I have always been a big fan of unconventional movie endings. The films that don't end as you would expect, or don't end with the traditional happy ending have always stuck with me. In fact, most of these endings are pretty bleak. It seems to me that one's preference for unconventional movie endings says something about why one enjoys going to movies. I like going to movies to be entertained and to escape, but my enjoyment is typically predicated on being surprised or seeing something original, be it storytelling or direction or some other novel aspect of a movie. For others, escaping into entertainment might means living an alternate experience, but still with the happy ending. For those folks, reality might be so demoralizing or boring, they want to experience the love, the adventure, the mystery, etc. but know that a happy ending is in store. Personally, I want to see originality.
The movies with unconventional endings that I enjoy are movies like Seven, Arlington Road, and Memento. Seven has a particularly bleak ending, but the way it unfolds and then ends is just so surprising and feels like it would end that way in real life. It is so easy to relate to Detective Mills (Brad Pitt's character) and also feel the despair and horror (and apathy) felt by Morgan Freeman's character. That movie sticks with you because of the ending, because so many movies have lunatic killers with strange methods of killing. Arlington Road is a great film because the ending, like Seven, sticks with you. I hesitate to give away the endings of any of these movies, because if you have not seen them, it really does spoil it to say how it ends. My college roommate spoiled the ending of the Sixth Sense for me, and I think that took away my enjoyment and fondness for the film that others might possess. Memento is has the trifecta of greatness (IMHO) due to the fact that it was directed by Christopher Nolan, is told in reverse time (an incredibly original concept), and has an ending (beginning?) that feels so real, so HUMAN, that is also sticks with you. Man that is a good movie.
One of the worst offenders for dealing the standard, happy, movie-ending is the romantic comedy. The protaganist always gets the object of their affection, typically after they hate each other or are laden with numerous obstacles. I am happy to report that there are some innovators out there that buck that trend. One example is My Best Friends' Wedding. The heroine, Juliet, played by Julia Roberts no less, is conniving and self-absorbed and acts how a person might act in her situation (with the standard Hollywood hyperbolic embellishments). It is still a love story, but with a different ending and different types of love that you might expect. In that same regard Love Actually is unconventional, with parallel stories both happy and sad, real and unrealistic, all mixed together. That movie can appeal to both people like myself and those who want the standard movie escape. A third rom-com that bucks the trend is 500 Days of Summer. Not only is the movie told in non-sequential order (in a non-linear fashion), but it achieves both the unexpected ending and a happy ending, which is particularly difficulty for a rom-com.
The percentage of movies out there with unconventional endings or completely original deliveries are low. In a good sense, having them be so rare makes me appreciate them all the more. The possibilities are out there. I say this going into the summer movie season, which is pretty much the rubber stamp season of movies. But as long as my expectations are for that, I can still enjoy the standard blockbuster fare. So I guess that is what the enjoyment of movie-watching all comes down to. What do you expect?
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