Question of the Week: favorite movie ending?
It’s time for Question of the Week, which is designed to inspire interesting discussion of enjoyable topics.
This week’s topic – what is your favorite ending to a movie? No wrong answers, obviously. The inspiration for this was that I’ve been editing SHIELD OF DARKNESS, so I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes a satisfying ending and what does not.
For me, I think my favorite ending to a movie would be the 2009 version of SHERLOCK HOLMES directed by Guy Richtie and with Robert Downey Jr as Holmes. The villain of the movie, Lord Blackwood, has been presenting himself as a sorcerer who has been murdering his victims through magic, and has most of London terrified of him. During their final confrontation, Holmes gives a great speech to Blackwood, utterly demolishing all of his “spells” as clever combinations of stage magic and applied science, proving that he knew Blackwood was a fraud all along. I think it’s one of the best “the detective sums up” speeches.
-JM
I’ll go with an oldie. Casablanca. Rick saves Ilsa, the woman he loves, and puts her on the plane to Lisbon with her husband. He puts morals above love, and tells her that she would regret staying with him. Then he and Renault head off to join the resistance. “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
Archetypes so powerful that you’ve used them. I’d argue that The Gray Knight’s ending, with Ridmark leaving Calliande and going with Kharlacht is a variation on this.