The ending - Night Moves (2014) Discussion

Lucky u 4 leavin early bec there wuz no endin

Werd 2 ur mudda, bruddafcker

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Saw t today - I didn't get the ending either... Did I miss something?

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...I think the ending was show the unraveling of Josh (Jesse Eisenberg). I missed the significance of the store mirror (it just shows some customers loitering around ?), but the scenes before the ending seem to show that Josh doesn't really know what to do while on the run. He is on the phone with Harmon (Peter Sarsgaard) who advises him to lay low and hide, but yet at the sporting goods store, he asks for an employment application ? It seems to show that more than likely, Josh will either eventually get caught, turn himself in, or possibly take his own life.

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[–] joope666 10 years ago

I think the mirror symbolizes his knowing that from now on, even if he escapes he will be forever 'looking over his shoulder', and the fact the two customers are both using their mobiles is a direct reference to a line he says earlier in the film about 'killing all those salmon just so you have enough power to keep your i-pod on every second of the day', it's just to demonstrate his realization/perception of the futility of his actions.

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[–] vertigoa 10 years ago

I find your interpretation to be spot on.

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[–] MongoLloyd 10 years ago

...the mirror symbolizes his knowing that from now on, even if he escapes he will be forever 'looking over his shoulder', and the fact the two customers are both using their mobiles is a direct reference to a line he says earlier in the film about 'killing all those salmon just so you have enough power to keep your i-pod on every second of the day', it's just to demonstrate his realization/perception of the futility of his actions.

That's exactly it. And remember the conversation back at the Community Sustainable Agriculture farm where the boss man talked about them blowing up the damn being "theater" and that is was a useless gesture. At that moment he realizes he threw his life away with a useless gesture, and he didn't even get the girl

.

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[–] catapulted-to-extreme 10 years ago

Thanks, that was really good.

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[–] dpeddicord2 8 years ago

My first thought was that he was looking (unknowingly)at Harmon (grey sweatshirt)in the mirror, who was tailing him to kill him to eliminate another "leak".

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[–] quietrobert 10 years ago

Aren't there often cameras behind those mirrors? I kind of took his applying for a job as sort of him giving himself up. It seems likely he would at least be a suspect by that point and the police would be looking for him and if he filled out that application he would pretty surely be found.

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[–] darthsyphus 10 years ago

SPOILER ALERT.. SPOILER ALERT

I didn't get the ending either. In the end he applied for a job at camping goods store. They showed the employment application and the implication was that he couldn't fill it in because he didn't have an address. Then they show one of those mirrors that they have in stores so that the storekeeper can keep an eye on the isles. I didn't quite get what was shown in the mirror because it was too fast. Then credits...

The ending was as pointless as the whole movie.

yahoo messenger: darthsyphus

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[–] sporter3_99 10 years ago

It's the most disappointing part of an otherwise good movie. Eisenberg's character is clearly in some big trouble. He essentially has two murder charges hanging over him and the people around him got wind of what's up before he offed Fanning's character for which he will be a clear suspect.

We don't know how he fares with being completely on the lam and the filmmaker leaves this intentionally so.

But not to bash on the film too much, I like the way the tension was handled with the strike against the dam. I was engaged in the story all the way even if the ending left me more than a little baffled.

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[–] peacecreep 10 years ago

i thought he was staring at the application but couldnt really concentrate on it because he was so wrecked with paranoia and guilt.

i think he will without a doubt get caught. his farm buddies know he did it and they'll know he had the motivation to murder D. then the FBI is on the case and he's done for.

intense movie.

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[–] haggar 10 years ago

i think he will without a doubt get caught. his farm buddies know he did it and they'll know he had the motivation to murder D. then the FBI is on the case and he's done for.

Yeah, you're right.

And yes, the movie is very intense - much more intense once the group unravels. I could empathize with the characters almost too much.

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[–] JoshuaBeck 10 years ago

My opinion:

Looking at this director's past work, her films are all social commentary, and one usually needs to think about them long and hard afterwards to fully appreciate them. I can understand filmgoers who prefer instant results, but I like that her films make you think.

You may remember the reason they were blowing up the dam in the first place was because of the greedy corporate company who would rather "kill all the salmon so people could charge their smart phones" (I can't remember the exact quote made by Eisenberg's character). Then the father-ish character at the farm also made some kind of comment like "we need results, not just a statement" inferring that this dam destruction would not change things.

For those of you who missed the shot of the camping store mirror, it was actually a pretty long shot of the other customers in the store. The woman was texting on her cell phone and the man in the back was talking on his cell phone, for the entire shot, thus proving that nothing had changed.

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[–] creatorof2002 10 years ago

I just saw it and it was a non ending. I think it ended because the 2 hours of movie time were up.

But damn, I feel bad for the guy, a skinny young white guy facing the rest of his life in prison? that really sucks.

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[–] CooperCamden 10 years ago

Perhaps he can teach his fellow inmates how to make bombs between booty-pumping sessions.

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[–] Fleurus 9 years ago



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[–] gabe-mcegg 9 years ago

I don't feel bad for him! As far as becoming a fugitive from the law, he really brought it on himself. *beep* there have to be consequences for our actions; being white, young and male shouldn't disqualify him from that!

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[–] answermehere 10 years ago

I just saw this film at the theater, and the ending puzzled me but here's my immediate take on it.

Kelly R makes films about Oregon, a place with a mystique of still being "the West" / frontier / wilderness. Part of that story is true and part of it is manufactured/romantic.

The characters in this film are themselves exploring this narrative of living in communion with nature, of rebelling against society, trying to find meaning.

Jesse E's character lives in an idyllic setting on the farm, almost like he lives in paradise - a sunny yurt in the mountains with a warm community "family" around him. Because of his idealistic but naive actions, he is forced to leave that place and his connections. He seals this outcome when he kills his friend.

He then finds himself in California, near Sacramento - a very different environment. He is in a sterile and manufactured environment of alienation and muzak, everyone on a cell phone. In a twist, the store sells a fantasy version of "roughing it/getting back to nature" that is blatantly a capitalist scheme to schill junk made in China. He looks at his the job application and is faced with that he does not have a home, he doesnt have an identity. He's given them up, but for what? He's aware of the futility and even evil of his actions.

I believe this setting (the store) suggests questions on several levels. In one way, it refers to System that he and his cohorts were attacking. Similar to the campground where everyone has an RV and truck and tv and kids on atvs.

Secondly it questions Jesse's own understanding of his place in nature and society...is he the consumer of an equally synthesized narrative as the people who are patronizing the golf courses? He may be just a step or two away from them.

It's dark. It's a little bit too literal for me as well.

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[–] stevenrjohnson 10 years ago

Nice thoughts, answermehere. Let's hope they put an end to the silly complaints about the movie itself not having an ending.

I'd like to add a couple observations. His looking into the mirror and not seeing himself reinforces the fact that he no longer has an identity as a result of his actions. (He has followed through on Harmon's disembodied voice telling him to "get real lost.") Also, the round mirror circles back to the movie's opening image of the dam's floodgates, opening (a tasty metaphor right there, as a friend pointed out); it's a mandala-image emphasizing the movie's oft-made point about the interconnectedness of things. Which then emphasizes how he himself has become disconnected, having lost the right to the same contact those people in the mirror still enjoy -- the phone he recently dismantled and threw away. Finally, you're left with the understanding that he's going to be looking in lots of surveillance mirrors from here on, paranoid of what's behind him.

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[–] creatorof2002 10 years ago

Even if he manages to never get caught, if there is not enough evidence or something as unlikely as that might be his life is STILL ruined because he was not an evil person and he only wanted to destroy an inanimate object for what he considered to be moral reasons yet he accidentally killed an innocent bystander then killed his friend in an act of desperation and he has to live with that. So he is screwed no matter what. His life is over even if he legally gets away with it.

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[–] thefinalword 10 years ago

well played Josh on explaining the ending. I believe it was spot on, and it kind of gives me some redemption for the movie. I was ready to throw it a 5/10 but hearing this interpretation of the ending, I guess it ties it together a little better.
Obviously the message is poignant for a lot of people. Some people think anarchy is the solution to the "problem" of our materialistic society. Lets blow some *beep* up and show the Man we mean business.

However the utter reality of the situation sinks in to our main characters with a vengeance. I personally wanted to see something more Ecocentric, (Eco) and I ended up with an incredible quiet plod through eisenbergs characters paranoia about being caught. They never even elaborated on their motives, never showed that the truly cared. I mean, there were like 3 or 4 sentences in the entire movie that gave credence to their reasoning for actually DOING it.

I wont deny that it was suspenseful, but it was an empty promise. In the end I feel like I got roped in to watching a particular well shot teen film about pranks gone wrong or something. Oh well, your ending interpretation was great. Thanks I needed that closure.

edit: the movie has a lot of silent cinema, like your supposed to absorb the camerawork and the symbolism, the imagery, the dialog truly takes a back seat in this one. I dont particularly like movies that are imagery based, I like my movies to have a rock solid story, and characters that I Care about. In the end, No, I wouldn't recommend this to pretty much anyone. It was still beautifully shot and filmed though. Too bad the story was um, non existent. I mean what the hell was the sex scene in the camper for? Totally crap no reason?

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[–] Fleurus 9 years ago

"kill all the salmon so people could charge their smart phones"

From someone who invented Facebook, it's a bizarre statement...

Just kidding !

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[–] PotassiumMan 10 years ago

The ending is quite similar to the ending in Meek's Cutoff.

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[–] atclubsilencio 10 years ago

What I got out of the ending is this. A) His looking at the camera represents how *beep* paranoid he is. Seeing it probably nearly gave him a heart attack.

B) I think he took the job at that specific store so he can save up money and have all the supplies he needs in that store to go live off the grid away from society.

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[–] arigayvis 10 years ago

movie was soo slow. coulda made it 45 minutes with the same impact.
all that wasted time and no real ending. what went on after it was over woulda been the best part of the story.

in the mirror he saw people on phones. i took it as he was suspecting them of being undercover cops on his tail. and i assumed he couldnt fill out the application cuz he was trying to think of fake name/address.... and he wouldnt be able to cash a paycheck with the fake info. yet he couldnt give his real info. and i thought he went in there to steal supplies, and live on the run in canada or mexico.

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[–] Fleurus 9 years ago

in the mirror he saw people on phones. i took it as he was suspecting them of being undercover cops on his tail.

That's what I thought too.

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[–] lucasland-651-97716 10 years ago

the ending shows how the rest of his life is going to be like. all alone and paranoid about getting caught. he killed the girl but in actuality she never told anyone about what they did. she may have talked to her friend and told her how stressed she was but not why. the people in the farm were upset but it wasn't about the dam incident, it was about something else. this is a little trick for the movie viewer to think the cat is out of the bag, add suspense, but they never know about the his involvement in the dam. he left cause he was paranoid they knew about the dam, but they didn't.

only one person at the end knows the truth and that is harmon who won't talk or contact him again.

he went to apply for a job because what else is he going to do. he just left his job and has no money. he is a free man and no one knows he is part of dam incident, so life goes on. while filling out application he was probably thinking of what name to use.

everyone in town knew dean was stressed for some reason but didn't know why. when they find her body clothed in the sauna they will just assume is was suicide.

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[–] UncleShiz 10 years ago

Saunacide?

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[–] DudeNoWay 10 years ago

The man at the farm said he doesn't want to abet him so clearly he knows what happened.

Also when they perform an autopsy they will know she was strangled (or just by looking at the bruising on her neck).

He is in major trouble.

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[–] sk1973 10 years ago

He is told by the leader of the agricultural commune-his fatherfigure-that he should not drag them down with him. Being caught there would implicate the very lifestyle he was fighting for. If, however, he is arrested in the soul-less sporting goods store, he'll implictate Corporate America. That, at least is his thinking. Thus, what had seemed like a failed and basically meaningless action - and his wasted life - can take on a new meaning and be used for good.

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[–] Silverhawkins 10 years ago

I feel like one key point of the ending has been majorly overlooked here.

Sure, the mirror is suggestive of paranoia, but it's the contents of the mirror in combination with the job application that are the real point.

He has been working in a self-sustainable commune working the land and caring about the people around him, almost an anarchic microcosmic society. He has no respect for capitalism, despises everything it stands for. And yet here he is, about to fill in an application form to work as a paid employee for a company flogging camping gear, an application that asks about qualifications, ambitions etc. The contents of the mirror ie. two people, both on mobile phones, one holding a cup of Starbucks epitomise everything he hates about capitalism and capitalist society. It is a literal moment of reflection but also metaphorical, because he has to question whether everything he stands for, and everything he has done, is worth ultimately abandoning his ideals and lifestyle for, leaving him winding up having to get a crappy job in a camping store, becoming one of the worthless iPod drones and "posers" that he dismissed so readily earlier in the film.

TL;DR He acted upon his ideals and his extreme convictions, and the consequences stripped him of being able to actually enact them.

---
oh mummy, oh daddy - lets all play Kabadi!

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[–] hollywoodpsychic 9 years ago

I feel like one key point of the ending has been majorly overlooked here.

Sure, the mirror is suggestive of paranoia, but it's the contents of the mirror in combination with the job application that are the real point.

He has been working in a self-sustainable commune working the land and caring about the people around him, almost an anarchic microcosmic society. He has no respect for capitalism, despises everything it stands for. And yet here he is, about to fill in an application form to work as a paid employee for a company flogging camping gear, an application that asks about qualifications, ambitions etc. The contents of the mirror ie. two people, both on mobile phones, one holding a cup of Starbucks epitomise everything he hates about capitalism and capitalist society. It is a literal moment of reflection but also metaphorical, because he has to question whether everything he stands for, and everything he has done, is worth ultimately abandoning his ideals and lifestyle for, leaving him winding up having to get a crappy job in a camping store, becoming one of the worthless iPod drones and "posers" that he dismissed so readily earlier in the film.

TL;DR He acted upon his ideals and his extreme convictions, and the consequences stripped him of being able to actually enact them.

Exactly. That was the meaning I took from it as well. A brutal and devastating ending.

One other observation I'd like to point out: The film ends before we see what he'll do next. The next moment could be him throwing the application into the trash, walking back to his truck and driving off to the forest to "disappear completely", like his "lucky" friend (who he mentioned earlier in the film) who is living off the land in the middle of nowhere. OR, it could be him hunching over the application to fill it out, resigned to his fate as a member of the empty society he despises, another form of "disappearing completely".

By leaving the next moment to our imaginations, Reichardt is ending the movie at a crossroads. It's a moment of realization and decision for a character who is not good at thinking through the consequences of his actions. It's a fantastic place to end the story.

A lot of strange things happen in this world. Things you don't know about in Grand Rapids.

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[–] Silverhawkins 9 years ago

Agreed. Glad someone else recognised the same. The ending was one of my favourite moments of the film. Overall I really struggled with the slow pacing, I'm not adverse to that, but I didn't feel it worked for the genre and topic here. However, that ending really packed a punch. Very well shot.

"oh mummy, oh daddy - lets all play Kabadi!"

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[–] at7000 9 years ago

Caution- SPOILER WARNING-

Ending-

Protagonist fills out a job application at a sporting goods store whilst looking somewhat paranoid.

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