MovieChat Forums > Local Hero (1983) Discussion > Possibly Best Ending Ever (spoiler!!!)

Possibly Best Ending Ever (spoiler!!!)

posted 21 years ago by Mickyfinn
68 replies | jump to latest

I wonder if I am alone in seeing the end of Local Hero possibly the best ending of a motion picture....ever.

Mac wandering through his apartment.....Mark Knophler's music....Mac checking the fridge...removing rocks and shells from his pockets....posting pictures....moving to his balcony, the city sounds welling up...fade out and up on Furness..... the red phone box... music picking up...two rings.. and a cut (not fade) to black and credits...music to full (the music title? Coming Home).

I get emotional just thinking about it. I think its because we feel for Mac- at once both an incredible sense of loss and an indescribable sense of hope as the phone rings... and even then a sense of introspection in the cut to black- perhaps an examination of ourselves.

Unbelievable. Local Hero is one film I use to answer the question- if you'd like to know what I'm all about- what truly moves me or what I aspire to- watch it, and then get back to me.

Unfortunate so many will never have the privedge to see this film (for whatever reason).

[–] scotsexile 19 years ago

Good analysis of the ending.I think its a real killer.BUT....it shows the true darker side of Bill Forsyth the almost unbearale sense of loss nostalgia etc when the phone goes unanswered.If u have seen Housekeeping his american made debut u get the idea that light comedy is not what he is about
Cheers

Peter

[–] chconnol 19 years ago

I just recently resaw the film since I saw it first in theaters in 1983. I've loved the movie since and it's on cable TV here in the U.S. a lot. It's definately has a cult following. I don't know many people who haven't seen it at least once.

I always thought that the phone ringing at the end showed Mac's longing to return and thought that he was going to. Just that simple to me. He realized where he belonged and loved and wanted (will) return. Maybe just my wishful thinking. He was so lonely in the states.

[–] brassglobes 19 years ago

I think the end was pretty bleak. Mac gets home to his empty apartment, unpacks his stuff and comes across the shells he brought back from the beach. Just after he places one to his nose, we cut to the scene in Scotland with the phone ringing. I guess it's supposed to be encouraging that Mac realizes he misses Scotland and the people of the town, but not only does the phone goes unanswered, but there is absolutely no sign of life in the town. The message seems to be that Mac has awoken too late. His mission was successful and the town is empty.

[–] pounce44 19 years ago

Agree, brassglobes.
It is rather grim indeed. But the way Mark Knopfler's ending song (Goin' Home)proceeds always gives me some sort of hope, the song sort of morphs from slow-moving to uplifting...and I always feel like maybe there is hope that Mac will find a way to satisfactorily resolve his situation.

[–] BillK-5 18 years ago

I don't think that's true at all; rather I think the film ends on the ringing phone box as sort of a "add your own ending" coda to the film.

The romantics among us believe Mac is calling to say he's moving back to Furness as soon as he sells all his stuff.

The literalists believe he's calling to say he made it home OK.

Others believe other things, but that's what's so wonderful about it - the ending fits whatever your preconceptions are as to what Mac wlll do in that situation.

[–] mannoman-1 19 years ago

Mickyfinn, you nailed it.

In 1988 I had the good fortune to visit the town of Pennan, Scotland where most of the movie was filmed. The town can not be seen from land as it rests in a cliff wall. Seeing the town, it has a totally different look and feel than that which was portrayed in the movie. The red phone box was flown in for the movie (I really wanted my picture taken in it). Heavy sigh!

Nonetheless I would not trade the experience. Fortunately, I have a good portion of the town on tape. The music over the final credits is what really hooked me.

Has anyone else been to Pennan?

[–] mannoman-1 19 years ago

I finally got around to reading the post by Hughdal. It seemms they got smart and put in a red phone box. Guess I have to get my tickets and mosey on over to Pennan for that long overdue photo.

[–] lewis312 19 years ago

I visited pennan recently and have some great pictures I can share with you all, but i don't know how to. Any ideas?

[–] pounce44 19 years ago

Do you have a site to host the pictures, Lewis?
I would love to see them.
There is Flikr, Yahoo, that sort of thing.

[–] zadt 17 years ago

I haven't seen Local Hero in a while, but it's definitely one of my favourite films, it's brilliantly funny and moving (and the music is ace) and I agree the ambiguous ending is really good - though I can't help but feel quite a lot of you are getting a bit carried away with the Scottish romanticism theme - a lot of places in Scotland, a lot of the coastal villages, are wonderful, sincerely friendly places, but a lot of Scotland fails to live up to the myth of welcoming hospitality.

In reality I'm quite sure visitors would encounter a much more hostile and environment that they would expect. Maybe I just don't appreciate it, maybe I need more experience of other cultures, but I think you'd be thoroughly underwhelmed with Scotland. It's miserable, grey and dreich (though that's often why I love it). I just think it's easy to miss the point, and get lost in fantasy...

P.S. Last I heard the main road leading to Pennan has been buried in landslide, making gosh darned difficult to access the village.

[–] golden_hawk 17 years ago

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/Local_Hero_still_frame_0 29638.jpg

I think it's beautiful. The residences seem compressed against the cliff, their murky colours in stark contrast with the greenery that sprouts directly behind them (allowing for the red telephone box to stand out somewhat). More importantly though, by capturing the shot from the spot where the side walls meet, the director/cinematographer has flattened out perspective and the walls seem pressed tightly against the background as a result. This lends a striking pictorial quality to the shot. It honestly seemed like a painting to me at first glance! Then the phone started to ring, my eyes scanned the shot, met the phone box, and I realised what was happening. The film has so many carefully composed scenes that I don't doubt this was deliberate. As to the artistic purpose of its postcard-pretty nature, it's up for debate really, but the first thing that crossed my mind was that it was intended to be seen more as an expression of Mac's nostalgia and yearning to recapture his happiness in Ferness than as the real deal. (That sort of explains the dreamy dissolve effect that precedes it, doesn't it? As well as the ferocious cut that follows it as you well noted!)

And that's an interesting tidbit about Local Hero being your personal "watch it and get back to me" film because I have one too: Cinema Paradiso sums me up in so many ways it's scary. I always tell people to see it when they ask me about myself. But sticking to the point here, it's a beautiful ending to a really nice film and one that manages to transcend it without feeling out-of-place. It reminded me of Being There in that regard...

(Oh, and Mark Knopfler is the man. Still listening to that song.)

[–] rthomp-8 17 years ago

Bingo.

My two favourite films - Local Hero and Cinema Paradiso. I think they are both about what is important in life.

[–] integralesixteenvalve 17 years ago

I always felt the ending of local Hero was superb simply because it played like real life. In a typical ending, Mac would have quit his job and moved to Furness. However, he did what all of us would have done, he went home and back to his regular life. Who would have expected that?

The music and the sound of the phone ringing really was in step with the rest of the film's bittersweet air and all the better for it.

'Culture, sophistication, a little bit more than an 'ot dog' You said it Bob!

[–] elantipatico 17 years ago

Great ending to a great movie. Hard to believe that I still hold this movie dear to my heart after all this time. Anyone that has traveled abroad for an extended time, that has made that place part of their home, would certainly understand. You are never quite the same person when you had that experience and you do get to see the whole world in a different light.

[–] keith81 16 years ago

Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm-ZHUfCTwk

[–] nosnojsirhc 16 years ago

thanks for posting everyone - would it offend the film's biggest fans for me to say that reading your memories dreams reflections was almost as good as watching the film?

ok, maybe not as funny...

[–] rindercella 16 years ago

Wow, OP is 2003...

Yes, best ending ever, well, ties with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind IMO

I could watch this film a ton and never be bored with it.

Great film!

[–] rindercella 8 years ago

Wow, OP is 2003...

Yes, best ending ever, well, ties with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind IMO

I could watch this film a ton and never be bored with it.

Great film!

I wrote that 7 years ago. I still feel the same.

Now the boards are going away and no more seeing great old posts, or any..SO SAD



"Guys like you don't die on toilets." Mel Gibson-Riggs, Lethal Weapon

[–] mark-1224 16 years ago

I'd have to say, this is up there but the only thing I can think of that beats it is the ending of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

'Is it not enough to see that a garden is beautiful?' - Douglas Adams.

[–] glendevan 16 years ago

I'm with you on this one. A terrific ending!

See also "Sideways" for another exquisite ending to a film.

Not always easy to get right.

[–] medaocdp 15 years ago

from: http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2008/04/local_hero.html

David Bordwell has another marvelous Forsyth anecdote from a personal conversation he had with the filmmaker. You'll find this and other Ebertfest coverage (including an extended treatment of the opening night film, "Hamlet") at the invaluable Bordwell-Thompson blog:

Forsyth talked as well about the final shot, one of the most satisfying I’ve ever seen. The original cut ended with Mac returning to his Houston apartment and staring out at the dark urban landscape—beautiful in its own way, but very different from the majesty of the Scottish shore. There the original film ended, but the Warners executives, although liking the film, wanted a more upbeat ending. Couldn’t the hero go back to Scotland and find happiness, you know, like in Brigadoon? They even offered money for a reshoot to provide a happy wrapup. Forsyth didn’t want that, of course, but he had less than a day to find an ending.

The movie makes a running gag of the red phone booth through which Mac communicates with Houston. Forsyth remembered that he had a tail-end of a long shot of the town, with the booth standing out sharply. He had just enough footage for a fairly lengthy shot. So he decided to end the film with that image, and he simply added the sound of the phone ringing.

With this ending, the audience gets to be smart and hopeful. We realize that our displaced local hero is phoning the town he loves, and perhaps he will announce his return. This final grace note provides a lilt that the grim ending would not. Sometimes, you want to thank the suits—not for their bloody-mindedness, but for the occasions when their formulaic demands give the filmmaker a chance to rediscover fresh and felicitous possibilities in the material.

[–] aciolino 15 years ago

Amazing thread. Gratifying to know that so many others have been touched by this film and in no small way specifically because of the last scene.

I agree that it is one of the finest endings of all times, certainly among my favorites. My take on its meaning is a bit different than the OP and some others I've read but. . .

First, let me tell you how lucky I was that I actually had dinner with my hero, Peter Riegert, one night about six years ago, here in NYC. It was very informal, in fact, he was told to be prepared to meet a "Local Hero freak." It was just four people two gals and me and Mac, having dinner. Unbelieveable. He is a gem of a guy. He was funny, polite, informative and extremely friendly to a complete stranger.

Regarding the last scene: he said that Forsythe directed that scene telling him not to convey anything! I was shocked as I believed I had it figured out to the letter. Mac returns. He enters his apartment and he LOOKS as if he is looking for something. He goes to the fridge and LOOKS INSIDE--he's searching--somethings missing, something's wrong...he reaches into his pocket and begins to divest himself of shells... he pins us photos...he goes to the balcony to see...what?

Has he had a metamorphosis? I think yes and no. He is changed. But back in Houston he will quickly revert to his "true" nature. It is his environment, that which he knows best. Remember, he's not a Scotsman nor a Texan. Had he stayed in Scotland, or gone back, he would have eventually felt terribly out of place, in either place.

This is the tragedy of Mac -- that he belongs, sadly, no where.

Not at home in his home, and a stranger elsewhere he will continue to live out his life in confused isolation, occasionally longing for that warmth and comfort he felt in Verness, which with time, begins to fade.

But my friend Peter, while not disagreeing at all said that the scene was filmed BEFORE they even left for Scotland! What to make of that I still don't know.

Anyway, that's how I see it!

Great post.

Strange times, Archie, strange times. . .

PS - I don't like to interpret the ringing of the phone box in a literal way. Too simplistic, too banal. If Forsythe (and this film) is anything he/it is subtle, symbolic, allusory. I have felt, since my first viewing in 1984, that the phone ringing at the end of the film symbolic of Mac's soul, which, from very far away is calling out, crying, perhaps singing as well, to the place where it once felt freedom, comfort, and "home," for the first time.