MovieChat Forums > Helen (2009) Discussion > Rooftop scene (major spoilers!)

Rooftop scene (major spoilers!)

posted 12 years ago by amkatz
2 replies | jump to latest

I can understand the filmmakers not wanting to depict Mathilde's death too graphically, but have her (apparently) leap while going back to fetch the puppy seemed ... clunky; the viewer has to pause & wonder what happened--did she slip, or succumb to a momentary impulse?

In reality I think quite a few actual suicides end with a sudden impulse even after hours or days of consideration. Still, this is a movie, not a documentary. The filmmaker can be direct or indirect as she chooses so as *she* knows the story she's telling.

This particular scene suggested, to me at least, that she wasn't quite certain how Mathilde died. It's okay to leave the audience wondering, & that was perhaps her intent, but I don't feel it quite came off in a manner even remotely satisfying.

Otherwise good movie...

[–] bootblack987 11 years ago

I did not find the scene vague. We saw how Mathilde was struggling. And how Helen was probably the one thing that made living bearable for her. Losing Helen meant losing everything, so she had no reason to go on. I'm not saying I am in agreement, but this is how I saw Mathilde feeling at that time.

[–] sarahliz1624 9 years ago

I knew from the moment Helen left the house to "get groceries" that Mathilda would commit suicide in the end. From a writer/storyteller standpoint it was very predictable, from the perspective of a mental illness patient, I saw the same window she did and understand why she took it when she did.