I viewed this film twice. It was exceptional. My question is about the ending. Is the "boy" truly psychotic? Has he been faking his psychosis? Has he returned to a normal "child?" Is the "boy" going to burn down the house with the unsuspecting couple inside? Or is this just a "happy ending." Thank you.
I think the boy is crazy. And it is clear where he gets it from. Pretty sure he was faking. I think we were meant to believe his mother was poisoning him too, until the ending. He was putting on the raven glove claw at the very end.
He wasn't mentally challenged, as the mother had portrayed him; he didn't have autism or anything else of the sort. In my opinion he probably would have had a relatively normal life if his mother hadn't been out of her mind. He mentions her stalking people and using him as "Mikey" (i.e. the slow child) as a way of getting things she wanted. She poisoned people so she could look after them and most likely was abusive to him in other ways too. This upbringing would mess anyone up, and if he already had some issues, her treatment of him and the way she lived her life and what she taught him probably didn't help. Was he evil or psychotic or was he simply shaped into who he was by his mother? Not sure, either could be plausible. But he was the one that wrote the notes, and he was most likely the one who killed the real estate agent. The burning the house down sentence was tied in with what he would do if his mother tried to convince anyone of what he had done, that he'd been in on everything and that he'd faked being autistic (or whatever).
His turning on her really didn't make much sense either. I mean what was the point? He now goes to live with these people who are poor, why? There didn't seem to be much in it for him.
Not being offensive or anything but... You watched this twice ( firstly, Kudos on that - once was too much for me) and you still can't figure out the ending??
Nothing is Black and White. Even Black and White are only extreme shades of Grey.