinct_. The final shot essentially undoes the entire film. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/93 "2014-01-16T03:22:25Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > One of the two or three greatest closing lines in cinema, IMVHO. Second or third only to _Caddyshack_. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/94 "2014-01-16T06:33:44Z")
> [@Lucky\_13](#): > > _Jungle Fever_. After Flipper leaves his house, after make-up sex with his wife, a teenage hooker propositions him and calls him “Daddy.” He hugs her and yells “Nooooo!” That was a real WTF moment for me. That ending reminded me a lot of the ending to [The Nasty Girl](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100557/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1), a German movie released about a year earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Cornholia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Cornholia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornholia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/95 "2014-01-16T06:50:07Z")
I felt this way about Gravity. Stellar reviews; it was supposed to be amazing. I kept waiting and waiting for it to get interesting… and then it was over. WTF. Everyone in the whole theater was pissed off, not just me. There were rumblings of “that’s it?” throughout the room. I do get the ending, but on-screen it was just so obvious and unsatisfying. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/96 "2014-01-16T06:59:18Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > _American Psycho_. Did he or didn’t he? Or is he … dum-dum-dum PSYCHO? I really thought the movie made it painfully obvious that he didn’t do it. But I might be alone in that. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/97 "2014-01-16T15:37:12Z")
I did too, Justin, but in reading about it online, I found that apparently the filmmakers have stated explicitly that all murders depicted on screen did happen. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/98 "2014-01-16T16:05:34Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I did too, Justin, but in reading about it online, I found that apparently the filmmakers have stated explicitly that all murders depicted on screen did happen. 😕 BULL. SHIT. I guess Ridley Scott isn’t the only director who doesn’t understand his own movie. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/99 "2014-01-16T16:09:09Z")
> [@Cornholia](#): > > I felt this way about Gravity. Stellar reviews; it was supposed to be amazing. I kept waiting and waiting for it to get interesting… and then it was over. WTF. Everyone in the whole theater was pissed off, not just me. There were rumblings of “that’s it?” throughout the room. I do get the ending, but on-screen it was just so obvious and unsatisfying. \*Gravity \*is a movie unusual in that it was not carefully constructed to have one element from each column, so as to please the widest possible demographic - “…and a bit with a dog.” Since most movies are bent that way in between concept and screen - explosions, kids, love stories, surprise twists and stock characters shoehorned in - the rare one that doesn’t leaves some part of modern audiences feeling angry and cheated. The even rarer ones that hit huge box office and glowing reviews, even more so. I think we’ve grown a sense of entitlement - “If it’s a hugely popular movie it MUST have the elements to appeal to me.” Me? I call it to sweep the majors - Best Picture, Director, Actress, Cinematography, Visual Effects. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612/100 "2014-01-16T16:17:42Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > \*Gravity \*is a movie unusual in that it was not carefully constructed to have one element from each column, so as to please the widest possible demographic - “…and a bit with a dog.” Since most movies are bent that way in between concept and screen - explosions, kids, love stories, surprise twists and stock characters shoehorned in - the rare one that doesn’t leaves some part of modern audiences feeling angry and cheated. The even rarer ones that hit huge box office and glowing reviews, even more so. I think we’ve grown a sense of entitlement - “If it’s a hugely popular movie it MUST have the elements to appeal to me.” > > Me? I call it to sweep the majors - Best Picture, Director, Actress, Cinematography, Visual Effects. This is a particularly annoying and objectionable statement. “Unusual in that it was not carefully constructed to have [all the crowd pleasing elements]” While not denying that there certainly are many movies designed to push all the buttons, movies that don’t are by no means rare or unusual. Your implied suggestion that people don’t like or understand the film because it’s not a pandering crowd-pleaser is absurd and insulting. FWIW, I’ve heard the film is (except for scientific errors) excellent. I haven’t seen it yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-when-they-ended-you-went-whaaaaat/678612.md?page=6)