So there were obviously clues pointing toward the ending throughout the entire movie. I can think of the lightbulb and the picture (really obvious ones). I haven't gotten a chance to rewatch it yet and look for the clues, so what ones did you notice, and what do you think they were pointing to?
shareUgh, check some threads.
-The loud banging of the apartment above her was the gunshot
-The detective helping her was at the scene of the crime
-Her stomach pains were her getting shot in the stomach
-The weird call from David was because she was talking to him on the cell right before
-The time the detective says "was there a third person in the store?" and she blacks out, that was her
I agree Max. I kinda had it all figured out when the detective first pointed out that the mystery slide she was complaining about from her photography class came from her. And soon as the detective pointed out the picture with the mystery hand and asked her if there was a third person at the scene, I knew that this like "Sixth Sense" - when the main character dies and they are in denial about it. I fell asleep with about 20 minutes left in this film. When I woke up two hours later I got upset b/c I was trying to figure out if I was right. I came to this site and it was all but practically confirmed that she does die, or at least shot, at the end.
One more thing I noticed was the coloring in the film. Did anyone else notice that the filming during the Denial flashback is shot in an awful grey? (I can't believe I stayed awake during this.) And as the movie progresses to the Despair and Acceptance flashbacks, the filming becomes brighter. Maybe this is relavent. That she is finally accepting her death at the end - kinda like when people know they are about to die, they usually find peace with themselves.
So did she die? She was alive when the EMTs arrived. What about Hugh? He was only shot in the shoulder.
shareYeah she probably died, but it's up in the air. And I'm very observant when it comes it comes to movies and I did notice, especially in the stairwell to the the therapist's office, that each segment became brighter and more brilliant colorwise.
shareI don't think her death is up in the air. At the end, Hugh and Sophie began to try to reach for each others hands. They never did touch for the last time. I'd say that indicates death.
shareExcellent point. I think I'd have to agree with you on that one
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I needed to watch this movie twice to observe and understand the clues. I thought it was a brilliant movie. I missed many of the clues the first time. Hugh was shot twice, the second time being after his cell rang. The second shot was in the stomach.
The first phase of the movie, denial, is what her relationships with her mother, Hugh, etc, were really like. I also missed the significance of the "hand" photo. While dying, the sight of his hand was comforting. Also, the tone or style is grayish. (I don't know much about color used in movies.)
The second phase, Nov. 7 (grief) is how she thought things could or should have been. Remember, she told the therapist her symtoms were nausea, some type of hallucinations. The slides of the shooter were from her point of view as she was hiding behind the food rack. She views everything through a lense, a photographer's eyes. The cellphone provides the guilt of having been on the phone with Jesse, phoning Hugh while he was in the store, and her cell ringing which alerted the shooter she was in the store. I don't think she ever told Hugh about the affair so she has a lot of guilt as she lays dying. She is slowing realizing that she has been shot and is dying. This phase is brighter. Many times people have noted, as they are near death, color is emphasized. I think the director is trying to convey something but I don't understand what.
The acceptance phase is the brightest, even the music. It is how she wishes everything in her life could have been, bright and beautiful. All is well which is what you want at the end of your life; clean up the messes.
"Things outside the frame matter. You have to insert something by excluding." I think she means you cannot love someone without excluding someone else so therefore she would not continue her relationship with Jesse. I know there is more to this but I have not figured it out yet.
She also describes her "head in one place and her...." does not finish. Obviously, she is leaving this world. The reference to three deaths? The owner, son, Hugh, and her. There are four deaths but she does not want to acknowledge her own dying until the end. Acceptance. One of the last frames is her looking around the store while laying on the floor and seeing the three others. Then the police walk in, the EMS, police photographer, she reaches for his hand for comfort....does not quite make it.....so very sad....The last frame when she first met him at her studio. They are there, happy, flirting, then poof, they are both gone.
Both fortune cookies foreshadowed their deaths.
Now, having written all of this, I think we each have different interpretations of this film. Our own life experiences enter in so this is just my viewpoint for what it's worth:)