That's why I didn't like it. There really was not climax prior to the ending. He just fell down the stairs, saw an idealistic vision of his mother, and it was over. I was like WTF? It wasn't the ambiguity that bugged me, but the movie left me wanting more. I mean nothing really happened.
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I feel...like I've been had all my life. Life is pointless. If there is a God, he's the Devil.
I found the ending to be very powerful and significant.
Becket's mother brought him back to the house so that he could relive his memories, accept what he had been through, and finally make peace with it all.
His mother's spirit was seeking resolution to the conflict that she had with her son. So (in the last scene) she gives him one final vision wherein she and him finally DO go out on a picnic and enjoy themselves.
I think the ending was very strong because it showed a positive resolution to a conflict that had been festering for years. It emphasized the importance of forgiveness and letting go of the past. It also showed the maturation of Becket's mother's spirit - i.e.: how she put an end to her violent ways and began to love her son unconditionally.
Powerful stuff.
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There's only one instant, and it's right now. And it's eternity.
- Waking Life
Agreed. I think that at the end he was still alive and contemplating what he saw. Before it cuts away from his face he is visibly blinking in such a way that no film editor could miss it.
shareI came here hoping for a answer about the ending also. What I saw after the rewrite of history, was him moving his head as trying to reconcile his mother. So I believe he is alive too.
If we can save humanity, we become the caretakers of the world
Agreed, it was an extremely rushed, anti-climactic ending, and failed to consummate any of the movies' themes. It left me not feeling nothing, which is the worst thing a movie can do.
To see the only real monster, one must only look in the mirror.