MovieChat Forums > Final (2001) Discussion > Questions

Questions

posted 20 years ago by harkness78
12 replies | jump to latest

***SPOILERS***

Ok, I expected a twist because the drama wasn't hard hitting enough like most films genuinely portraying psychotic disorders are. So I was looking for it, believed Learys character, and I'm still confounded by the turn of events. Ok, Virus wipes out world population, Learys in cryofreeze and wakes up in a mental institute. So, why did he think he was in the future, how did he know he got frozen if he was in a coma when it occured? How did he know anything about the final injection or the organ doning or any of the crazy *beep* he was saying?

My even bigger question is why did the staff try to convince him he was insane when they still needed to explain the truth to him before he consented? And why tell him if you don't have to (they didnt actually need his consent) and why even wake him up? Was everything in the building a ploy (the idea anne trys to dispel) or was it a mental institute that just happend to be conducting the most important "salvation from the virus" research there was.

Just to many holes. I like leary and Hope and the premise but the holes and that ending ruin it! She gets her sisters *beep* (any relevance?) and walks to the beach to do what Leary told her. I was really hoping there would be an even bigger twist (like theyre on a spaceship and his hologram accusations were correct) or at the very least some closure regarding Learys operation and her fate. Even a typical civilization in ruins ending shot (Planet of the Apes, Army of Darkness SE) would have sufficed.

+ what was the deal with Leary seeing that chick in the lounge when he had the doctors coat on? Was that his fiancee, or just someone who looked like her and made him pause to no effect? What the hell year was it anyways? Leary said 400 years in the future but that paper the doctors showed him looked like it was in good condition and said 2030. There are some films where things arent answered with the idea being that the audience can interpet it many different ways (Donnie Darko, 12 Monkeys). This movie just has gaping holes that we can't attempt to imagine around because so much pertinent *beep* is reliant on whats missing. Anyways, if anyone ever bothers to post about this film how about we brainstorm some answers!

[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] endoftheworldsoon 20 years ago

regarding the hologram... where exactly is this hospital facility? i got the impression that when Hope's character walks through that door onto a beach she has in fact left this giant isolated warehouse which contained the hospital and surrounding grounds, so in effect it was a hologram of sorts (not sure how they simulated the sky and horizon). its been a while since ive seen the movie, so i could be way off.

i thought, despite the glaring problems, the movie was excellent. if you suspend your disbelief the story is quite powerfull, and played exceptionally. the final scene is beatiful, calm and serene yet there is a sense of intense emotional exhaustion.

[–] ginsoakedgirl 20 years ago

***SPOILERS***

I don't believe Denis Leary's rantings about the future and being frozen were "holes" in the plot as you stated. When you're in a coma, things from the outside world can still reach your mind, I know this from personal experience. He had doctors standing over his body and talking about him while he was in the early stages of coming out of the coma, and his brain was trying to assimilate the information even though he really didn't have the capability to process anything at that point. Thus the rambling about being 400 years in the future. He couldn't figure out what was going on but was trying to. Although the beginning of the movie was a little slow, I thought it was lovely... a nice change from the normal science fiction movie, where he certainly would have escaped from the hospital with guns blazing, Hope Davis in tow. I'm not sure why they bothered to wake him, they probably needed him fully conscious to make sure his mind was normal and functioning for the procedure. I believe they said that they were taking part of his brain stem. The movie surprised me as well, I thought the "twist" ending would have been him still laying comatose in a hospital bed, the entire movie having been a delusion he had while in a different state of consciousness. Part of what makes this movie good and unusual is the many unanswered questions it leaves lingering.

[–] bhaktigirl 20 years ago

It's been a while since I saw this, but didn't they need him to sign something? If so, that would explain the need to wake him. I loved this movie! It was so much more believable than most movies taking place in the future, and packed quite an emotional wallop. And the two leads were really great. Leary was unexpectedly subtle, I really loved him, though I love his usual more abrasive persona as well....

[–] TotalBlackout 20 years ago

If I had to guess, there are potentially two or more reasons Bill was revived. One, they needed an assessment of viability. There was one other revived individual, but for reasons only alluded to, her usefullness was either severely limited or entirely unlikely. Second, these individuals of the future still cling to some concept of medical ethics. On one side they are employing a utilitarian ethical doctrine where the sacrifice of few for the better good is valued. However, they still recognize the right of autonomy and even if it is only a superficial sham, a subject's willingness to volunteer provides even the slightest protection from feelings of guilt.

[–] legrimoire 19 years ago

In my opinion, I believe they "woke him up" and assessed his sanity to see if he could be released into the world. There were eleven other individuals who were subjected to this process. What I think, is that the others either did not "wake up" correctly or were being used for different procedures.

There were at least two people at the hospital where Bill was located. Apparently, the other man was not a sufficient candidate. Here I'd have to echo a previous statement. If they were too out of sorts, they probably wouldn't want to use them. There is also another theory I have. The other doctor (Edward, I believe, who also happens to be the director?) seems to have contracted the same virus that Ann's sister has. Perhaps the other man was his donor.

In either of those cases, there was really no choice but to use Bill. He could have signed and went through the 15 hour surgery, where there was little chance he would survive, or be killed swiftly. He chose the second option.

[–] jeepster4u2003 15 years ago

You bring us some interesting and original points. I'll have to re-watch it and see if I pick up on your theories! Thanks for your input!

[–] lacedemonians 17 years ago

The point is that though Bill (Dennis Leary) was incorrect about the detail of imagining he was 500 years in the future, he was quite correct in the essential: that he was indeed in the future, and that the mental institution's real intent was to sacrifice him via surgery. It was clearly stated that there were other cyrogenically frozen patients, but only he seemed to come out of it in good health. The doctors needed a candidate to be in good health to extract useful tissue. Thus, the charade of psychiatric care was really a period of getting him in good health, i.e. fattening him up before the slaughter.

However, due to the mental institution's intense legalism, they could not simply kill him, they also needed his voluntary signature. This is an exact parallel to how legalistic communist authorities tortured prisoners for confessions before they were condemned and shot.

Illegitimus!

[–] cuvtixo 17 years ago

Nice summary, but your part at the end isn't very helpful. Obviously its not a mental institution at all. I believe the doctor when she says her sister is in another wing, making it more like a general hospital or perhaps a research hospital. Even then, its not the "mental institution's" intense legalism, but for the consumption of general society that they want a voluntary signature. If Bill's sacrifice led to a cure or treatment the general public would be given an explanation of how and when it was developed, and the "hospital" directors would probably prefer to keep close to the truth. In addition it seems likely existing laws wouldn't be changed in the event of a sudden pandemic. Reaching back to "legalistic communist authorities" kind of misses the point about how close this is to us at home. For a medical parallel, read about the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. For that matter, I think the present Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp is a close parallel. How, when, and at what point should authorities disregard the rights (including the right to life) of individuals?

[–] lacedemonians 17 years ago

You make an excellent point that the issue of social institutions using legal formality to rationalize barbaric acts against the individual is very much present in our own society.

Illegitimus!

[–] jeepster4u2003 15 years ago

In the future there may only be ONE kind of hospital and ONE disease.

[–] harkness78 17 years ago

Good answers everyone. I wrote the initial post without seeing the first 20 minutes of the film, just saw it again. I dont know why i came off so negative before, i did enjoy the movie, I just wanted some more info on the future he woke up to, and the facilities capabilities.