Cole is insane...
...suffering from the childhood trauma of witnessing a murder. The movie is his subsequent fantasy?...
shareAny thoughts?...
share
MovieChat Forums > Twelve Monkeys (1996) Discussion > Cole is insane...
I disagree. It would be lazy and dishonest if the events of the movie were just a fantasy or a hallucination. This movie presents a perfect example of causal loop or predestination paradox.
shareOne of the things I love about this film is its perfectly bleak time-travel story. However, what makes me like it more is the heavily hinted at possibility that it is all indeed an elaborate fantasy. The movie constantly comments on the nature of insanity. And, to get meta, it IS just a movie, which in itself is a shared fantasy.
So in my opinion, not only does the film work both ways, it was probably meant to.
I think Cole's insanity is just a red herring. The movie is indeed ambiguous during its first half, but as it advances it is clear the time travel is real and not a product of his imagination, and even Dr. Railly ends believing him. Everything fits so perfectly for me to believe Cole made it up.
Total Recall, for example, is a movie that was clearly meant to be interpreted in two ways. I honestly don't think that's the case with Twelve Monkeys. The "everything is a fantasy" theory just feels like a cheat to me, sorry.
No need to feel sorry, you make valid points. Definitely an effective use of the red herring, because it still has me wondering!
The one thing I can’t make fit into my “delusion theory” is that scene on the plane at the end, where the woman from “insurance” takes a seat next to the villain.
But I do still think that cole was mentally unstable, yet experiencing real things. Oh yeah, and the WWI bullet kinda pokes a hole in my theory as well. So yeah, you are probably right, but I still wonder...
Such a fascinating film.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Cole is 100% mentally sane - after everything he's gone through, who would be? Just not delusional enough to imagine everything.
It's a fascinating film for sure :)