MovieChat Forums > Mean Streets (1973) Discussion > WTF the ending ?!

WTF the ending ?!

posted 12 years ago by stardama69
17 replies | jump to latest

It's the most abrupt, unexpected, bland ending I've ever seen in a good - or supposed to be good - movie. It's like the director had said to his team "okay, let's stop here, everybody is tired of this crap, let's finish it and move to something else." Of course it's not what happened because, hey, it's Scorcese we're talking about, but still it looks like that.
Film itself, I found very average. More of a documentary than of a gangster film. No plot points, no suspense (except : what's going to happen to Johnny ? well, not much), dragged on etc.. but good dialogues and visual chemistry, though.

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[–] Sonny_Blanco 12 years ago

Yeah the ending was a letdown. I thought De niro and Harvey Keitel were excellent. You really felt these two characters genuinely really cared for each other like brothers.

I agree that this movie seemed more like more like a documentary than a film. I do n't know if any of the actors improved, but the dialogue like you mentioned was excellent didn't seem forced at all.

Also, it was pretty cool seeing New York in 70's on screen.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] rfmovie 12 years ago

Actually, I like that about the ending. It is realistic, not all drawn out like a movie. Too much of that BIG 'movie' drama these days -- just show it like it is! Stuff happens, and then you die.

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[–] TheCunnysmythe 11 years ago

i liked the ending

the fact that there was no final resolution made it feel more real

and nobody dying in the shooting created all kinds of implications for the future

will michael come after johnny boy to finish him off? will he turn on charlie too? is this the end of charlie's mobster career, being caught helping johnny boy and teresa when he was supposed to steer clear of both?

i remember thinking "what, nobody dies? this is going to be awkward!"

and that's life sometimes

the problem just got more complicated, nobody learned anything about violence or friendship, things just got more intricate

[–] franzkabuki 11 years ago

"And nobody dying in the shooting created all kinds of implications".

By all appearences, De Niro did die in the climactic shooting.

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[–] koffeenkreame41-1 11 years ago

By all appearences, De Niro did die in the climactic shooting.

That's what I thought too.

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[–] thesnowleopard 10 years ago

By all rights, he should have, but last we saw, he was staggering down an alleyway. Not in good shape, but not dead, either.

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[–] mdonln 9 years ago

franzkabuki says > By all appearences, De Niro did die in the climactic shooting.

By the end of the movie, I think he was still alive and I don't remember why but I thought he would make it. I found that unrealistic. From what I remember, he was shot in the neck and had been gushing blood. He may have died moments later but even if he lived I suspect there will be another attempt. I seriously doubt all would be forgiven and forgotten.

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[–] sut6432 (2928) 6 years ago

Yeah, Johnny definitely had a fatal wound. He was bleeding from the neck all over the outside of the car. He wasn't going to make it long.

The other two survived. It looked like Charlie was shot in the arm, and Theresa had her head go through the windshield, but she was able to walk with assistance to the ambulance. Didn't notice anything I would consider fatal on them.

[–] standrkm 11 years ago

yeah I was expecting and really anticipating harvey's character killing johnny boy in the cemetery or something, would have been a prefect ending to me

"the day I tried to live, I learned that I was alive"

[–] AP (5295) 8 years ago

I also expected him to kill Johnny Boy in a sort of "Of Mice and Men" ending.

[–] TheHungryAndAngryShow 10 years ago

I would say this was below average, for who was in it, how directed it, and what I expected, I got little, very very little. There was no plot to speak of, no characters you could identify with, unless you grew up as a complete jerk, and I have seen documentaries with more story arc than this. If Scorcese was just trying to show us that he grew up around nasty people, well, he succeeded. If there was some other goal I don't think he accomplished it.

As for the ending, it was not the worst part of the movie, at least something happened and then it was over.

[–] xellos49698 8 years ago

I liked the ending. I thought it was the perfect response considering all the crap Johnny pulled.

[–] brosefstalin 8 years ago

If you hated this ending, then you haven't seen the piece of trash "Easy Rider"

[–] stardama69 8 years ago

Easy Rider was not a piece of trash.

[–] johnmiller (4011) 6 years ago

I have an industrial-strength problem watching any of the Fondas on screen with Hanoi Jane running around. But, "Easy Rider" is one of the greatest 100 films of all time.

So, there's that. :-)