Twist Endings vs. Pride

Scott Hardie | March 11, 2003
I just saw "The Life of David Gale," and it had a twist ending, but I don't need to give the secret away to discuss it here. Suffice to say, many people, both critics and the general public, disliked the film because of the twist ending. Since I did not (at least not that strongly), I began digging around the web to see specifically why people picked on it. You know what I read? A lot of people saying the twist was really obvious, they figured it out halfway through the movie, blah blah. One guy even bragged about how he figured it out upon reading the one-sentence plot description on the page, which could not possibly have signaled the twist because it didn't provide necessary details.

And so of course, what I'm thinking is that these people just want to give themselves a sense of superiority, because they "outsmarted" the movie instead of being outsmarted by it. Ha, that Alan Parker didn't pull one over on me! Well, fine, maybe you are smart, but don't forget that it's your role as a member of the audience to be duped by a plot twist. It's the fucking point of there being one! It's like being proud of yourself for not being scared by a roller coaster - the whole purpose of riding one is to be scared, moron! There are plot twists that help a movie (The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects) and there are plot twists that break a movie (The Life of David Gale, Frailty), but judge each plot twist on its own terms, and how it relates to the film. Don't spread word of mouth about a good movie being bad just because you want people to know you didn't "fall for it."

(I guess it goes without saying, but if you're going to reply to this, please use spoiler warnings.)

Jackie Mason | March 11, 2003
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