MovieChat Forums > Spiral (2007) Discussion > a couple of things I don't understand...

a couple of things I don't understand...

posted 17 years ago by snowicki-1
9 replies | jump to latest

... about the ending (spoilers!)

1) Berkely tells Mason that his father was a murderer, and odds something like, "I wish they would have fried him back then." What does Berkeley know about Mason's father? What explains Berkely's protective relationship towards Mason? Did Berkely have something to do with Mason's father's death? It was all unclear; it went by too fast.

2) What was on the final page of the sketches of Mason? Why was Mason killing these girls (whether they were real or made up) in the first place? I'm not saying I have to know everything, but the movie should give SOME indication of why he's prone to sketching and then murdering young women (again, some of whom are real and some imaginary)

Anyone know? Did I miss something(s)?

[–] nimbus8 17 years ago

Okay.

Both of your questions pertain to things that are implied rather than shown. With the few words that Berkeley has in that denouement, we can surmise that he and Mason go way back. Berkeley kinda took him under his wing because of what happened -- the murder of Mason's mother by his father. Too many details would have slowed down the ending (and this flick is already slow enough).

Nor do we need to see what's on the other side of that door. I thought it was a rather nice touch that they didn't show that. As for why he kills, I think the final scene with Amber pretty much showed that. Things just go wrong. Someone else suggested that so many girls wouldn't agree to being painted in the first place, so I think it's likely they were imaginary. And remember, the other paintings were also imaginary.

I'm frustrated by this movie because it showed moments of brilliance, but it was poorly structured. I was well over half an hour into it, and it still didn't seem to be going anywhere. SPIRAL is a perfect example of how a great twist does not necessarily make a great movie.

[–] snowicki-1 17 years ago

Thanks, nimbus. I missed the bit about his father killing his mother. Again, I think that all went by too fast. Regarding his reason for killing, however, I don't find "things just go wrong" to be an adequate explanation. I understand him getting disappointed with the girls, and I understand him being a control freak (not wanting any input from Amber about how to pose, etc.) but it's hardly self-evident how that leads him to commit violence. In general, Mason doesn't seem like a violent guy-- just very disturbed. I think that this omission/lack of explanation regarding Mason's character is a major flaw in a movie that I otherwise enjoyed.

And, by the way, I didn't think the movie was slow. It's not fast-paced, but it is very intense. And I did like the double-twist at the end; I suspected all along that Amber wasn't real, so it was neat that she turned out to be real after all. (I also wondered if Mason and Berkely could be the same person, like with Norton and Pitt in FIGHT CLUB).

[–] Creighton_Duke 17 years ago

I, also, was expecting a Fight Club style twist to show up because, other than Christmas dinner near the end of the film, I don't remember scenes where we saw Mason & Berkley that involved a third party.

And I think what Nimbus is trying to say, which is kind of how I felt, is that: Because Mason is such a control freak, when things begin to go wrong he can't handle it and everything "spirals" out of control. I'm not sure if that's what Green/Moore had in mind when they came up with the title but I thought I'd use it anyway. Back to the point...I think that the only way Mason can regain control is to eliminate the powers that are causing him to LOSE control. This means killing the girls. One could even look at his use of an inhaler as allegory for the murders. When he can't control a situation, he turns to it like an addict.

I may be just talking out of my rear-end here but it made sense to ME.

Peace

[–] Notamoviebuff 17 years ago

wow snowicki I never thought of that and I think you uncovered a very good point...maybe Berkely and Mason WERE the same person....hmmmm Great summation!

All of you are hitting it right on the head, it's like we were making the same comments you all have made while watching the movie.

"Effie we all got pain!"

[–] DaliParton 17 years ago

What was on the final page of the sketches of Mason?

I think the final sketch was a death scene. Amber's reaction to finally seeing the sketch is to try to get the hell out of there as fast as possible. That reaction indicates to me that the sketch was of something pretty freaky.

Furthermore, the implication is that, just like all the other poses, whatever is in the last sketch is the same for all previous girls - imaginary or real, and that Mason always kills them at that same point in their relationship.

So, I disagree with the "spiral out of control" analysis, I think it is the exact reverse - Mason re-enacts the same exact sequence of events over and over again always culminating in the death of the woman. He probably started out with imaginary women, thus Berkely's belief that they are ALL imaginary. But the director showed us that the woman prior to Amber was also real - remember the scene in the rain when Mason drags a 'body bag' down the stairs.

I watched the movie drunk on rum and diet dew and am posting drunk too, so the best I can do under the influence to explain the 'spiral' reference is liken it to a whirlpool, sort of like the Japanese movie of the same name (Spiral/Uzumaki) going around and around and slowly sucking people into the center to drown (Mason being the center of the whirlpool).

[–] InsecureNeuroticControlFreak 17 years ago

I don't like the idea that Mason wanted to kill the girls. It obvious he didn't want to kill Amber.

[–] DaliParton 17 years ago

I don't like the idea that Mason wanted to kill the girls. It obvious he didn't want to kill Amber.

Yet he DID kill her. Obviously he's *beep* up.

[–] EA62187-1 17 years ago

It should be fairly obvious it was called Spiral because Mason used spiral sketchbooks.

[–] 17 years ago

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