What is your interpretation of the ending? SPOILERS AHEAD

Christopher Nolan's 2014 grand scale science-fiction story about time and space, and the things that transcend them.
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When Cooper does the journey through the White Hole, has the equivalent of a Near Death Experience, and becomes a ghostly presence in the past (in front of his daughter) -- did any of that ring false to you?

I did not get any feeling that Cooper's transformation will do anything to help out Earth (either to recover or to ferry people to one of the exoplanets). Or did I miss something?
Last edited by DoubleD on November 5th, 2014, 4:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Use spoiler tags for Christ sake.

leo
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Clark4824 wrote:
When Cooper does the journey through the White Hole, has the equivalent of a Near Death Experience, and becomes a ghostly presence in the past (in front of his daughter) -- did any of that ring false to you?

I did not get any feeling that Cooper's transformation will do anything to help out Earth (either to recover or to ferry people to one of the exoplanets). Or did I miss something?
Actually he went behind the event horizon of the black hole . My interpretation is really straightforward: he didn't die, and he actually managed to communicate with his daughter in the past while he was inside the black hole.

Inside the black hole it is explained that time is represented as a physical dimension within it, and that this representation was built by humans in the future who have evolved to live across extra dimensions and who have the ability to interact with time. These humans in the future built the wormhole and at least some of what's inside the black hole in order to bring Cooper and the robot (don't remember which) inside the black hole. The robot was brought in to acquire data about the quantum effects going on inside the black hole, and Cooper to communicate that data back to his daughter, which allowed her to achieve a scientific breakthrough (it is not explicitly stated but that breakthrough would be the unification of the theories of general relativity and quantum mechanics, something that has eluded physicists for a century). During the movie it is said that if we could know what goes on inside the black hole we could finally understand gravity, and we did thanks to Cooper, the robot and Murph. Maybe it is love that allowed Cooper to communicate with his daughter (along with what the humans in the future did), I don't remember exactly I'll have to watch it again.

Then I guess this scientific breakthrough led to technological advancements which enabled humans back on Earth to build the huge space station where Cooper is brought back. The station is a huge rotating cylinder simulating gravity through the centrifugal effect, just like the Endurance was rotating to simulate gravity.

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Clark4824 wrote:
When Cooper does the journey through the White Hole, has the equivalent of a Near Death Experience, and becomes a ghostly presence in the past (in front of his daughter) -- did any of that ring false to you?

I did not get any feeling that Cooper's transformation will do anything to help out Earth (either to recover or to ferry people to one of the exoplanets). Or did I miss something?
http://lestoilesheroiques.fr/2014/11/in ... endre.html
In this french article, they interpret the black hole thing like a "scientific, rational and organized representation" of a near death experience. They compared that with the film of Aronovky The Fountain where it was less "schematic" I would say.

I like this interpretation because I explain the line when Mann insists about seeing their children just before dying but it doens't explain why Nolan insists on "people from the future who opened the black hole" for him.
It's hard for me to have a definite opinion of this. But I can feel the idea, which is the goal here I think :)
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I thought it was pretty straight forward... compared to Nolan's other brain bending movies, Momento, The Prestige, or Inception. Cooper and the robot go into the black hole where the robot figures out gravity and Cooper is able to send the information back to Murph. She is able to solve the gravity equation that the professor had been working on his whole life. With the equation figured out getting mankind off of earth was an easier task. It's left more vague who created the wormhole and who allowed Cooper to see through time and space to see and communicate with Murph. I assumed it was future humans. On my second viewing I realized Cooper is the one who reaches out to Ann Hathaway's character the first time they traveled through the worm hole. The movie is AWESOME in IMAX 15/70

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Okay let's get talking!
Thoughts on the final moments with Cooper leaving to find Brand on the planet?

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Rodney Johnson wrote:
I thought it was pretty straight forward... compared to Nolan's other brain bending movies, Momento, The Prestige, or Inception. Cooper and the robot go into the black hole where the robot figures out gravity and Cooper is able to send the information back to Murph. She is able to solve the gravity equation that the professor had been working on his whole life. With the equation figured out getting mankind off of earth was an easier task. It's left more vague who created the wormhole and who allowed Cooper to see through time and space to see and communicate with Murph. I assumed it was future humans. On my second viewing I realized Cooper is the one who reaches out to Ann Hathaway's character the first time they traveled through the worm hole. The movie is AWESOME in IMAX 15/70
my question is.. How did the info he sent back to murph help her propel mankind into space? I understand that his and TARS data helps future humans create wormholes and black holes .. But how exactly did it serve Murph, and in turn, how did Murph use it to serve mankind? What am I missing? Why couldn't murph do all she did without the ticking watch, and then how in the fuck did they find cooper floating near the original wormhole near saturn?

i guess that in essence my question is: Michael Caine needed the X-factor/data stuff to link relativity with quantum mechanics... which was impossible to do, until Coop and TARS went past the event horizon... TARS sends coop the data in morse code.. coop morses that data to Murph.. who then links Caine's equations and stuff and thus saves the human race... but how does that save the human race? what purpose did her linking quantum mechanics and relativity serve?

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I'm a John G wrote:
Rodney Johnson wrote:
I thought it was pretty straight forward... compared to Nolan's other brain bending movies, Momento, The Prestige, or Inception. Cooper and the robot go into the black hole where the robot figures out gravity and Cooper is able to send the information back to Murph. She is able to solve the gravity equation that the professor had been working on his whole life. With the equation figured out getting mankind off of earth was an easier task. It's left more vague who created the wormhole and who allowed Cooper to see through time and space to see and communicate with Murph. I assumed it was future humans. On my second viewing I realized Cooper is the one who reaches out to Ann Hathaway's character the first time they traveled through the worm hole. The movie is AWESOME in IMAX 15/70
my question is.. How did the info he sent back to murph help her propel mankind into space? I understand that his and TARS data helps future humans create wormholes and black holes .. But how exactly did it serve Murph, and in turn, how did Murph use it to serve mankind? What am I missing? Why couldn't murph do all she did without the ticking watch, and then how in the fuck did they find cooper floating near the original wormhole near saturn?
The professor had only half of the gravity equation figured out. To get the other half solved someone would need to go into a black hole. Cooper and the robot went in gathered the data and then sent that info back to Murph via the watch. Once she was able to figure out the gravity equitation it became possible for mankind to leave earth. How Cooper ended up back at Saturn and got picked up... I don't know if there is an answer to that...

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Rodney Johnson wrote:
I'm a John G wrote:
Rodney Johnson wrote:
I thought it was pretty straight forward... compared to Nolan's other brain bending movies, Momento, The Prestige, or Inception. Cooper and the robot go into the black hole where the robot figures out gravity and Cooper is able to send the information back to Murph. She is able to solve the gravity equation that the professor had been working on his whole life. With the equation figured out getting mankind off of earth was an easier task. It's left more vague who created the wormhole and who allowed Cooper to see through time and space to see and communicate with Murph. I assumed it was future humans. On my second viewing I realized Cooper is the one who reaches out to Ann Hathaway's character the first time they traveled through the worm hole. The movie is AWESOME in IMAX 15/70
my question is.. How did the info he sent back to murph help her propel mankind into space? I understand that his and TARS data helps future humans create wormholes and black holes .. But how exactly did it serve Murph, and in turn, how did Murph use it to serve mankind? What am I missing? Why couldn't murph do all she did without the ticking watch, and then how in the fuck did they find cooper floating near the original wormhole near saturn?
The professor had only half of the gravity equation figured out. To get the other half solved someone would need to go into a black hole. Cooper and the robot went in gathered the data and then sent that info back to Murph via the watch. Once she was able to figure out the gravity equitation it became possible for mankind to leave earth. How Cooper ended up back at Saturn and got picked up... I don't know if there is an answer to that...
i understand all that, but it doesn't answer my question. i bolded what really confuses me.
"once she was able to figure out the gravity equation, it became possible for mankind to leave earth" -- HOW?? what did her knowing the equation change? how did her knowing the 2nd half of the equation help her make it possible for mankind to leave earth? i understand there was probably 50-90 years of "work" done by her given the equation, but what did the equation do for her exactly? did it perfect that huge Plan A ship? don't think so. did it help her get Plan A ship to the new planet?

and speaking of the new planet, they don't know that Brand's planet is perfect for them yet. i guess thats part of why Cooper goes to rescue her from there. on one hand its a rescue mission, but on the other they will be able to happily report to the new space-earth that their new home is within range

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And what about Cooper's son?
The end of the movie focuses on Murph and Cooper but why is the son completely missing from the last act? Not a mention, not a word about him...it unfortunately suggests that Cooper doesn't care anymore about him and I don't understand it.
Even if his son has become a bit of a selfish asshole (which Cooper doesn't know anyway), he is still his child... Cooper should have asked about him. Ok we can assume that the son passed away but I think a father has to be sure of that.
Am I wrong? What do you think
about this absence?
Last edited by Chris on November 5th, 2014, 8:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Chris wrote:And what about Cooper's son?
The end of the movie focuses on Murph and Cooper but why is the son completely missing from the last act? Not a mention, not a word about him...it unfortunately suggests that Cooper doesn't care anymore about him and I don't understand it.
Even if his son has become a bit of a selfish asshole (which Cooper doesn't know anyway), he is still his child... he should have asked about him. Ok we can assume that the son passed away but I think a father has to be sure of that.
Am I wrong? What do you think
about this absence?
He's long dead dude.

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