MovieChat Forums > Spellbound (2003) Discussion > The Ending Structure - SPOILERS

The Ending Structure - SPOILERS

posted 17 years ago by mickfly718
6 replies | jump to latest

In the DVD Commentary, the makers of this movie talk about the final sequence after Nupur is given her last word. The movie cuts away and goes into a conclusive segment about how the spellers' lives were affected by the spelling bee. During this, they show Nupur as the winner - before we actually see her spell the word correctly.

The producer, editor, and director agree that it was necessary to include this part and not just show Nupur winning right away. However, they definitely second-guess whether they should have "spoiled" the ending by showing her doing interviews after the bee.

I remember the first time I saw this being somewhat disappointed that all the suspense of the winner was kind of deflated in this last segment. However, when watching the movie now and already knowing the winner, I think this last part works a lot better. The movie shows what it was really about by going back into the stories of the kids (like in the first half of the movie) and not just forgetting all that and showing the winner of a competition.

What does everyone else think? Should they have showed Nupur as the winner before we see her spell her last word? Or should they have just showed different footage of her in this last segment and let us finally get a winner when we see her spell logorrhea at the very end?

[–] NewHorizons37 17 years ago

This is hard for me to answer because when I was getting near to that part, I stopped the movie to do other things. When I came back, it was not set to where I had been, it was on the main menu so I had to select the scene to go back to. When I scrolled through scene selection, they have one labeled "The Winner" with a screen shot of Nupur! So the DVD itself gave it away! I was annoyed about that.

When they gave Nupur the word and then cut away to show other stuff instead of her spelling it, that clinched it. I figured they wouldn't be showing all that stuff unless they were about to show her winning on that word.

I think they should have shown it straight -- her getting the word, her spelling it, and then celebrating. It still would have worked to show the clips of the other competitors after that.

[–] mickfly718 17 years ago

Looking back at this now, I think I would have preferred if they didn't show Nupur as the winner until the final shot.

Right after Nupur is given her word, the movie cuts away to show how the kids have grown from the experience. I'm pretty sure they have parts in this about Nupur saying that second chances are available in America, unlike in India. I think this is a valuable part to include since this is how she feels about the competition and about life in general in America. This was really the point of her story. The segments showing her being interviewed after winning put emphasis on the importance of being a winner, which I don't agree with. Nupur won the spelling bee, but this doesn't make her any more or less important to the movie than any of the other seven kids.

The other stories show the necessary contrast between the upper, middle, and lower classes in this country. More importantly, though, it shows how these class labels in no way prevented any of them from taking their strengths and running with them. These stories, as well as Nupur's view of achieving goals in America, are the real conclusion to the film.

The final shot, just as a loose end, should have been Nupur spelling her word correctly. This way, we get to see everyone's stories wrapped up equally before we get a winner. And since this was all based around a competition, the identification of a winner is the last necessary element to the plot, and to let us know that all the suspense paid off.

[–] hyperspheroid 15 years ago

This really was a terrible decision by the filmmakers. I think they wanted the final scene to be Nupur winning, but really just a dreadful idea.

[–] hppg 15 years ago

I quite liked it. I did think it was an interesting decision but have come to the conclusion it worked pretty well. They had to spoil it sometimes, it worked better with the montage and the gradual realisation rather than just not hearing a ding.

[–] ex250 15 years ago

I originally didn't like it when they gave it away, but now it makes more sense for them to do it that way. If you look at the expression on Nupur's face just before she starts spelling the word, you can see the confidence and elation that she has because she's the first to realize that she's going to win. She already knows that she's won before she even spells the word. This was a documentary about the kids not the spelling bee, and it wasn't whether or not she spelled the word correctly, but what she felt in that amazing moment of her life.

But that's the fork I knew.

[–] hppg 14 years ago

>" If you look at the expression on Nupur's face just before she starts spelling the word, you can see the confidence and elation that she has because she's the first to realize that she's going to win. She already knows that she's won before she even spells the word."

Ah, very interesting!