It was pointed out to me that, in possibly the best blog on the internet, Scott Adams recently wrote about what sort of movies he likes: The Downer ratio. He likes movies that make him feel good. In the comments that follow some people accused him of escapism. One person said film is meant to be an artistic close-up on reality. I don't think film is meant to anything. It is an art form, it has no intent. It does not have to be, or do, anything. We all go to movies to feel good. The difference is that some of us like feeling bad - that makes us feel good, if you see what I mean. Others feel good when they see something artistic, something finely created, and so on...
Another person gave the opposite view: 'when the hero dies at the end or the guy doesn't get the girl or the couple doesn't get together, I feel like I didn't get closure on the whole event. I just watched The Break-up with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston. Great movie! up until the end. I hated the ending. They didn't show if they got back together and I was left wanting to watch more to find out if they eventually do get back together, but the movie was already over. I went to bed depressed.'
I want to throw water on a person like this. 'I was left wanting to watch more'. Isn't this exactly the point of such an ending? I thought The Break-up was a good film made better by its ending. It reminds me of the difference between Annie Hall and Manhattan. In the first you know the relationship is over. In the second you are left with a hopefuly uncertainty that it might not be. I find this latter method to be the most powerful way to end a film. A hopeful certainty which, incidentally, is how my (officially now) favourite film of the year ends, The Children of Men.
A long time ago we defined a difference between 'movies' and 'films'. Movies should be escapism; films should endeavour to be art. You can see and enjoy former, and be stimulated by the latter. What I believe you shouldn't do is one to the exclusion of the other. That way leads into dark waters...
