I really thought it was odd that Bill and Alice are in a crowded toy store in NYC and are having a conversation and the daughter wanders off and they speak to each other for a while and neither of them are concerned where Helena is? First time i saw EWS i thought the Helena wandered off and was kidnapped by the secret society.
shareIt is very odd. Though one could argue that Kubrick was so determined in the closing words that it was a must that the kid not be around to hear the language used. So if that were the case it was a necessary oddity, one that he was hoping no one would notice or care about.
On the other hand, I remember seeing a video commentary that suggested there was an older man hovering around their daughter and could be seen escorting her away.
I personally don't buy that, but who knows?
The 2 older men are seen earlier at the party (zieglers party, not the masked ball). There is a strange connection and it does seem like she is going with them.
shareI just pulled up the closing scene and watched it a few times.
Some comments suggest the "girl is being led away" by the two older men but I don't see that. Perhaps symbolically, maybe.
The mother is running her fingers through her daughters hair as the kid walks away from her to roam a toy store, as kids are wont to do. Their daughter looks back at them, but nothing unusual about that. I just don't see anything nefarious in that scene.
Not suggesting that it isn't possible that Kubrick wasn't filming it in such a way as to suggest other, deeper, meanings and intent. But again, I'm not seeing it in that scene alone. The closing scene appears focused on the final conversation between the two adults, the kid does not appear to be a major player. I could be wrong.
I've seen the movie dozens of times but I don't get that from the end. It's possible he intended that on a subliminal or ambiguous level, but they seem uninterested in her to the point I would call it a coincidence. I feel if he wanted to make it more overt he'd have them usher her off with them more directly, because most of the audience wouldn't even catch that in 1999 unless freeze framing the VCR so why not.
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