MovieChat Forums > Take This Waltz (2012) Discussion > Devastating final scenes -- brilliant, s...

Devastating final scenes -- brilliant, smart movie

posted 12 years ago by RTprod
30 replies | jump to latest

The negative notices from posters for this film are ridiculous. This is an intelligent, deeply felt movie that is so true to life, with such honest performances.

The final scenes are knockouts -- the movie doesn't reveal its true intentions and meanings until the last shot, really, which is a killer.

Michelle Williams turns in yet ANOTHER brilliant performance -- the girl is so funny and unpredictable and wears her emotions all over her face, and can access them all.

The film gradually grows in power until her character's process and disillusionment is clear. The movie has a message, all right, but not the one we think it's going to have.

Very smart, very sensitive movie.

I am free. But life is so cheap.

[–] acploof 12 years ago

I loved the ending symbolism. I'm surprised at how so many people are missing it.

[–] thenewleafer 12 years ago

what was the ending symbolism?

[–] MovieHobbit 12 years ago

That she's all alone in this crazy ride of life -- she leaves a stable married life for what she thought was missing --- and she is going back in circles of her own dysfunctionality. She is on a lonely ride by her choice.

[–] bimsie99 12 years ago

Thank you.This is exactly what I took from the film.That smile at the end reminded me of the smile Mia Farrow gave as she was singing "Cheek to Cheek" at the end of The Purple Rose Of Cairo.I loved Take This Waltz.And sometimes the moxt unexpected person(Sarah Silverman)says the most truthful things.

"1)There is a God,and 2)Im not him."

[–] lubin-freddy 11 years ago

The only difference was that Mia Farrow's character was escaping a bad relationship, and forced back by the cruelty of reality.

Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul

[–] Theodor_Birch 10 years ago

I kept waiting for the very last shot being the music stopping and the ride standing still. To show the end of the ride, and the moment when she realizes that happines never lasts... But I guess that scene was implied.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (36957384) 12 years ago

I agree, OP. I loved everything about this movie including the music and the location and all the things you mentioned.

[–] dealey52 12 years ago

Very true! I was pissed until the last scenes because I thought the writer was going to let her "skate". She ran right in to karma of her own making!

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 12 years ago

I agree for the most part, except that I do think the intentions were strongly hinted at earlier, most notably in the shower scene when the younger women were talking about craving the excitement of a new relationship, and one of the older women cautioned them that "new gets old". That was like a Chekhov's gun moment there.

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See a list of my favourite films here: http://www.flickchart.com/slackerinc

[–] Danusha_Goska 12 years ago

"That was like a Chekhov's gun moment there. "

Wasn't Chekhov's gun moment the opening scene where the adulterer was publicly whipped?

http://www.amazon.com/Save-Send-Delete-Danusha-Goska/dp/1846949866

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 12 years ago

Ha, that was foreshadowing for sure, in a way. I had forgotten about that, good call. But I don't know if she faced social shaming so much as learning about "the new becomes old". Her ex-sister-in-law sort of denounced her, but this was as she was the one being led away by police, so not sure how much moral authority she had.

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See a list of my favourite films here: http://www.flickchart.com/slackerinc

[–] blackirish26 11 years ago

I don't think we should be so quick to dismiss the sister-in-law just because she was being led away by the police at the end. She picked up on what was going on between Margot and Daniel immediately when they were in the pool and she noticed Daniel sitting in the bleachers, watching. She then subtly tried to warn to Margot against continuing with Daniel when they were all in the showers with the older ladies. When Lou invited Daniel over to her sobriety party, I saw that she took immediate notice that Daniel was there; she knew what was happening in ways that the other characters didn't. I would also like to point out that the sister-in-law didn't try to blame anyone else for her drinking problem. ("I'm an alcoholic. This is my natural state.") The sister-in-law definitely had her flaws but she seemed to be the most clear-eyed character in the film. (One can say that a self-destructive person can sense that trait in others in order to explain her level of insight.)

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] zooymtoo 12 years ago

Yes, I agree. But there was a hint at the end that she was finally "getting it"..She begin to smile on her own as if she realized she could still enjoy the ride on her own. She didn't have to have someone sitting by her.

[–] johnm-dalton 12 years ago

I totally disagree. The movie isn't about her learning to be able to "enjoy the ride on her own". She leaves a safe, stable, comfortable relationship for the excitement this new stud will bring her. In the end, the excitement wears off, and she regrets having left Lou. The smile there comes from her trying to recapture a moment with Daniel that is gone forever.

It is quite a sad movie. The only hope is that she had learned her lesson and can find another Lou. Or get Lou to take her back.

[–] PlanktonsComputerWife 12 years ago

I totally agree with this, and yes this movie is very sad.

[–] noveltylibrary 11 years ago

Totally agree, the point was she was on her own, and happy. She was restless before as Daniel said, "and not just with him".

[–] ChrisNgu 12 years ago

Especially the lighthouse scene and the keening score accompanying it.

Don't know why this is classified as comedy. It's not.

[–] Franco_Zed 11 years ago

"Don't know why this is classified as comedy. It's not."

That's fer sure. This movie is like -- someone murdered a romcom and dumped the corpse on your lawn.

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All insults will be interpreted as an admission that you cannot contribute to the discussion.

[–] lubin-freddy 11 years ago

I disagree with those who see the ending as optimistic, as if her smile came from something she learned, that she'd use in going forward (as some stated). It was forced, and came from hiding her sadness. Of course, any interpretation of her smile, as mostly any emotion shown by actors in a film, is a projection of the viewer (unless the director is heavily manipulative, which Polley is not), but the "sad ending" read seems to be more in line with what the film seems to be saying.

Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul

[–] Zanchief 11 years ago

Her explanation in the plane is the key to that scene. She says she's afraid of being in the middle of two places all alone. She's afraid of being alone, which is why she finds comfort with another man when things aren't going so well. In the end she finally faces her fears and in doing so conquers them. The movie isn't about judging or shaming her because she's an adulterer. It's about her learning from her mistakes, and her conquering her fears, which she needed to do. Had she never done that and stayed with Lou she may have always regretted and resented him for it.

The person who mentioned The Purple Rose of Cairo has a point, but both movies are very different. I don't think Cecilia learns anything from what happened. She just escapes into the fantasy (which the entire movie is a metaphor for). The Purple Rose of Cairo is a love letter of cinema. I don't think it involves any introspection. Both movies end with strikingly similar scenes though.

[–] ramonalejandrosuarez 11 years ago

I don't think Margot's learned anything about embracing her loneliness. The reason she goes back to the amusement ride is to recapture the magic which made her happy with Daniel the first time they 'fell in love'. If anything, the ending has shown that she's finally made her compromise and will stay in a passionless relationship, settling for the chance to occasionally relive the time when it was good (like at the amusement ride).

[–] Zanchief 11 years ago

I think that's why she goes there, to recapture the magic, but only then does she confront her greatest fear.

[–] FliptFlopt 11 years ago

I think the final scene is purposefully left up to interpretation, but I definitely didn't see their initial ride at the amusement park as the first time they fell in love. That was one of the saddest and depressing scenes for me. It felt hollow. Like she had forced this 'fun time' on him that was fake and when the ride ended it was so awkward and lonely feeling. I thought she enjoyed the ride on her own though. It filled in the gap (or whatever the exact expression Sarah Silverman's character used at the end) and she didn't feel lonely while she was on it. The speed and noise masked it for the moment.

[–] emncaity 11 years ago

Could not agree more. "Brilliant" and "smart" are only the beginning. It's painful, and it's true. It's massively painful, in fact. Real tragedy, like it happens in real life. Just excruciating, if you take marriage seriously, and if you've ever pondered your own mortality vis-a-vis the idea of marriage, or even the reality of marriage. The most worthwhile, thoughtful, meaningful, devastating film I've seen in a long time.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] emncaity 11 years ago

That's about it, alright (except that I would say a lifelong love-and-commitment kind of thing is its own romance -- it's just that you don't get it as long as you're keeping other options open).

You may have seen the posts from streets_behind, specifically the one about Polley's mother. Talk about real poignancy.

[–] BittanyG 11 years ago

Agree fully with emncaity. This is a brutal wonderful romantic sad truthful brilliantly made film about life. Very good. It lingers.