MovieChat Forums > Unknown (2006) Discussion > Twist Ending

Twist Ending

posted 17 years ago by reetas
62 replies | jump to latest

Just saw the movie, and while I can say I enjoyed it and the acting was good, I wasn't thrilled with the "twist" ending.

*SPOILERS*

I was surprised when Caviezel turned out to be a cop, and I thought the twist would be that he shot Pepper and Kinnear, thinking he was the bad guy, and it turned out he was one of the good guys. Would have made sense to me that he remebered conspiring with the bad guys, and thought he was "bad", and so he shot them so as not to go to jail etc, but since his memory was in bits and pieces, he didn't remember he was undercover.

Also would have been fun if he had been the one to help them escape in the firstplace. That would explain Pepper trusting him so much instinctively. His planning the murder in the end seemed like a twist thrown in because a twist was expected. Him conspiring to kill Peppers didn't seem to go with his personality where he kept insisting he wasn't a kidnapper, even though he didn't remember anything.

Anyway thats just what would have surprised me as a twist ending. Caviezel is undercover, and tries to help Pepper and Kinnear escape, but just when they're making a run for it they get knocked out. When the kidnappers return, Caviezel gets convinced he's one of them, and shoots the hostages to save himself. But then finds out he's an undercover cop.

Or, I would have just enjoyed the movie without the twist in the end. Just a thriller about five people who wake up in a room, and the fun of figuring out who everyone is.

Anyone else wold have liked a different ending?

[–] TiCyB 17 years ago

Yeah, I expected the same twist when you heard the gunshots and the two cops were being told that there was an undercover officer on the scene. I think that ending would've played out nicer, the one that they used feels like it's just trying too hard with the affair between Woz and William's wife.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] reetas 17 years ago

*SPOILERS*

I admit I didn't see that coming. BTW does anyone know what happened to Caviezel's wife? I know his daughter died because of an insulin reaction, but I don't recall what happened with his wife. Did she leave him?

I thought it was strange that a man who loved his family so much would plot to break up another and kill the children's father. Remember Pepper had kids. Or was it just that his family was broken so he didn't care about anyone else anymore? Most likely I am thinking too much into it.

[–] slabutu_cutu 17 years ago

peeper didn't have any kids. kinnear's character exagerated to get pepper on his side. caviezel divorced.

[–] md_ernandes 11 years ago

i like the movie up til the ending!!! when he was talking to the one woman at the bar and then she was all over the other guy, so what was that about it lost me then???? were they planning on being together, because they made eye contact and something seemed a little odd to me!!

[–] Bob_Brooker 9 years ago

I don't recall what happened with his wife. Did she leave him?

It's mentioned in a flashback: They divorced even before the girl died.

__________
Last movie watched: Unknown (2006) (6/10)

[–] crazedchickens 17 years ago

The ending made the movie.....

Raised so many questions about Jim's character....

The writers for this are amazing!

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] agjc4 13 years ago

I agree! The ending was perfect. I really loved this movie.

[–] PPPuro 11 years ago

No.

[–] eightieslover 17 years ago

Caviezel is really good at these twist endings, he is very convincing. He did a movie with Ashley Judd a few years back where is undergoing a court marshall for murders he supposedly commited but did not remember - High Crimes. Another great twist at the end.

[–] adamjgilmore 17 years ago

another great caviezel twist ending is passion of the christ

when he gets up...MAN i didn't see that *beep* coming

: )

I enjoyed the movie as well!

[–] tallankybstrd 17 years ago

I agree. I read the book that inspired the movie and it was nothing like that.

[–] kronos251 14 years ago

another great caviezel twist ending is passion of the christ

wish there was a sequel to it

i'd pay good money to watch doubting thomas s hit his knickers

"Rommel...you magnificent bastard, I read your book!"
-- PATTON

[–] swalton-604-727350 11 years ago

you should have read The Book.

[–] brookstown 17 years ago

To be honest, I don't like the ending of this movie.

[–] TeresofBlood 17 years ago

Here's my probelm with it.

Twist 1 I like. Twist 2 I don't like

Twist 1: He's a cop and he's undercover in the operation. Works for me.

Twist 2: He has an affair with the wife and kidnapping the husband was a plan between them to get money and get rid of him. Thing is, Jim was undercover, inflitrating their gang. So he proposes to them to kidnap the guys - he's an undercover cop! Does anyone else see the problem there? Why would he tell them to kidnap and kill someone he wants dead if he KNOWS the cops will bust it up. They won't have a chance to kill them and he certainly wouldn't end up with the money at the end, because it would become evidence.

He basically set himself up, ya know what I mean? Stupid. Ruined the movie, but I still liked it.

[–] Pioneer75 17 years ago

I really don't think the final twist at the end should have happened (the one where he figures out that he really is a bad guy and a rotten cop). It would have made the movie a lot better if that one part was left out. People would be expecting a twist and there wouldn't be a huge twist; that'd be a twist in itself: its just a straight-up thriller movie. No stupid surprise endings, no crappy "but I'm really a bad cop after all and I didn't realize it until now" junk.

If it weren't for that, I'd give the movie a 8/10. It just got bumped down to a 6.

"It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny."
~ Jean Nidetch

[–] rdog114 17 years ago

I couldn't agree more.

Twist 2 complicated everything needlessly.

Did Woz (the undercover) already have the plan to kidnap Cole when he infiltrates the meth gang using his old friend (who must not have known he was a San Diego cop or was somehow convinced he was a criminal) as a connection?

Or was he already in the gang when he decides this is the perfect chance to execute a plan to kidnap Cole using the meth gang?

Either way,I don't think the money was an issue for him. It was just part of his scheme to kill Cole. A kidnapping gave the meth gang the incentive (i.e. the ransom money) they needed to go ahead with his plan, and it gave him the opportunity to kill Cole using the meth gang. He was a cop so unless he was going all out bad-guy on the run just for the girl, wasn't going to kill Cole himself and and he couldn't leave any witnesses. The plan must have been to let the gang kill Cole (after they got the money) or kill the kidnapped Cole himself and put the blame all on the gang.

Bottom line was that if he wanted to get the girl and get away free and clear he would have to dispose of Cole and then kill EVERYONE in the gang (like 5 armed guys) before the police arrive. When the cops find he is the only one left alive he is free to give them his fantastic story about how it was the gang's idea to kidnap Cole and how he was waiting for his chance to intervene, but before he could they took Cole from his sight and killed him. Then he bravely risked his own life to kill the gang before they could escape with the money.

Because the gang never got away, the money goes back to the girl and they can take a little vacation together to celebrate.

A pretty far-fetch plan and a muddled ending is all you get by adding that second twist of an affair as the reason behind the kidnapping. The movie was well served with just Twist 1. Having Woz kill Cole and his partner (and maybe even shot it out with the police) before realizing he was an undercover cop would have been a great and shocking ending. Kinda like the feeling you get at the end of "Seven". The bad guy meets his just end, but not before leaving the good guy in ruins.

"de gustibus non est disputandum"

[–] Maness 17 years ago

I agree with everyone that the ending had one too many twists, but the very point of a film is to evoke any sort of emotion in you (whether it be good or bad) so that you remember the film. I think its a great ending because even after the movie was over I was thinking for a good several minutes about why Jim's character wouldn't have told Barry's character, and why he even had the affair in the first place. You know you've made a good film when viewers question it and CONTINUE the plot in their heads when the movie has ended, to try and work things out.

My point: even if you disliked the ending, the movie did its job.

[–] RockOn979 17 years ago

i agreeeee with you guys- I think the last 60 sec of the movie should be cut out entirely- it would truly be much more enjoyable, plausible, and just makes logical sense. i do like the movie though, Pepper and Caviezel are two kick ass actors and it was really cool to see them work together. But ya, kinda dumb last twist there at the VERY end- otherwise it was solid

[–] cjpoirier-1 17 years ago

Here's another person who agrees with that last bunch of posts. The last twist ruined the movie for me....it's sad when the last 60-120 seconds ruins 83-84 minutes for someone, isn't it?

Here's the reasoning behind my possibly unimportant opinion.

I had figured out he was an uncover cop in the first 10 minutes but that's cool as I like trying to figure these ones out while enjoying the movie.

What I liked here is that I think the director gave us a lot of clues to him being a cop....the fact that he was really skilled with a gun (cocking it, checking the chamber like he was trained to) skilled at how to keep someone tied up with the belt, great with recalling names even though he was so distraught on the phone and his comment of "I'm not a criminal" that he delivered with such conviction.

I do believe the bad guys recognized his voice over the phone even though they were unsure who it at first and so I figured him to be someone working with the bad guys but with another agenda of some sort.

Uncover cop just made sense to me at that point.

Of course, I don't think anyone could have figured out the second twist because it wasn't really that logical....but here's the real thing....if they went with the second twist I wish they would have played it out for 10 more minutes.....like pepper's wife showing up at his place and we find out he gave an empty case to the cops or she shoots (or stabs) him when she shows up for screwing her over and then finds the real money bag and two plane tickets, realizing he changed bags and now she has killed the man she truly loves.

Or the post about him shooting it out with the cops and then realizing he is uncover....that would have worked really well....just like Seven...I agree totally.

I just think they delivered the last twist too quickly and didn't give any closure to the movie at all.

I agree that it's good to make us think (whether we dislike or like the ending) but at least give us some closure.

I felt like I had closure with Seven, Usual Suspects, Momento and even Lucky Number Sleven but I didn't feel I had closure here.

I also expected some other twists like perhaps the young cop that spotted the bad guy would have also been a bad guy and shot his partner and who knows from there. Or maybe the altercation with the bad guys could have been drawn out.

I felt the movie was just too pretty, especially for a movie that was hyped to be the next Pulp Fiction, Usual Suspects, or Momento.

The movie was only 85 minutes - couldn't they have filled up some holes.

Anyway, I thought the plot was brilliant, the concept was brilliant, the acting was brilliant, and the parts in the warehouse were brilliant but just thought personally there were a lot of script holes and too many for me to give this movie two thumbs.

I am however happy in reading the posts here to see that so many enjoyed it.....so I guess that means he did his job well....and who really cares what I think at that point.

Oh well, next time.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] wsheit 17 years ago

Yup...I pretty much agree with everyone else here. Twist one with killing the 2 guys would have been far more compelling. The second twist wasn't bad- I've seen far worse attempts at twists, but it didn't have the oomph that I was expecting. I, too, had heard that this supposedly "one-upped" Memento, and it didn't even come close. Twists should either have an emotional impact on the ending (like twist 1 could have) OR come from out of nowhere- be something that the viewer didn't even think was possible (Usual Suspects, Unbreakable, Memento, Basic, Primer).

Still, I enjoyed the large majority of the film; it's the type of film that features rational puzzles as the main draw, and there are far too few of these.

It's funny that you mention Lucky Number Slevin as an example of closure. There's a movie that had WAY too MUCH closure. We get a 30 minute explanation of how things get together when 5 minutes would have been plenty to explain the only things the viewer couldn't have known.

[–] apollos54 17 years ago

great post cjpoirier. i agree with everything you brought up especially not having closure to that final twist. i myself didn't mind the twist but would have liked an additional backstory to it, like you mentioned a 10 minute explanation to give enlightenment. the movie is solid and works better after repeated viewings. i taped it after watching it on demand and it grew on me after more showings. great acting by caviezel, pepper and kinnear make up for the average script.

[–] Mr. Moviegame 17 years ago

Let's assume he really was an honest cop working undercover. That would not make sense either. First, a kidnapping takes days to organize. It involves innocent civilians. As a cop, Caviezel would have had to notify the police of the event, and they would have staked out the site of the kidnapping. Or they could have arrested the entire gang on conspiracy to kidnap.

But the kidnapping was Caviezel's idea in the first place. Oh, well.

This film falls into the category of a neo-noir. The lead character must be conflicted. The femme fatale who seduces him is played by Bridget Moynahan, and she has the body to fit into that role. She does not want to get a divorce from the Pepper character. A pre-nup would leave her with little money. She likes money, most women do. In her words:

"With the pre-nup we have, there's just no other way."

Caviezel's words:

"I want them all dead with the trail leading to McCain."

Also, at around 1:06 in the movie, we see Caviezel head-butting Kinnear in a flashback. This explains the broken nose. Would an honest cop do this to a civilian? We already have a dead guard, shot at the time of the kidnapping. A good cop would have tried to end this right then and there.

[–] mapglove 17 years ago

As a cop, Caviezel would have had to notify the police of the event, and they would have staked out the site of the kidnapping. Or they could have arrested the entire gang on conspiracy to kidnap.

WRONG. The point of going undercover is to get enough on a criminal that you can put them away for a very long time. Conspiracy to kidnap is hardly enough to put them away for any considerable period of time. The police would still be notified of the event but they would essentially do a sting operation, in which they monitor the undercover cop very closely and bust the bad guys before any one gets seriously hurt.

However, in this movie, the police weren't on the scene at the warehouse and the cops covering the ransom exchange did not know that Jim Caviezel was a cop until the end since he wasn't part of their outfit. So if the filmmakers skipped out on the crappy ending and Jim Caviezel didn't orchestrate the whole thing, they would have to fill in some holes -- the other cops would have to know him, and they would have to be aware of what was going down in the warehouse. Things would have to be tweaked so as not to give away the surprise of him being a cop but it could be done. And it would have been much less contrived than the stupid conspiracy ending.

You can't just make a twist ending without providing any hints to tie back to it so you go, "ooooohhhh that makes sense!" -- thats called cohesiveness. WIthout it you're pretty much cheating your audience.

[–] apollos54 17 years ago

You can't just make a twist ending without providing any hints to tie back to it so you go, "ooooohhhh that makes sense!" -- thats called cohesiveness. WIthout it you're pretty much cheating your audience.

it would be hard to give backstory when we the audience are supposed to feel the same confusion that the men in the warehouse were having. they didn't remember who they were and that being so, we learned right along with them, bits and pieces of their past lives and how they got to this point. he only remembered anything about her because in the end he saw her with her husband which put everything into focus. had he seen her earlier with some kind of picture (like his daughter's) or a keepsake (like the lighter) than maybe it would have made sense for him to remember her earlier but that not being the case their's no reason for him to recall her til the very end.

and i prefer to call this movie a revelation ending as opposed to a twist ending. certain movies fall into different classifications and this movie doesn't fit into that twister mode.

[–] georgegliddy 11 years ago

SIR OR M"AM PLS!!!! WUT IS 2 B AN UNCOVER COP??????????????

[–] georgegliddy 11 years ago

SIR OR M"AM PLS......... WHAT B """""MOMENTO""""""??????

[–] clownbaby866 10 years ago

You didn't know he was an undercover cop. Who are you trying to impress? Those were the stupidest clues ever. You don't need to be a cop to know how to use a gun nor how to tie someone up. Don't pay yourself on the back, you might break your spine.

"Hate is baggage. Life's too short to be pissed off all the time."

[–] maturity 17 years ago

The whole ending was a mess. This could have been good with a better ending and more coherent editing.

[–] chiponmashoulda 17 years ago

to teresofblood bout the 2nd twist. i think because of the fact that he is an undercover cop, he saw himself as immune. So say the cops come busting in, automatically, they wouldn't think it was Caviesel that had his hand in this kidnapping and therefore he could come away with some of the money, if not all of it. Whatever, just my opinion. Pretty good movie though, for one that went probably straight-to-dvd because i dont remember it being in theaters.

www.myspace.com/albeaglesfan4791

[–] TwoMushrooms 17 years ago

"Twist 2: He has an affair with the wife and kidnapping the husband was a plan between them to get money and get rid of him. Thing is, Jim was undercover, inflitrating their gang. So he proposes to them to kidnap the guys - he's an undercover cop! Does anyone else see the problem there? Why would he tell them to kidnap and kill someone he wants dead if he KNOWS the cops will bust it up. They won't have a chance to kill them and he certainly wouldn't end up with the money at the end, because it would become evidence."

- I really don´t get why so many people are screaming about this when it´s perfectly explained at the end. Woz and Elisa want Cole dead so they can take his money. But they need a cover for this. Woz thinks up the plan of having Snakeskin kidnap Coles, fooling them into thinking they were going to share. In fact he was going to kill them all and make it look like McCain was responsible. In the ending, when you see the flashback of Woz and Elisa, you can hear a voiceover going like "I want them dead with the trail leading to McCain" or similar (don´t rememeber the exact words). So the plan was basically to kidnap Coles, kill them all and plant evidence against McCain. So to answer your questions, yes he was an undercover cop, and yes he knew the cops were going to come sooner or later, he was counting on it. But, two events interfered: 1) the chemical substance that affected all their memories and 2) the little id who saw them and a report was filed on this. If this hadn´t occured, the plan might have very well worked.

I´m sorry... that was my tourettes.

[–] mobocracy 10 years ago

Twist one I saw coming as soon as they couldn't get any info on the SUV -- that's a classic undercover cop gimmick to have their vehicle registrations wiped or misdirected so the bad guys can't run their plates and figure out who they are. In another movie/book/TV show that escapes me, there was a plot device where a bunch of vehicles were regstiered to a dummy address and someone figures out the address is a placeholder for undercover vehicles.

Twist two was more og a twist, I wasn't expecting it. It's not an uncommon element in undercover cop stories that the undercover cop goes bad and basically plays both sides against the middle for their own gain. It makes perfect sense -- trick the bad guys into the kidnapping and ransom scheme, then kill them all, take the money and spin a story about one of the henchman taking off with the money and a gunfight breaking out over the double-cross when in fact the undercover cop just kills everyone himself.

He gets the girl, he gets the money and a few months later he can just disappear with the cash.

[–] lttlwill 17 years ago

He wasn't undercover... the scene where he puts the his gun and badge under the front seat introduces the fact that he's torn that he has to beak the law in order to make more money. Which is the next scene with his "old friend" and how Caviezel says "anything to make an extra buck." At the end when he sees Pepper's wife he remembers setting up Pepper. Caviezel WAS a bad guy and decided to change once he saw Pepper's wife again.

[–] gtoure 17 years ago

Right! I figured he was a cop about halfway through (cops in movies are always cool-headed; giving orders to everybody and solving problems), but he was never actually the undercover one (undercover cops don't hide badges under their car seats). I think he was just an o.k. cop who fell on hard times while he happened to be with a married woman who was less-than-scrupulous. His plan couldn't have been to set up the gang unless he was willing to sell out the childhood friend who got him in.

I think a more plausible answer is that he actually thought the plan would work, but he needed the muscle of the meth gang to do most of the dirty work, so he called up his old friend who he knew had shady connections from "the old days". Plus, the kidnapping was his idea (also a sign that he wasn't undercover and that he wasn't a "good" cop); he planned it. As a cop, he knew all the tricks, which is why the plan worked so well (outside of that one cheap chair Pepper broke).

And then in the end, he's speechless not only because he remembers, but because he's screwed now. no money, no girl, and probably some jail time once the police put two and two together.

still not sure about the significance of that scene with the keys, though.

[–] residentbadboy 17 years ago

What this guy said is spot on. Twist2 is very credible.

JacketJeans had lost his family and wasn't making elephant bucks as a cop. Enter sexy lady with rich husband. The pool shooting gang was a diversion for the police and JJ would have the authority to kill them off once he gots the munnies.

He and sexy lady gets away scott-free.

This crooked undercover officer crosses the cops AND the pool shooting gang. I like to think he crosses the sexy lady too and opens a fight club.

I am Jack's smirking revenge.

[–] The_Drunkard 17 years ago

*SPOILERS*

I agree with the posts above. The first twist could've been great had he shot the 2 hostages just before realizing he was undercover. The 2nd twist was garbage.

www.multidementional.com

[–] Maxopoly 17 years ago

Dude, I like that ending caught me and my mother off guard

[–] TeresofBlood 17 years ago

I'm only going on memory here but I'm pretty sure he WAS an undercover cop, because one of the cops says on the radio "We already have someone inside." That's a big hint that they know he's in there, and pretending to be a part of it.

Not quite sure, but that's how I remember it.

[–] brandnewchair 17 years ago

actually, if directed correctly, a mix of two ideas would make a nice ending. have JC actually kill BP and GK , then we find out he's a cop. then the meth heads confront him because they discovered he's a cop (in turn making him remember it.) They all have a shoot out, and JC kills them. the cops show up and hes ready to turn himself in, and cant believe what he did since now he remembers he's a cop. then right before it ends he see BP's wife and remembers the rest of the story. which now will pay off because everyone who could expose him is dead. its makes for an unhappy/happy ending. it worked out for JC but you could leave him being conflicted at the choices he made.

[–] formanst 17 years ago

I like the idea of Woz (Caviezel) killing off Coles and McCain then finding out he's one of the good guys. That would have had a huge emotional impact. However, I didn't completely dislike the ending we had, even though I felt it could be better.

To answer the people who are debating whether Woz was an undercover cop or a kidnapper... he was both. In the course of doing his undercover work he fell in with the meth crew. Separately he met Coles' wife and fell for her. Together they came up with the scheme and he used the meth crew to make it happen. As he said, he needed the money and he was so distraught from what happened to his daughter that his moral compass became skewed. Once he lost his memory, he instinctively returned to who he really was, which was a good person at heart. Unfortunately now (the end of the movie) he has to deal with the bad choices he made.

To back all this up, keep in mind that the police at the end mention that he'd been undercover for 8 months and hadn't checked in for several weeks. This indicates that he's planning on taking the money and getting out of Dodge. Also note the flashback scene where he's with Coles' wife and says something like "what happens if something goes wrong?" Well, the escape attempt and subsequent memory loss is what went wrong. We don't really know what his plan was other than getting the money for himself, killing everyone else, and pinning the whole thing on McCain. Also, Stormare's character says something to one of the henchman (Ray, the guy in the truck who gets shot by the detectives) about finding out if the plane is on the way. Best guess is that Woz was going to kill everyone and take the plane for himself.

My opinion on the very end (him taking the money and giving it to the captain) is that he's disgusted with the actions he just remembered and has reverted -- thanks to the memory loss -- to the decent person he actually is.

[–] dream_land_99 15 years ago

I agree with u. I can't see so many people disliked the 2nd twist, it was perfect.
The guy (JeanJacket)obviously was a good person, that unfortunately experiencing some great pain in his life especially the lost of his daughter which ruined his heart.
Fell for someone else's (Cole's) wife just made it even worse.

The loss of his memory actually was the one trigger that in the end made him remember who he was before and decided to go back to that state.
He answered the "what happens if something goes wrong?" question correctly.