It has them. Discuss.
-Vader
I'll begin with this: the last ten minutes should be cut. They shouldn't exist. They lack purpose, and distract from, deafen, and limit the poetry of the third act. Were the script the product of a screenwriting class, any teacher worth his salt would write a series of huge red Xs over the last few pages of the screenplay. Cooper's arc is the following: win his daughter's affection and forgiveness, save the world, and self-actualize his potential. Murphy's arc is this: forgive her father, let go of anger and rage, and, also, to save the world. Each character has specific methods of doing this, but the broad purpose is the same. The film's central problem, directly interconnected to the two main characters, is saving humanity. All of the above are satisfied prior to Cooper waking up in the hospital. By using the narrative, thematic, and poetic device of the tesseract bookshelf, together Cooper and Murphy save the world. Together. They even share a figurative, semi-literal, reunion. Every narrative and thematic throughline throughout the entire film is beautifully interwoven into one mind-bending sequence, so, why go on?
I propose the film should have cut with Cooper drifting in space, recognizing the space station by Saturn. It's there he realizes what he's done has worked, and we're left to wonder mankind's future. This conclusion works on several levels. The reunion is no longer Hollywood hamfistery that literalizes a lyrical cinematic moment into sappy sentimentality. When Cooper meets his daugher, it's moving, but gratuitous and redundant. Additionally, Cooper's fate is left ambiguous, as is humanity's fate. We see the space station—obviously on some level the plan has worked—but we're called upon our own optimism, our own sense of discovery, our own ability to reach fer the starrzzz, to believe humanity's future has been saved. The ending seems bizarrely self defeating and it's not like Nolan to be so literal, which is why I wasn't surprised when I learned it's the ending of Jonah's original draft. Don't get me wrong, I get it. Adam and Eve with Brand and Cooper, Cooper's last final adventure and his sense of discovery is preserved. I understand these things, but they're unnecessary. Interstellar comes full circle, but it's ten minutes before the credits hit.
I propose the film should have cut with Cooper drifting in space, recognizing the space station by Saturn. It's there he realizes what he's done has worked, and we're left to wonder mankind's future. This conclusion works on several levels. The reunion is no longer Hollywood hamfistery that literalizes a lyrical cinematic moment into sappy sentimentality. When Cooper meets his daugher, it's moving, but gratuitous and redundant. Additionally, Cooper's fate is left ambiguous, as is humanity's fate. We see the space station—obviously on some level the plan has worked—but we're called upon our own optimism, our own sense of discovery, our own ability to reach fer the starrzzz, to believe humanity's future has been saved. The ending seems bizarrely self defeating and it's not like Nolan to be so literal, which is why I wasn't surprised when I learned it's the ending of Jonah's original draft. Don't get me wrong, I get it. Adam and Eve with Brand and Cooper, Cooper's last final adventure and his sense of discovery is preserved. I understand these things, but they're unnecessary. Interstellar comes full circle, but it's ten minutes before the credits hit.
-Vader
Last edited by Vader182 on November 7th, 2014, 5:43 am, edited 1 time in total.