MovieChat Forums > The Chamber (1996) Discussion > THE ENDING!

THE ENDING!

posted 18 years ago by kayeanna77
28 replies | jump to latest

I am utterly confused, as well as annoyed, that the few comments that have been made (not to mention the idiot who gave the review) fail to mention the fact that the movie COMPLETELY CHANGES THE ENDING of this book! Hello?! Does this not bother those of you who claim to have read the book? Well, it bothers me simply because this is by far (in my opinion, of course) the best Grisham book to date and to have such a compelling ending such as the one in the book, made over to become some mainstream bulls*** is on par with burning books!! I can't believe Grisham agreed to this screenplay!

The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance -- Socrates

[–] jgain 18 years ago

*SPOILERS*

I thought the book was a very interesting read. It went on a little long for my taste and left the whole Rollie Wedge angle completely unresolved, which was disappointing.

The book is one of Grisham's best. It makes you wonder about Sam Cahall. He's a hate-filled monster, but did he have any other choice in the environment he grew up in? He didn't deserve the gas chamber for the murder of those two kids because Wedge was the one who planted the bomb. If the truth were known, Cahall would have only got manslaughter.

But what he did to Joe Lincoln was deserving of the death penalty.

Then, the "good guys" like David McAllister is just pursuing his own political ambitions and cares not about justice.

My main beef with the movie is that instead of working for the Klan and Jeremiah Dogan (who isn't even mentioned in the film), Cahall and Wedge were working for the State of Mississippi under the Soveriegnty Commission. If I was from MS, I would be extrememly offended at the implication that the state sponsored murder in the 1960s.

Bottom line: Great book. Poor movie.

[–] kayeanna77 18 years ago

That was the other thing I had such a problem with...the movie changing the fact that he worked for the Klan! I can't even imagine the reasoning behind this move...if he worked for the Klan, then state that. Why would you change it to the state of Mississippi? It doesn't make any sense.

I, too, thought that although he was a hate-filled monster and he didn't do anything to stop a lot of the lynchings he was a participant at, he still didn't deserve the gas chamber since (like you said) he wasn't even the one who planted the bomb. BUT, again like you stated, he did deserve it for Joe Lincoln. That's what I found so compelling about this book...it tore me every way and I found myself sympathizing with a Klansman! I didn't get any of those feelings from the movie at all, which is another reason I was hugely disappointed.

Glad to know someone out there noticed the big differences from the book to the movie and had a problem with them as well.

The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance -- Socrates

[–] bigmac77 18 years ago

So is there some retarded twist wherein Rollie Wedge becomes Sam's brother. Because I just finished the book, and want to see the film, but there isn't a chance if they pull that crap...

[–] kayeanna77 18 years ago

Honestly, I would suggest NOT seeing the film if you liked the book. There are too many big parts changed for the movie version and the biggest one is the ending....plus, the performance by Chris O'Donnell doesn't do that character justice at all. But, that's just my opinion. Other folks on here seem to be fine with the altering of key concepts in the book.

The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance -- Socrates

[–] bigmac77 18 years ago

I've seen most of the Grisham movies (excluding X-Mas With The Kranks, and A Time To Kill)... and have been mainly fine with the changes. None of them really do the books justice however, and I'm not wasting my five bucks on a movie I'm not gonna like... but we'll see...

[–] wildhart 18 years ago

The only twist wherein Rollie Wedge becomes Sam's brother is that he pretends to be Sam's brother coming to say goodbye, but in reality was there to blackmail him into silence about the truth of the bombing. He wasn't Sam's brother, he only used Sam's brother Donald's name.

One thing vampire children have to learn early on is don't run with a wooden stake

[–] dobbin-4 16 years ago

I did not have sympothy for a klansman. I had sympathy for Sam Cayhall and those around him.

[–] Nimuje 18 years ago

I didn't read the book - how does it end?

Where am I going? And why am I in this handbasket?

[–] edwin-84 18 years ago

I really liked idea in the book that the rOLLIUE wEDGE THING WAS UNRESOLVED BECAUSE YOU'RE MIND WONDEREED WHY HE KEPT THAT SECRET TO HIS GRAVE .Also in the end of the book Cayhall came across very remorsefull with the parchman minister and it actually made me cry .But in the book my parents who didnt read the book thought at the end he was a hateful monster who got what he deserved which completely missed the point of the book . Also they missed the part when Sam made Adam read the speech to the KKK disowning them . For the previous poster the movie and book ends with Sam strapped in the chamber and the Hydrogen Cyanide hitting sam .(I know evry thing about the death penalty ).Mcallister in my eyes was never going to grant clemency even with the information he wanted . Another good part was the market analysis where Goodman got students to impersontae real citizens and convince the governor to grant clemency .Finnaly the termination hearing with daniel rosen in the book did not appear and the ending did not play out as in the book where Lee does not see Sam and meets Adam drunk in the cemetry the morining after the execution.The Wyn Lettner bit was missed out also which was a hilerious chapter in the book . Im 12 years old and I noticed all these dissapointing changes . I say to Grisham get the same cast and DO NOT sell the screenplay to some half cracked idiot whose using somebody elses book as a template for his own movie .

[–] froodly 18 years ago

why are you watching r-rated movies if you are 12?

[–] nikongal 17 years ago

What's the issue with watching the movie when one's already read the book? :)

Perhaps s/he watched the edited version on TV.

[–] al1793 17 years ago

because his parents are idiots

[–] kayangel1431 17 years ago

I second that, if you continue watching them you'll probably end up the basis of one of Grisham's novels.

[–] ricecakes 16 years ago

I second that, if you continue watching them you'll probably end up the basis of one of Grisham's novels.

That's a ridiculous statement to make.

[–] farseeker 17 years ago

Try 23, edwin-84...

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] tkesten 16 years ago

i didn't read this book, all though i've read other grisham books. when the film ended i felt like it should have started thirty minutes before it ended and explored the aftermath of what was revealed in the sovereignty files. nailing a bunch of important figures for being involved with the klan would have made a much more interesting movie, in my opinion.

[–] Dead2Sin 16 years ago

possible spoiler of the book

if I remember correctly...what I got from the ending of the book was that Rollie Wedge angle was NOT unresolved. He worked in the graveyard. Read the last page again and let me know if I'm insane.

[–] jgain 16 years ago

So you think the bulldozer coming toward them was Wedge trying to kill them? Why would Wedge use a bulldozer? "Help, I can't out run this vehicle travelling at 4mph!" I would go with the insane thing. ;)

Seriously, the bulldozer was coming to dig Sam's grave beside his wife. That is where Adam and Lee were sitting (Adam with his three empties). Wedge was satisfied that Sam hadn't mentioned his name, because if Sam would have talked, then Adam would have filed a million motions about it to stop the execution.

The fact that Sam is dead, and that Adam doesn't know about Wedge, means that everyone involved in the bombing that could possibly implicate Wedge are dead. Wedge gets off scot-free, and on Sam's part, since he didn't talk, his family is out of danger..

[–] wesleyjapril 16 years ago

I think the previous poster had a relevant point but upon closer inspection I remember Sam telling Adam that Rollie is a natural killer and he is very good. So if Rollie had wanted to kill them I doubt he would have killed them in a tractor in full view of the grave-diggers.

All during Lee's absence I thought Rollie had her or had already killed her. I never understood the reason for breaking into her condo, that was never explained. I also kept expecting him to do something to Adam.

[–] jgain 16 years ago

I thought the whole point of Sam Cayhall keeping quiet about Wedge is what made Adam and Lee safe. If Sam had spilled the beans, then he knew that Adam would be killed..

[–] LittleMissMortician93 15 years ago

Exactly. The only reason Sam didn't say anything is because Rollie threatened to kill his loved ones if he did.

You can't spell 'Slaughter' without 'Laughter'!

[–] PL1981 15 years ago

While I loved "The Chamber" -it is one of my favorite John Grisham novels and I can still get lost in the book for hours even though I've read it so many times before -I did think that Grisham's treatment of the Wedge issue was somewhat sloppy and more than a little strange. His character and its purpose in the novel were never properly defined and a lot of his scenes in the book seemed pointless because they never led to anything substantive. In my opinion, it would probably have been better to have left him out altogether and had Sam take total responsibility for the bombings.

One of the few things I really liked about the movie was that they resolved the Wedge issue.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] morphe111 13 years ago

I totally disagree. Wedge issue wasnt soppy, or strange. It all made perfect sense to me, the story was coherent. So was Wedge´s somewhat secretive and a bit undescribed part in the story. You cant expect the author to give and feed you every little detail and twist of story in detail. Like they do in childrens books. Wedge is a part of a range of many different secrets in the story. Some of them resolve in the end, some dont. Author leaves a lot for your imagination. And thats definitely a plus.

[–] DenLilleHavfrue85 13 years ago

I just finished reading 'The Chamber' and came on here to see about a movie version. Glad I read this thread...I won't expect much from the movie if I ever see it. I loved the book. I think the Wedge issue was handled a little sloppily in the book, but I disagree that it would have been better to have had Sam take total responsibility for the bombings. He was protecting his family and felt that he deserved the death penalty for his other heinous crimes. I felt that he went a long way towards redeeming himself because of that.

It's time to SAVE BURMA. http://uscampaignforburma.org

[–] morphe111 13 years ago

I just finished reading the book. Yesterday. Im still shaken and blown away by the story and the storytelling. I was literally crying during the last chapters. Havent seen the movie yet, but if they really they changed the ending ... it is travesty, vandalism. How is it possible Grisham let it happen?!

[–] morphe111 13 years ago

I tried watching the film but i couldnt. Somewhere in the middle the storyline got totally screwed up and so different of the book that I decided not to watch it after all. Gene, of course is spectacular as always, though. Why in heavens name should someboy take a good story as this and then twist it and change it thoroughly, i can not imagine or understand at all.