I just watched this movie for the first time tonight. Great ending! Maybe i'm easy to fool, but I never expected it. Did anyone else? I never suspected Daniels' character was anything other than a 'ne'er do well'. Well done, EAstwood.
[deleted]
[deleted]
I don't usually pick up on twists like this, but in this one I was way ahead for once. I just thought it was way to random and pointless of a role for Jeff Daniels as the movie was going on and once he said his name Jasper Noone and Clint Eastwood acted all surprised his name wasnt really Buddy I knew that the Daniels character was deceiving everyone. And once the kid said "No One" I immediately connected it to his name. Like I said I don't always catch these things but this time I was especially proud so I thought I'd post.
shareI saw the opening crime scene,looked at the shoes, next scene saw jeff daniels's shoes, smae guessed it.
shareI never saw it coming the first time that I viewed the film. Many others did see it coming, but so be it. I totally trusted Buddy so the revelation stunned me.
shareSorry buddy (no pun intended),
The first place you see him POSSIBLY wearing Chuck Taylors is well into the movie, at the Russian dude murder scene. In the first scene with Jeff Daniels following the shoe details being introduced, he's wearing some brown boots. Between that time and the Russian murder, his shoes are never seen, except breifly, and such that they are unidentifiable.
Of course, you could be saying that after seeing Daniels' shoes were NOT Chuck Taylors, you knew he was the killer, but that would be silly, of course.
I found it pretty obvious when they're driving along and Buddy makes a point to say "Only my mother has to tell me that," in reference to positive things, when McCaleb tells him he's not a loser. I thought, "Oh, okay, the man had a traumatizing childhood, apparently, so that's a motive." And also, another dead give-away is how Buddy gives a too-long explanation of his name. Come on. Everyone knows killers and bad guys have cover-ups... Buddy took such a long time to explain the spelling of his last name and how he "didn't look like a Jasper." Of course not... he doesn't "look like a killer" either.
shareUsually im pretty good at figuring out twists, but this one, i didnt catch. I guess mostly because, who would think jeff daniels is a killer? All I could think of was the turbo-lax scene in dumb and dumber. But pretty entertaining movie all around.
shareNot only didn't I spot 'Buddy' as the fiend, I had to log onto this site to find out how the twist ending worked. I'm really quite dim, I'd lose my ears if they weren't scr......hey, where's my ears gone?
shareI saw it coming as soon as soon as I saw Jeff Daniels character when he told Clint that the lady was waiting for him on his boat. I said to my man "It's him." Like another post said, it seemed a pretty pointless role for him to be in if he wasn't the killer. Almost comic relief.
"Can you picture what will be so limitless and free?" The End, The Doors.
As I said, I'm dim.
share[deleted]
[deleted]
When Daniels becomes Eastwood's driver, I thought 'This would really be a crappy movie if Daniels is the killer.' If you want to have a suprise ending, DON'T USE THE SIDEKICK. It's already done in so many other crappy movies.
This film started out to be a good thriller, but the end just ruined it all.
Far too predictable.
My Tae Kwon Do instructor tells me I'm just two moves away from becoming quite threatening!
Agree with this sentiment.
For a while there, I felt that any murder mystery that had exactly one very well-known actor in an apparently minor role would have a stupid twist where the known actor "turned out to be the killer".
As you say, sidekick=killer is really a stupid twist. And it's a shame, because aside from the stupid twist, this really is an excellently done film. And Jeff Daniels is such a terrific actor, it was sad to see him placed in such a ludicrous role.
SPOILER FOR THE MOVIE HIDE AND SEEK AHEAD!!!
This idea you discuss is best mentioned in Roger Ebert's review for Hide and Seek.
"I found the third act to be a disappointment. There was a point in the movie when suddenly everything clicked, and the Law of Economy of Characters began to apply. That is the law that says no actor is in a movie unless his character is necessary. A corollary is that if a minor actor is set up as a suspect, he's a decoy."
I always love this fact and it's apparent in a lot of movies, although here it could have also applied to Angelica Houston.
[deleted]
I guessed it pretty early on. Decent flick, though.
shareThe only real surprise is that it is NOT the same killer and the same ending as the novel!!
They changed it - read the novel it is far better!
I have an eternal hope.
Just watched the movie, and didn't expect Noone as the killer. 7/10
shareThey changed it - read the novel it is far better!
I disagree. I thought that the ending was easy to predict. It was like watching a Law and Order SVU. If you recognize the famous actor in a bit part, he is the killer. Case Closed.
shareIt was one of the most predictable movies I have ever seen.
My Tae Kwon Do instructor tells me I'm just two moves away from becoming quite threatening!
I've found three Clint Eastwood directed films now that contain what I would consider far too obvious plot elements: Blood Work, Mystic River, and Million Dollar baby.
Blood Work: As others have said, the fact that Jeff Daniels was cast in what seemed to be such a minor role in this movie pretty well said that he had to be the killer.
Mystic River: When I first saw the actor playing Silent Ray Harris I thought it odd that he would play such a minor role, having recently appeared in more substantial roles in Gladiator and Unbreakable. His character also seemed to be a little too artificially inserted into the plot. Obviously, he must be more than he seems.
Million Dollar Baby: I've seen tons of boxing movies and I've never seen another one put so much focus on the stool in the boxing ring. Time and time again the camera focuses on Eastwood's character placing the stool in the ring. They might as well have had a big neon sign saying "Watch the stool, it is very important to the plot!"
For the other two films they did not really take away from my enjoyment of the film but once it was all over I couldn't help wishing that they had been a little more subtle.
The IMP
http://www.impawards.com - All the latest movie posters