Happily ever after doesn't cut it

[So far a day without a single word spoken to anyone. Continuing on the topic of unfettering, thinking about story endings.]

Once upon a time in a land far away people went to the cinema in a way very unlike how we do here today. I was a kid then and I believe it has significantly affected the way I consume films and who knows what else. I remember, it wasn't too important to get to the cinema on time. I and a big person would walk into the theater quietly during the middle of a movie and would often have to stand in the back because the seats were over sold. After the film finished it would almost immediately start to play again from the beginning. We would stay until the part we started with, then leave. The end of the viewing experience happens to be where we started off - not the story ending.

If I were a filmmaker this would probably upset me. Because it seems that a lot of what makes story telling, especially on film, a challenging task is having to deal with a format required to have a story beginning and ending - in that order. Having to suspend our belief with realism shoved into this capsule is difficult enough. And for the viewer to completely disregard this is not so nice. I would argue though that my mis-use of the cinema is a way to escape the artificiality which often the filmmaker is unable to overcome.

In real life, we have no experiences of story endings. Life continues on after the break up, the make up, the rescue, the reunification, the winning the girl, etc. Happily ever after doesn't cut it. Quite often, the designed story ending abruptly pulls us into the disappointing reminder that box-office sales is what drives it (ex. Garden State). The belief is that the mainstream just don't tell their friends to go see a film if they feel all weird in the end. Sadly, most prefer a vanilla feel-good closure. I just don't and I am in the minority.

Not having a feel-good ending doesn't preclude success (ex. Lost in Translation). It helps us mature, move past the children's storybooks we were trained with. Perhaps one day we as the audience will be able to choose alternative story paths. Of course this must be handled carefully, as it could compromise the integrity of the film itself. For now, I'll continue to try and make it to the cinema on time. However, I will still make the effort to leave at least five minutes before the end in order to save the film.

[Note: secretly make a deal with directors to provide subtle signals on the good ending, warning us before it is followed up by the feel-good hollywood happy ending.]