I've always thought the genius of this movie was that there were three moments of wrenching reveal: as you mention, when Malcolm realizes Cole is really seeing ghosts, when Malcolm realizes he is dead, but also when Cole's mother realizes what he has really been experiencing this whole time. That, to me, is the emotional core of the film, where the full impact of Cole's suffering hits home in the guilt-tinged emotional reaction of the great Toni Collette.
Yes, the scene you're describing is easily the most emotionally powerful in the entire film. It's so delicately crafted, too, relying almost entirely on performances.
Just watched this film a couple of weeks ago with my son (13) when I realized he hadn’t yet seen it. It’s hard to believe it has already been twenty-five years since I saw it for the first time. I loved it so much more the second time…finding so many more relevant-to-my-life themes in it these twenty-five years later than I did as my younger self. Brilliant all the way around. I could probably ramble in about it for a while, but I will leave it at that.
The part about your name losing its uniqueness after this film came out gave me a good chuckle. 🙂 Great post.
I loved that film. And, as someone who can reliably spot a plot twist a mile away, I was the only one in my peer group who DID NOT see the reveal coming - that Dr Crowe, too, was one of the dead people.
This is so interesting. Makes me think about how some of the best books I've read in the last few years don't really reveal what they're 'about' in their blurbs ('Strange Sally Diamond' or 'Piranesi' for example), which would have made them hard to market, and yet they were so compelling to read.
It's a terrible irony of film advertising...they have to tell you the bits in advance that would make the cinematic experience that much more exciting for you. Trailers so often deprive us of the sense of discovering something -- of true surprise.
have you seen Memorias? the twist is literally the last scene of the fim. it is not effective. it is contemptible. in my view. critics seem to disagree.
I can't reveal one humorous story about watching this film at the cinema without a massive plot spoiler.
however i can recount one other hilarious story about watching this in the cinema which was that the "mysterious sound" (which the film blurb mentions)...is an incredibly loud bang which happens in the opening scene after about 2 agonising minutes of an almost pitch black bedroom and nothing happening except tilda swinton being asleep in it (we learn)
after a few seconds 3 people rushed out of the auditorium...presumably having pissed themselves as a result of this sudden loud bang.
The scene that stays with me--and hit my kids hard when we all watched it last year--is the dad watching the video of his daughter being poisoned. When he confronts his wife, my son yelled "She's wearing red!"
I've always thought the genius of this movie was that there were three moments of wrenching reveal: as you mention, when Malcolm realizes Cole is really seeing ghosts, when Malcolm realizes he is dead, but also when Cole's mother realizes what he has really been experiencing this whole time. That, to me, is the emotional core of the film, where the full impact of Cole's suffering hits home in the guilt-tinged emotional reaction of the great Toni Collette.
Yes, the scene you're describing is easily the most emotionally powerful in the entire film. It's so delicately crafted, too, relying almost entirely on performances.
Just watched this film a couple of weeks ago with my son (13) when I realized he hadn’t yet seen it. It’s hard to believe it has already been twenty-five years since I saw it for the first time. I loved it so much more the second time…finding so many more relevant-to-my-life themes in it these twenty-five years later than I did as my younger self. Brilliant all the way around. I could probably ramble in about it for a while, but I will leave it at that.
The part about your name losing its uniqueness after this film came out gave me a good chuckle. 🙂 Great post.
I'm glad to hear the piece resonated so much with you, Georgia. And thank you for the coffee!
I loved that film. And, as someone who can reliably spot a plot twist a mile away, I was the only one in my peer group who DID NOT see the reveal coming - that Dr Crowe, too, was one of the dead people.
The World's End has the same construction. Just a movie about a pub crawl, and then at midpoint: robots who bleed blue blood.
I've only seen this once and didn't clock this. It's been a long time. I'll try to give it a rewatch soon to contrast - thanks!
So good to be reminded of this!
Great and extremely useful analysis!
Thanks, Leonardo!
This is so interesting. Makes me think about how some of the best books I've read in the last few years don't really reveal what they're 'about' in their blurbs ('Strange Sally Diamond' or 'Piranesi' for example), which would have made them hard to market, and yet they were so compelling to read.
It's a terrible irony of film advertising...they have to tell you the bits in advance that would make the cinematic experience that much more exciting for you. Trailers so often deprive us of the sense of discovering something -- of true surprise.
The trailer for the movie told you that Cole sees dead people. I went into the movie knowing that much.
have you seen Memorias? the twist is literally the last scene of the fim. it is not effective. it is contemptible. in my view. critics seem to disagree.
I can't reveal one humorous story about watching this film at the cinema without a massive plot spoiler.
however i can recount one other hilarious story about watching this in the cinema which was that the "mysterious sound" (which the film blurb mentions)...is an incredibly loud bang which happens in the opening scene after about 2 agonising minutes of an almost pitch black bedroom and nothing happening except tilda swinton being asleep in it (we learn)
after a few seconds 3 people rushed out of the auditorium...presumably having pissed themselves as a result of this sudden loud bang.
The scene that stays with me--and hit my kids hard when we all watched it last year--is the dad watching the video of his daughter being poisoned. When he confronts his wife, my son yelled "She's wearing red!"
It's a crucial detail that the whole final twist -- and the emotional metaphor of the film -- hinges on, YES!
Haven’t watched this in years. Now I want to watch it again! Great breakdown.