Idiotic ending ruined the movie (Spoilers)

She knew it was Gaines who shot Raynor because in court Gaines mimics the shotgun barrel running down her face.

Obviously hiding in his car worked out quite well. It allowed her to be with Gaines, without him knowing, until they were somewhere where there was no one around.

Kristen never saw the face of the person who shot Raynor. The shotgun was just pointed in the window. They both shot back through the window therefore causing the shooter to have to flee. They weren't in the middle of nowhere, but in a trailer park. When she runs to the neighbor's trailer, the woman notifies her that she's already called the police.

I don't know why they were in a trailer park with her bright baby blue Gremlin parked out front and no police protection. It is safe to assume that Gaines knew where they were through a connection with the police (one of the reasons Raynor wanted a newbie from the academy). It's the 70s. They were also staying in a trailer with no phone. They had no radio in their car? Hey, it's a movie.

Earlier in the movie, Gaines kicks a drunk guy out of the back of his car.

He did NOT appear amused when he saw Kristen in his backseat, but he did shake his head as he does throughout the movie when he sees her.

It's called being out on bail - if indeed she was arrested for perjury. I don't know why people assume (except gleaning from the book and the woman in the book's real life story) she goes to jail for perjury. She outed Chief Nettles, so wouldn't it fit that she was coerced into lying to the grand jury because she was commanded to by what is essentially her boss?

Of course Allman can't act. But, he's cool.

Locks only keep honest people out.

»how did Kristen know that it was Will who shot Jim?»

Double barreled gun — two fingers in the courtroom. You do the math.

»If she did happen to see Will, why didn't she just have him arrested for murder?»

Well, did she see her or not? You tell me.

»wouldn't there have been an easier and less dangerous way than by hiding in his car?»

How do you know who it was hiding there?

»Why didn't Will (or whoever the killer was) finish the job and kill her? Especially if she saw him, wouldn't he have made sure to kill the witness?»

Gee, what do you think the shooter got there for?

»Why were she and Jim staying in the trailer park, with the windows open, and no police protection?»

They could've been taken to a top-secret, underground bunker on the other side of the world, sure. Or: they could've shooten all the bad guys in the five first minutes of the movie — that would've solved the drug problem (for a while)!

»Why would homeless people hangout in Will's car? Do homeless people make it a habit of finding shelter in the car of the town's biggest badass?»

I never was shown that they were homeless. Did we watch the same film, man?

»If Will thought it was a homeless person in his car, wouldn't his reaction have been more shock than amusement when he saw it was Kristen?»

Again, we were never shown who it really was. Also: you have obviously never been held at gunpoint. You also don't have even the slightest, miniscule grip on how the narcotics department works with their underground operations and all. You also have absolutely no understanding or viewpoint on this underground world of illegal substances and everything it involves. Well, that's probably a good thing for you.

»Why was she free in the first place? Perjury is a felony, and a cop who commits perjury (which she did) would get the book thrown at her.»

Check the previous answer. Now, where did this alleged act of perjury take place, precisely?

»Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid........»

Yes, and idiotic as well. Yes, everybody gets it better than well by now. Don't you worry about that, pal.

I have a couple of good rock-solid and unshaking principles or rules — if you will — in my life. One of them is: never talk a word about something you know nothing about whatsoever.

This movie is based on a real story. But, the Hollywood ending was too much for me too. The movie goes to such great pains to be realistic, then tacks on that last shot (literally!)

So, the character version of Kristen (the original book author is the actual woman involved), is brave to the end, but then turns against the case and her former department in a heartbeat. Then, she kills Will, for which she will add homicide to her perjury rap.

Okay...

I. Drink. Your. Milkshake! [slurp!] I DRINK IT UP! - Daniel Plainview - There Will Be Blood

The shooting scene in the trailer was contrived from the start, but the worst, to me, was that Raynor bled out from a leg wound. Bad as it looked, she failed to tie a decent tournequet around his upper thigh to stanch the bleeding. He could have survived the wound if she had.