MovieChat Forums > A Better Place Discussion > Pretty good but it lost me at the end

Pretty good but it lost me at the end


And no, it didn't lose me because it didn't have a "Hollywood Ending". If anything it lost me because the ending was too "Hollywood". The relationship between Ryan and Barrett was handled very well and both characters were developed in a complex and believable fashion throughout the film. I liked the story of the two very different outcasts relating to each other and developing a dependence on each other's friendship. The integration of Angelique into Barrett's life further complicated matters because it illustrated how much more damaged Ryan was when he viewed her as a threat to his friendship with Barrett rather than trying to befriend her as well.
Then came the accidental homicide, and that was a little weird, but the circumstance was still believable and it forced Ryan to confront his demons regarding his father's legacy. It strained Ryan and Barrett's friendship, but Barrett was able to get through to his friend and coerce him into surrendering his friend. By this point Angelique and Eddie have disappeared from the story and it sprints toward its climax. Ryan gets jumped and is pushed over the edge. Barrett attempts to get through to him again, almost succeeds, but fails, and Ryan kills his assailant in cold blood.
Now the Ryan and Barrett we've spent an hour and a half watching are gone and we skip over the chase and struggle to Barrett accidentally (and intentionally) shooting Ryan and turning the empty gun on himself. It's like someone took a copy of Stand By Me and spliced five minutes of Reservoir Dogs over the final scene.
It seems like the story was either written just to pad time until the shocking ending could occur or the writer developed a very interesting premise but didn't know how to resolve it, so he just threw together some tragic conventions. Endings are hard; I don't blame the first time film-maker for coming up slightly short, and I did think the movie as a whole was very good up until that point, but it's too bad the plot couldn't have been explored in a way that brought it to a more thoughtful and original conclusion. In a weird way, the ending was predictable. I feel like that exact ending is read by someone every day in a creative writing workshop (I know I've seen it before).


"Don't unform, you're a great mob. We'll think up something else to get upset about." Moe Sizlack

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