Perfect(ly) Ending Movies

For me, a “perfect ending” to a movie isn’t a wrap up, a happy ending or even a satisfying dénouement. Instead, a movie has a perfect ending when it stops just exactly where it should. Sometimes this is even in the middle of a scene. There’s something magical about ending on an unexpected note, leaving the audience wondering, perhaps, what happened next.

Jen’s List of Movies That End Exactly When They Ought To:
The Girlfriend Experience
Greenberg
Before Sunset
A Serious Man
The Graduate

Anyone else have a favorite ending?

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14 responses to “Perfect(ly) Ending Movies”

  1. Jalyth

    I had always wanted my movies to end neatly until I watched Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

    Reply
  2. Bob T

    Here’s one of my favorites. “A Day at the Races” ends with Groucho saying to Margaret Dumont, “Marry me and I’ll never look at any other horse.”

    Reply
  3. Jaime Sena

    Lost In Translation. Even if you see them walk away from each other, that whisper could have meant ANYTHING for their future. Pitch perfect.

    Reply
  4. Jen

    @Bob — I think that’s a contender for best last line in a movie, period.

    @Jaime — Oh! That’s one I forgot! This list was actually harder to create than I thought it would be, felt like I was missing quite a few.

    Reply
  5. Librarian Wonder

    My favorite is Some Like It Hot.

    Reply
  6. Kreg

    The ending of Pretty Woman, because you never thought they would make it. (Sob!) Just kidding. I liked the end to Mulholland Dr. quite a bit, tho.

    Reply
  7. Season

    Love Actually has one of my favorite endings. So many stories intersecting. Things don’t wrap up as neatly as people ever want them to.

    Reply
  8. David W

    I gather a lot of other people weren’t crazy about it, but I loved the way “No Country For Old Men” ended, especially because it ended pretty much exactly like the book.

    I confess that I am a sucker for big, bravura over-the-top endings too. “Inglorious Basterds,” “Dr. Strangelove…” “The Usual Suspects…”

    Then there’s that great ending rescued from the jaws of what is looking to be the world’s worst ending, when Simon Oakland as the psychiatrist is giving that tiresome silly anti-climactic analysis of what makes Norman Bates tick, and then it cuts back to Norman sitting in the room, not hurting a fly. Likewise the great final shot of “Silence of the Lambs,” as Hannibal Lector heads to lunch.

    “Blair Witch Project” has a pretty damned good ending.

    Reply
  9. Jen

    I liked the ending to No Country for Old Men, loved the ending to Fargo — I think the Coen bros definitely nail endings.

    Reply
  10. David W

    The Fargo ending – that’s when they’re just there talking about the 3 cent stamp, isn’t it? Yes!

    Reply
  11. Shannon

    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Breakfast Club, Gosford Park…

    Reply
  12. Anonymous

    Barton Fink. “I’ll show you the life of the mind!”

    Reply
  13. Jason D

    Here are a few: Zentropa/Europa (all-time favorite ending). Jacob’s Ladder, Brazil, Godfather, Empire Strikes Back, Monsters (2010), Children of Men.

    Reply
  14. Kara P.

    When I was younger My Best Friend’s Wedding cause it was the first mainstream movie that didn’t end the way I wanted it to, but appreciated them for it. As an adult I loved Come Early Morning starring Ashley Judd; it too isn’t perfect, but ended exactly how I needed it to.

    Reply

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