For decades it has been an accepted fact of life in Hollywood that, no matter how good the movie, endings are a write-off.
Hollywood has learned the hard way that, no matter how good the film (or the book on which it is based) it is impossible to do an ending which satisfies the writer, the director, the producers, the critics, the audience and (duh!) reviewers like this one.
That is why, for literally as long as there have been movies, endings are changed at the last minute; and often even multiple endings are shot so that survey groups can be brought in to make the final choice.
The reason I gave this brief lecture on the importance of endings is simple -- going into the last 20 minutes, this was a rock solid film with a rock solid script and rock solid performances.
But the ending was ... perfect.
And perfect endings are so rare these days that I needed to write a review for posterity that does nothing except note this for future readers and future viewers.
Are we still an effective team???????????
Hollywood has learned the hard way that, no matter how good the film (or the book on which it is based) it is impossible to do an ending which satisfies the writer, the director, the producers, the critics, the audience and (duh!) reviewers like this one.
That is why, for literally as long as there have been movies, endings are changed at the last minute; and often even multiple endings are shot so that survey groups can be brought in to make the final choice.
The reason I gave this brief lecture on the importance of endings is simple -- going into the last 20 minutes, this was a rock solid film with a rock solid script and rock solid performances.
But the ending was ... perfect.
And perfect endings are so rare these days that I needed to write a review for posterity that does nothing except note this for future readers and future viewers.
Are we still an effective team???????????