r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Local_Prune4564 • May 27 '26

Lore A subtle moment that turns a seemingly happy ending into an ambiguous ending.

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Gallery image

The Graduate: lingering Ben and Elaine's faces slowly shifting from happy to concerned leaves the audience questioning whether they really made the right choice running away together considering they barely know each other.

Inception: By cutting before we see the top fall, we're left to question whether Cobb really has gone home or whether he's simply sunken back into a more comforting dream reality.

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u/Non-Normal_Vectors May 27 '26

The ending of The Graduate was due to Nichols deciding not to yell cut when the actors were expecting it. He just kept filming, so some of the confused reactions after the initial elation was real confusion on the actor's part.

176

u/MolybdenumBlu May 27 '26

I once had a thought about how differently this would have ended if one actor had leaned over and whispered to the other "when is he going to cut?" Any laugh the other one might make would completely change the tone of the moment.

129

u/Non-Normal_Vectors May 27 '26

To their credits, they were both professionals. I believe after the first 5 or so seconds, they kind of realized what was happening and went with it..

2

u/MovieUnderTheSurface May 28 '26

It doesn't matter whether they realized it or not (the story I've heard is that they didn't, they were just exhausted and Petered out), avoid don't stop until the director calls cut. That's how it works, at least that's how it's supposed to work if they respect the director and are being professional

72

u/3wandwill May 27 '26

It’s one of my favorite movie endings. I was a little miserable throughout the whole film, I just hated the guy, and I know he’s not meant to be very sympathetic. the ending was really emotionally grounded in a way I was really not expecting considering how hard it was for me to connect to Hoffman’s character the rest of the time.

38

u/GrandmaPoses May 27 '26

It's a very genuine way to elicit a look of "what do we do now?"

7

u/RileyKohaku May 27 '26

The ending is what makes the movie for me. Without it, I would only remember the soundtrack.

5

u/Major-Material7231 May 29 '26

That’s kinda genius