I was not expecting that exactly. A failed marriage maybe, and an unhappy home. But devastation? No. Sad. A fairly unforgettable film.
shareYeah i just rewatched in on tcm as well with my gf. She liked it, didnt expect that as well.
shareIt really is! Even though they build up to it, and you are certainly expecting something, the way it's presented is really startling and almost frightening, in a way. It's rare that a movie gives me the kind of chills the final scene of this one did. Great film.
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Devastating ending. It disturbed me as a kid and it was on my mind for years.
Was just as good and devastating watching it as an adult.
Have always really liked it
Was it a millionaire who said "Imagine no possessions"?
When I first saw this movie I was enthralled with the beauty of the scenes - Lancaster racing a horse :) - and found the ending chilling and frightening as you said.
Having rewatched it today, the signs and clues are all there but the ending is still just as devastating watching Neddy curl into a fetal position at the sheltered doorway of his house while the rain pours down a few feet away.
I was disappointed not to see his package.
Yeah the ending is kinda sad, i did expect that something was wrong at home because he kept insisting that everything was fine (the girls are at home playing tennis!), but the response from the people he later visited really showed that Burt was being delusional.
I actually started thinking that he was some kind of ghost, like, he committed suicide and was lost in purgatory about his life and destiny, so he had to return to find peace and understanding to finally leave forever.
Because he grew weaker every time he learned more truth, i expected that once he gathered the full truth, the ending wouldve shown him dead somewhere, maybe inside the house.
After he got "home" and the camera zoomed into the broken window, i expected the cam later to zoom out, but not from the window again, but from the hole in Burt's head.
But the ending felt like he was just still alive, but suffering from amnesia or something, or great denial, but then i dont understand where hes been all that time wearing just a Speedo hehe.
Either way, its a great movie.
That's what so cool about this film. There are so many ways you can interpret it. Probably why it is used a lot for showing in schools.
Fascinating film. Definitely one of a kind.
Was it a millionaire who said "Imagine no possessions"?
It's great that they kept the ending similar to the bleak ending in the story by Cheever. It's equally sad that it would be very difficult to get the production of this movie funded today, given the lack of an audience for the realistic portrayal of life's difficulties, pitfalls and failures.
My real name is Jeff