 | 5 Feb 09 |
The other night, my two oldest daughters and I went to see THE UNINVITED, a teen PG-13 horror flick that Artsy Daughter (formerly known as Brennan #2) wanted to see. (I’ve decided to adopt Natalie’s proclivity of naming children after their talent.)
Warning: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. But honestly, I don’t expect anyone here to see the movie, though it had its moments.
Athletic Daughter, 15, (formerly known as Brennan #1) hated the movie. The bulk of the movie was “okay” but she despised the ending. She was depressed, felt that the actress had to have been depressed to play that part, and was completely and totally unsatisfied.
Artsy Daughter, nearly 13, loved the movie. She wants to not only see it again, but to buy it when it comes out on DVD. She liked the bulk of the movie, but she LOVED the ending. She appreciated the twist and wants to see the movie again to find the clues.
THE UNINVITED is a standard teen horror flick, though I appreciated that there wasn’t the excessive blood and gore of the slasher films. This was more a psychological suspense movie so that alone had me interested. The acting was pretty good, the setting (Maine, I believe) was gorgeous, and the film itself was simple and tightly edited. Not a high-budget movie, but the setting and story didn’t need it.
Anna is released from a mental institution and we learn pretty quick that she was there because she attempted suicide after her mother was killed in an accidental explosion. But when she goes home, she discovers that her mother’s nurse has moved into her father’s bedroom, and she and her older sister Alex are putting together clues that suggest that the nurse Rachel is not who she says she is and may have caused the explosion that killed their mother.
Anna doesn’t remember what happened that night, but bits and pieces have come through in her dreams. Yet when she returns home, stranger things begin to happen. She begins to see ghosts. Her mother’s ghost points to Rachel; the ghost of her three children haunt Anna in her dreams and during her waking hours. She sees things that aren’t there, she’s fearful, but determined to get to the truth. With Alex’s help, she researches past murders and becomes convinced that Rachel was a nanny who killed three children after becoming obsessed with their father. There is a great SIXTH SENSE type twist at the end, but thinking back there were some flaws in the structure as well.
SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!
In the end, we learn that Alex is in fact dead–she died in the same explosion that killed their mother–and it was caused because Anna walked in on her father and Rachel having sex; went to the generator room beneath the boat house that her terminally ill mother was living in; filled a watering can with gasoline in order to burn down the house with her cheating father inside; the spout dripped; and Alex (who was drunk) accidentally knocked over a lantern which ignited the gasoline and caused the explosion. Anna halfway to the house when it happened and instantly knew what happened. Then we find out that Alex was dead the whole time, and not a ghost but in Anna’s head–that Anna had done a series of bad/strange things and ultimately hacked up Rachel and put her in a garbage bag. But there were some strange happenings — like why did Anna go to the police trying to convince them that Rachel was a Mildred Kemp, a murderess? Why did she kill her former boyfriend Matt who claimed he saw what happened, but who was willing to meet her alone? Did she really think she saw the dead people? How delusional was she? If she had the whole murder planned, then everything we saw through her eyes was lying to the viewer–it was a scam. But if she didn’t plan the murder–if in fact she was psychotic and really believed she saw/heard dead people–then the question is, is she truly insane because she believed she was killing Rachel in self-defense? At the end we find out that Mildred Kemp is a patient in the same psycho ward that Anna was in–which is how Anna learned about the dead children. If it WAS a scam on Anna’s part, then the entire movie was a scam on viewers. If she truly believed in Rachel’s guilt, then it wasn’t a scam, but a cool twist at the end.
I was intrigued from an intellectual standpoint–but Athletic Daughter felt cheated, and Artsy Daughter thought the whole thing was cool and new. (She also read the SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS books when she was in 3rd and 4th grade and loved them because bad things happened and the endings weren’t always “happy.” I’d argue that they WERE happy because the Baudelaire children always slipped away from Count Olaf . . . )
In romance, we’re guaranteed an happily ever after because that is the story promise. The primary difference between a love story and a romance is that in the former, there is a true love story, but the ending is sad or bittersweet; in the latter there is a love story, but the ending is happy.
In mysteries, we’re guaranteed a resolution to the crime. I read a book last year in the Thriller Awards–a really good book–that I wanted to tear apart at the end because the author left a major story thread unsolved. On purpose. I understand that not all crimes are solvable, but this one was a MAJOR part of the character’s drive and I felt CHEATED that the thread was not resolved.
In thrillers, we’re guaranteed that the good guys will stop the bad guys from destroying the building/city/country/planet. But if Holly was killed by Hans in DIE HARD, it wouldn’t matter if John McClane stopped the bad guys from getting away with their crime: we would have felt cheated.
My good friend Edie Ramer (an American Title finalist!!) hated the ending of THE DEPARTED and was mad at me because I recommended the movie. THE DEPARTED remains one of my favorite all-time movies. The ending is bittersweet, but in my opinion it couldn’t have happened any other way. It was brilliant all the way around, from the story to the acting to the editing to the filming. I love that movie. Edie loved the movie . . . up until the ending which ruined the entire experience for her. She felt cheated when a character she cared about died. I didn’t feel cheated–I had already bought into the world and knew that everyone, even characters I cared about, were at risk.
Endings are critical, and I’ve been thinking a lot about them as I begin work on my Seven Deadly Sins series. This is a closed series–meaning, there is a seven-book story arc, and the bad guys are not going to be stopped (at least not all of them) until the last book. There will be a complete story and resolution in each book, but the reader will know that it’s not THE END–that there is something even more deadly out there to be tackled by my characters. The main villain will not be captured at the end of book one, and there’ll be successes and losses on both sides.
In my romantic thrillers, though people die–even some of the good guys–readers know that the hero and heroine will survive and the villain will be caught (and as my mother tells me, I kill off every one of my villains and she asks where I got this violent streak . . . but I digress.) A man and woman who come together in love and respect, and justice served, is my story promise. Everyone else? Well, don’t count on anything.
I have many favorite endings, and not all are traditionally “happy.” In CASABLANCA, Rick doesn’t get the girl . . . but he does the right thing. Bittersweet. One of my all-time favorite movies. THE DEPARTED: the good guy doesn’t survive, but justice is served on the bad guy, in spades. I love that ending. In THE SIXTH SENSE, Bruce Willis learns he’s dead at the end . . . but there is peace for him and for the boy. In THE MATRIX, Neo dies . . . and is reborn. Honestly, one of my favorite movies–and endings–of all time. (Hmm, I should do an entire blog on that movie!)
In romance, FRENCH KISS and WORKING GIRL are two of my favorite movies and the endings are pitch perfect. GONE WITH THE WIND? I HATED the ending. Primarily because I really didn’t like Scarlett. I understood her but I just wanted her to grow up. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there was no other way to end it . . . but frankly, Scarlett, you’re a bitch.
So, what’s your favorite “bittersweet” ending and your favorite “happy” ending?
New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award winning author Allison Brennan has published fourteen romantic thrillers with Ballantine, plus a novella and four short stories. She lives near Sacramento, California with her husband and five children. Recently, RT Book Reviews said, “A master of suspense, Brennan does another outstanding job uniting horrifying action, procedural drama and the birth of a romance — a prime example of why she’s tops in the genre.” For fun Allison enjoys wine tasting, swimming, playing video games, and—of course–reading. Her most recent release is CARNAL SIN, the second book in the Seven Deadly Sins supernatural romantic suspense series. Her Lucy Kincaid series will launch in January, 2011 with LOVE ME TO DEATH.
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Allison, the ending of The Departed wasn’t bittersweet, it was just bitter for me. The movie left no hope.
My favorite movie, including the ending, is LOVE ACTUALLY. I love the complexity of all the stories. Three of the stories didn’t end happily, one with characters played by Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson. But it didn’t leave me feeling cheated. It added poignancy to the movie.
Of the happy endings in the movie, I’m having a hard time choosing. Of course the motherless kid and his stepfather, but there’s the old rock star getting another stab at fame, and the guy who went to Milwaukee to meet girls, and …
As I’m typing, I realize every ending in Love Actually made me feel a different emotion. Sadness, happiness, laughter and more. The actors were great, of course, but the writer(s) and the director were geniuses.
by Edie February 5th, 2009 at 6:20 amAh, to comment intelligently here would require I actually SEE movies. We’re getting better now that we have Netflix. I suppose I prefer neatly wrapped up endings, but don’t have examples to share.
As for books, I’m still growing at one author who put a major, albeit secondary, character into a coma and LEFT HIM THERE. For more than the NEXT book. I know it’s realistic, but good or bad, I want some sort of closure.
by Terry Odell February 5th, 2009 at 6:43 amHi Edie — I’ve never seen LOVE ACTUALLY though I’ve always wanted to. I’ll just have to see if I can rent it through iTunes . . . and I know we’ve talked about THE DEPARTED many times and will never agree, but that’s okay
(And she was pregnant, and a new baby always IS hope in itself.)
Terry, ahem, I didn’t KILL him. So there’s hope. I even have a story idea for him. But I haven’t sold it yet . . .
by Allison Brennan February 5th, 2009 at 7:12 amI know he’s not dead. It’s the ‘upintheairness’ of it all that bugs me. I pick up all the subsequent books hoping to see what happened. So I’ll continue to hope.
by Terry Odell February 5th, 2009 at 11:22 amAllison, I’m with Edie on the LOVE ACTUALLY front. Can’t say how many times I’ve watched that movie, but its a lot. And I never watch movies more than once, usually. I loved, loved, loved the ending of an old movie called Enchanted April. Talk about character change. And there is something about SERENITY that makes me watch it again and again, every time it comes up on TV. I haven’t seen THE DEPARTED, so I’ll stay out of your disagreement with Edie
.
by Michelle February 5th, 2009 at 7:18 amI think my favorite on both counts is the Daniel Day-Lewis version of “Last of the Mohicans.” That whole movie is just made of win for me – hunky men, an arrogant jerk doing the right thing and redeeming himself, a man and a woman loving forever – with two very different outcomes. Even the happy ending was bittersweet. And did I mention Daniel Day-Lewis. Without a shirt… And the soundtrack. LOVE the soundtrack.
Allison, I haven’t seen “The Departed” either. I may have to check it out.
by Silver James February 5th, 2009 at 7:38 amOkay. Daniel Day-Lewis without a shirt. Yep, great movie
(Seriously, I did like that movie a lot though i can’t honestly remember the ending–just that it was a good movie overall.)
by Allison Brennan February 5th, 2009 at 1:37 pmSilver and I are soul-sisters. I think this is one of my all-time favorite movies. The “negotiation” scene where the English soldier and Nathaniel are talking to the tribal leader, bartering for her life is a heartbreaker.
by Toni McGee Causey February 5th, 2009 at 2:26 pmRight on, sistah! Toni, there are so many scenes in that movie that just…rock my socks.
by Silver James February 5th, 2009 at 2:34 pmJust in case inquiring minds wanted to know *LOL* — Uncas tried to save Alice, the younger sister, from Magua and was killed. Alice jumped off the cliff rather than face life as a captive. Hawkeye and Chingachgook were too late to save them, though Chingachgook killed Magua. Hawkeye and Cora, the older sister, lived happily ever after. One of my favorite scenes *EVAH* is Hawkeye telling Cora to stay alive as he says goodbye in the cave behind the waterfall. *melt*
And yeah. Daniel was buff for that flick. *drool*
by Silver James February 5th, 2009 at 2:32 pmI loved SERENITY too, and the series FIREFLY that preceded it. (Though I saw the short-lived series after the movie that wrapped everything up.) There was a happy ending and a sad ending in that movie, but honestly, if they had done anything else, it would have been contrived.
I get some flak for what happened to Lucy in FEAR NO EVIL. Some readers felt I should have saved her PRIOR to her getting hurt. Some readers felt I should have brought Patrick out of his coma at the end. But the former would have been contrived and unrealistic–and Lucy to this day is my favorite character largely because of her strength and her complexity. I think she’ll make a remarkable series character someday. And Patrick? Well, sometimes, I hate it when everything is tied up neatly at the end of a book or movie. Sometimes, shit happens and we have to deal with the fall-out. And Patrick’s condition gave me a reason to get Jack to San Diego in SUDDEN DEATH and deal with HIS backstory, and I certainly didn’t have that planned when I wrote FEAR!!!!
by Allison Brennan February 5th, 2009 at 7:41 amLoved Serenity. Loved The Matrix. Loved The Departed.
I’m beginning to see a trend, here.
Seriously, I loved all three. I only liked the ending of the second Matrix film, but had high hopes for it, and I loathed the ending of the trilogy to the point that I was all “tra la la la la, I am ignoring your existence” and I pretend the ending did not happen that way. I mentally rewrite it so I can stand the idea of the trilogy.
The Departed couldn’t have ended any other way. I was shocked when that character died, and ultimately, realized, it couldn’t have ended any other way to be true to that world. A different ending wouldn’t have worked, and I’m a died-in-the-wool slut for HEAs, so I empathize with you, Edie.
Another ending I loved (well, the final battle, I didn’t really care for the last HEA, not the way it was shot)… was the Counte of Monte Cristo. The ultimate payoff of that final battle, though, was awesome.
by Toni McGee Causey February 5th, 2009 at 2:31 pmYeah, I didn’t hate the second Matrix movie–it was fine, good even, but the third? Ugh!!!! The first movie was perfect in every way.
by Allison Brennan February 5th, 2009 at 7:36 pmI think one of my favorite bittersweet endings was in Jodi Piccolt’s My Sister’s Keeper. It made me cry, but I really can’t see any other way it could have worked out.
Favorite happy ending…well outside the romance genre The Count of Monte Cristo. Seriously. It is made of awesome. ALL the bad guys get theirs in the end, Edmund gets Mercedes (who really loved him all along but thought he had died) and Albert turns out to be his son instead of the evil Count Mondego. It’s one of the most absolutely satisfying endings ever written/filmed.
by Kait Nolan February 5th, 2009 at 8:22 amI know I’m in the minority but I loved the end to the Twilight series of books. It was so tense and so “oh, no. this has to work out.” I was enthralled with Breaking Dawn, I missed sleep to finish that book.
I loved reading The Notebook too. I knew it wasn’t a romance novel so the ending just felt right.
by Amanda February 5th, 2009 at 10:13 amStressed, stressed, stressed–that’s me! But just popping in to say my favorite movie ending–right now anyway–is the ending to Grand Torino.
Back to the grindstone.
by Jen Lyon February 5th, 2009 at 12:49 pm“but frankly, Scarlett, you’re a bitch.”
Allison! Did you read the book? (the movie was pale in comparison) That bitch single handedly saved her family. Hell, she could have fought the war alone and won! Had she not been so deeply committed to her family (wimpy Ashly aside) they all would have succumbed to the Yankees. She is my all time fave heroine. The ending didn’t bother me, I mean, c’mon, we’re talking Scarlett here She never gives up. Ever.
As far as fave bittersweet ending? Gran Torino. Fave happy ending? Hmmm…any Disney movie.
by Karin Tabke February 5th, 2009 at 1:21 pmKarin, yes, I read the book (in high school, so it’s fuzzy) and I agree, I have more warm fuzzies about the book than I do about the movie, but honestly, she did things — maybe for a good reason — but which were downright cruel. Maybe it’s because I’m not from the south during the 1800s where land was precious, but I can’t condone some of her actions and I don’t agree with some of her choices. Some–during the war–I understood better. But before the war? Sorry, she started out as selfish and cruel and while I had some sympathy for her (and I did admire her strength–she was willing to do things that had to be done when no one else–or no other woman–would do it) I still found her too selfish for my taste.
by Allison Brennan February 5th, 2009 at 1:36 pmMy favorite bittersweet endings include “Ghost” and “Roman Holiday.” My favorite happy ending is “The Princess Bride.”
by Jane February 5th, 2009 at 2:05 pmPrincess Bride! Another favorite.
And also, top favorite: The Sting.
There is just no way not to love that movie.
by Toni McGee Causey February 5th, 2009 at 2:33 pmGHOST!!! I totally forgot about that. You’re right, bittersweet but perfect. I liked THE PRINCESS BRIDE, but I liked the book better. (Always a problem . . . )
by Allison Brennan February 5th, 2009 at 7:35 pmAllison, your books are always wonderful. I had no idea Edie helped you. (smiling, here)
by Mary Marvella February 5th, 2009 at 9:25 pmThanks Mary! That’s very nice of you to say. Edie and Karin were instrumental in helping me whip THE HUNT into shape–you should have seen the revision letter! They rock big time
by Allison Brennan February 5th, 2009 at 10:00 pmThe three of you do!
by Mary Marvella February 6th, 2009 at 10:54 pm