MovieChat Forums > I Smile Back (2015) Discussion > Great acting, good writing, NO CHARACTER...

Great acting, good writing, NO CHARACTER ARC! (SPOILERS)


I really liked this movie until the end. I wasn't expecting a happy Hollywood ending, but I did expect a little resolution or closure to the progressing downward spiral of the main character. Nope, just another open-ended "ending" that I feel a lot of dramas are doing these days to "leave it open to audience interpretation". I feel that is a cop-out. If I invest in buying/renting a movie and my time in a story, I expect a complete storyline. Rant over!

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I agree with your post, but not with the title. To me, what your post describes is not good writing. It reflects an author who has trouble writing endings.

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The ending was her following in her father's footsteps...

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Totally agree! In my opinion, these "open-ended, leave it to the audience to interpret" is just plain lazy film making.

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I think demanding that everything be tied up in a neat, little package and carefully explained to you is plain lazy film-viewing.

Engage more.

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Nope, just another open-ended "ending" that I feel a lot of dramas are doing these days to "leave it open to audience interpretation".

But it wasn't left to our imagination, and there was definitely an arc that lead her to a selfless act (a selfless act that would no doubt be interpreted by her children as a terrible and selfish one, just as she interpreted her own father's leaving).

The resolution of the story was her realisation that she was too broken, too selfish, too dangerous, to be a part of the family she very obviously loved (notice the careful making of children's school lunches before she left). A sad ending, but a definite one.

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Totally agree. She sacrificed herself for her family. Anyone who didn't understand that did not understand what they just watched.

Revenge is a dish that best goes stale.

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totally agree. good movie, but wish it had a better ending.



www.selmablairstyle.com For All Things Selma Blair

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good movie, but wish it had a better ending.

I just don't understand this criticism from people. Do you all complain that the story isn't finished whenever any movie you're watching doesn't show you how the characters lived the rest of their lived and eventually died? Probably not. When she visited her father, this movie even gave us a glimpse of what her future might eventually be, if she gets herself together. After all, history repeating was a clear theme in the movie. But even without that possibility, the story was contained and concluded.

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Last seen: Locke (2013) 8/10

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