MovieChat Forums > The Last Five Years (2015) Discussion > The Last Five Seconds

The Last Five Seconds

posted 9 years ago by kendicane
9 replies | jump to latest

I just have to rant for a minute about the ending of the film. I haven't seen the stage musical so I don't know if this is normal, but I HATED that they showed Cathy coming home at the very end (after the songs were over). For me, it threw off the pattern that they spent the entire film establishing--her timeline going backwards. And it almost felt like they didn't trust the audience to "get" what was happening so they wanted to make it super clear that he was in fact leaving her, as we saw in the beginning with "Still Hurting." WE GOT IT. And both his and her timelines were very linear throughout the whole thing, so it seemed odd that they suddenly chose to make it cyclical in that moment. Anybody else feel this way???

[–] rickert 9 years ago

I didn't mind that they ended the movie where it began. It also, in my mind, cements Cathy as the star of the movie. Even though JRB based this on his life, Cathy is by far the more sympathetic character.

[–] andrew-gillespie5000 9 years ago

I agree. I think it undermined the perfectly balanced bittersweet-ness of the final song, which was executed so flawlessly that we just didn't need it spelled out for us like that.

[–] PhoebeOrPhoebo 9 years ago

I disagree. While I've never seen the stage production, the OBC recording can play in an endless loop as the final notes transition into the opening number. I like that the movie has done the same thing. This isn't a story that starts and ends, it is a cycle so to have her return was very appropriate and beautiful.

[–] amber-1991 9 years ago

Huh, well, we're all entitled to our own opinions.

I thought it was perfect, bringing the story full circle, it started where it ended and vice versa really.

[–] SallahTours 9 years ago

There are a couple times where the timeline gets screwy, but this one didnt offend me. I think it was a nice ending.

[–] Chason_S 9 years ago

I LOVED the last five seconds - it was very sad and seemed to bring the story full circle before it sadly ended.

[–] benman46 9 years ago

No.

[–] shypurplepanda 9 years ago

If you listen to the score, you'll notice that the very end of Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You is the same music as the intro into Still Hurting, the score litterally loops around on itself from the end to the beginning again, so it made 100% absolute sense to have the visual of the movie do the same.