MovieChat Forums > Clockwatchers (1998) Discussion > The Ending was very sad.....

The Ending was very sad.....


Iris dresses up in her "power suit" that her dad had bought for her on clearance. She typed up a recommendation letter to have signed by one of the managers in the office. She told him it was her last day & she wanted him to sign it. I understand all of that...but it really wasn't her last day there was it? It showed her scratching the "never" off of the "I was here" scratch mark left on the desk. Basically, she knew that the manager didn't even know who she was by him dismissing her on the street so she dressed up to get his signature for Margaret because she knew he didn't have a clue who she was or who Margaret was.

Sad movie in my opinion, but true to life. We go through life working with people(temp's, etc...) not knowing them or even trying to know them.

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I would say it was really her last day there. Iris had enough, none of her friends were there anymore and wanted to do one final act of good and that was make sure Margaret got her recommendation because Iris did like her.

MM

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the whole movie was kind of sad especially how none of them were friends anymore. It was so nice when Iris had friends and people she could have lunch with and then suddenly all went in different directions. Kind of like when u leave HS and everyone thinks you'll still be friends, but then you're not.

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[deleted]

I saw this movie several years ago and it touched a nerve, which is odd because a) I have never temped and b) I am a male. I think Iris' last act in scratching out the "never" carved into the desk is her act of defiance, her attempt to recapture and engage in humanity, despite the brutally dehumanizing aspects of her situation.

Iris' final monologue neatly sums this up:

Everything is temporary.

Everything begins and ends, and sometimes begins again.

When I look ahead, I imagine infinite possible futures repeated like countless photocopies, a thousand blank pages.

And in each one, I can see myself,

never hiding,

never sitting silently,

and never just waiting and waiting, and watching the world go by.

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[deleted]

..the Iris at the beginning of the film would never have confronted the assistant about the thefts. We get the feeling that she did gain something more than just a paycheck out of that job.

I agree and disagree. My interpretation was more that she slowly turned into Margaret, you know? So yes, she did change--she wasn't going to tip-toe through life anymore etc, but I don't really see anything sweet about that. Margaret was far from happy. The ending was definitely bitter...but sweet? Not so much. That was my take, at least. Such a *beep* depressing movie, but I love it.

"and so, for the sake of momentum..."

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Margaret was far from happy but she was "real" and she was engaged with the world. She was defiant and she was a little sad but I felt that she was sad because she wasn't getting anywhere in her life by being herself (which is sad, in and of itself, don't you think?). Imagine being a temp at a company for TWO YEARS and they still go outside to hire an assistant for the guy you've been assisting for years.

I'd probably be pretty defiant and sad myself. I'd say her being fired was the best thing that ever happened to her and I like to imagine that she moved on with the recommendation that Iris sent to her and found the beginning of her happiness while staying true to herself. I think Margaret definitely rubbed off on Iris as she was pretty pissed off that the nail that stood out DID get pounded down - and the silent Cleo - who didn't know herself at all - benefited by being FAKE.

-LeLu

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I used to hate it when an ex-gf of mine would stress that in many cases 'the friendships are real but they're site-specific'. Meaning as soon as you no longer have that interaction that led to your friendships, those 'friendships' disappear, as was the case by the movie's end.

I wouldn't say the ending was 'sad' so much as melancholy. The music played over the credits added to that air. Just the same, the movie was true to life about temping & office work. Thus, probably, why it struck a chord in many who work that life. I certainly wouldn't say 'live that life' since I wouldn't consider office work a type of 'life'! lol.

Trust me on that!

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Yeah, for serious, this movie is pretty depressing. 'Floating' through life with no real connections or meaning, how tragic is that?

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For those who stay, yes. But Iris is getting out. What a relief! Can you imagine an ending so happy, yet so grounded in reality. 'Clockwatchers' is a tribute to the mind and the heart.

This film is tough and instructive. It really shakes one up.

I think Harvey Pekar (American Splendor) would really dig this one.

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Yes, it is sad that temps are treated like that, although permanent people can have worse problems. The other sad part was how the working there affected the four friends-they ended up splitting apart from each other even before Margaret got fired, etc. I've had that where I've worked.

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Honestly I thought the saddest moment was when Iris tossed the picture of the four friends, there seemed to be no regret in the loss of that friendship - barely even any thought that it had existed. That's what I thought defined much of the film, the creation and later destruction of friendships (whether it be a painful severing as when Margaret was fired, or the lazy drifting apart as it seemed to happen with the remaining friends). That ultimately you're alone, moving through life and having an effect on people as they affect you but still... losing at the same time you're gaining.

The ending had a bit of a bittersweetness to it. Iris did one final act to help her old friend Margaret and she seemed to have gained some self-confidence by that final bus ride; the Iris at the beginning of the film would never have confronted the assistant about the thefts. We get the feeling that she did gain something more than just a paycheck out of that job.

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I completely agree with you.

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i think she tossed the picture not because she felt they were no longer friends, but that she had moved onto a new phase in her life. your 20's are like that. they are very bittersweet. things seems so important and you can laugh about it. she just knew this phase of temping was over and she had to move on and she did. and the others would land on their feet perfectly fine. to get fired from a job like that is more funny than pitiful. parker posey's character would have turned into a zombie after awhile. it is funny though as much as they bitched about the job, they all still wanted to come in every day. so something was appealing about it to them as weird as it was.

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I was sad at the end of the movie because the girl weren't friends anymore. They moved on to different phases of their lives but we never found out what happend to Margaret.

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Well, Margaret found another job, of course.

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Not really how I view people I've known. I may have moved on to different phases in my life but I have this nostalgic thread of wanting to remember those past good times. I have still keep in touch with people I've known since I was five, friends I've known from past jobs, even those I didn't know too well I still like to remember their names - and sites like Facebook help keep this perhaps irrational side of myself fed :P

It may be that I'm just not the norm but even if I were to no longer be close to those people, I probably would've kept that photo as a memento.

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Well, she did that because her three friends were no longer there. Margaret had been fired, Jane quit to get married, and Paula got transferred to another department. She didn't need the picture anymore. Sometimes jobs can cause people who start out to be friends break-up for different reasons.

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Well, it was her last day. She was leaving after the day was done and wanted to get the letter of recommendation signed before the guy got too busy. And yes, he doesn't know who she is and just assumes her name is Margaret because of what the letter says. It showed that these people don't care about temps. To them they are interchangable.

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It was a sad ending but it was very realistic. Overall I found this movie to be very relatable.

'Hey, look. There's the pants.'

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