Was Joker Just A Dream? & 9 Ambiguous Movie Endings We’re Still Questioning

From Joker to Inception, some of the most famous movies ended with more questions than anyone could’ve expected.

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Theending is obviously one of the most critical elements of a good movie. It is the final impression to leave audiences with and can make or break the experiences. While a happy ending is always pleasant, some viewers like a surprise ending, or even a downer ending if appropriate.

However, some great films can also get away with an ambiguous ending. These finales leave the audiences scratching their heads and asking all sorts of questions without feeling cheated. These kinds of endings are open to interpretations with interesting possibilities for what it could mean. And a good ambiguous ending will have audiences questioning it for years to come.

10 Will Mildred & Dixon Really Kill Someone? (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a pitch-black comedy about how anger can eat away at a person. Frances McDormand plays Mildred Hayes, who puts up billboards in her small town calling out the police who have failed to solve the murder of her daughter.

After one suspect is cleared of the crime, Mildred and a racist cop seeking redemption decide he is clearly guilty of something. The film ends as they head out on the road to find and kill the man, though neither of them is sure this is what they want. They simply decide they’ll make their minds up on the way.

9 Was Quaid’s Adventure Just What He Ordered At Rekall? (Total Recall)

Audiences don’t expect an Arnold Schwarzenegger action film to have an ambiguous ending, which is why some people might have missed it in Total Recall. Schwarzenegger plays Quaid, who gives the Rekall fake memory adventure a try. He orders the experience in which he is a secret agent who must save the world.

The simulator seems to inadvertently unlock his memories that reveal he is actually a special operative named Hauser, whose memories were suppressed so that he could infiltrate the resistance forces on Mars. While he eventually saves the day, the film ends with Quaid (who chose to leave the Hauser identity) wondering if the whole adventure was really just the simulation he asked for.

8 Did Detective Loki Save Keller? (Prisoners)

The thriller Prisoners stars Hugh Jackman as Keller Dover, a man who takes extreme measures to find his missing daughter and the determined detective who is searching for her. The father eventually tracks down the kidnapper but is trapped in an underground cage where he finds his daughter’s whistle.

Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) eventually finds the kidnapper and kills them before they can kill the daughter. Days later, the detective is finishing up work at the crime scene when he hears a faint whistling. The film ends before revealing if Keller is rescued or otherwise.

7 Did Oh Dae-Su Really Forget About Mi-Do? (Oldboy)

After being imprisoned for over a decade, a relatively normal man named Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) is released by his mysterious captors without explanation. With his family and life gone, he sets out to find those responsible. Oh Dae-su eventually discovers it was an elaborate revenge scheme orchestrated by Lee Woo-jin (Yoo Ji-tae), who blames him for his sister’s suicide.

Lee Woo-jin explains he manipulated everything and the young woman Dae-su fell in love with, Mi-d0 (Kang Hye-jung), is actually his long-lost daughter. Unable to handle the revelation, he cuts his tongue out and has this specific truth erased via hypnotism so he and Mi-Do could remain happy. The final scenes shows the two reuniting, with Mi-do declaring her love for him. Oh Dae-su smiles manically before his expression turns to pain, leaving audiences guessing if he still remembers the truth or not.

6 Did Patrick Bateman Imagine His Murder Spree? (American Psycho)

In American Psycho, Christian Bale plays Patrick Bateman, a successful investment banker who moonlights as a deranged serial killer. The film follows him as his crimes get bolder and bolder and soon spirals out of control.

After leaving a confession with his lawyer, Patrick expects his whole world to come crumbling down. However, his lawyer laughs off the admission as a joke while also suggesting one of his supposed victims is still alive. The film ends with the lingering question of whether Patrick got away with the crimes or if he just imagined it all.

5 Is The Game Really Over? (The Game)

Though one of David Fincher’s less popular films, The Game is still a gripping thriller. Michael Douglas stars as a work-obsessed professional who is given a gift of an elaborate interactive game by his brother as a birthday present.

As things begin spiraling out of control, it appears as though the game is actually a part of a vast conspiracy run by dangerous people. However, as he reaches his breaking point, it is revealed to really be a game designed to make him enjoy life. But the final moments of the film suggest he might still be inside the game.

4 Is Cobb Still In A Dream? (Inception)

Christopher Nolan is known for his mind-bending films, but Inception is the most insane of them all. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a master thief who enters people’s dreams to steal their ideas. After undertaking one final mission, he is promised he can return home to reunite with his children.

After the job is down, Cobb goes home and spins a top he uses as a totem to tell if he’s dreaming or not. If the top tumbles, then it is reality. If it keeps spinning, he is still in the dream. Cobb walks away while the top keeps spinning and the film cuts to black without revealing if Cobb really did make it home.

3 Did Teddy Daniels’ Therapy Really Fail? (Shutter Island)

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in another thriller where the ending isn’t so clear. In Shutter Island, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) goes to a mental institution where an inmate has disappeared. While he searches for the inmate, he begins to suspect that those in charge of the hospital are trying to imprison him there.

Eventually, it is revealed Teddy is actually an inmate of the institution, having killed his wife and the missing person’s case was an effort to have Teddy confront his delusions and avoid being lobotomized. Unfortunately, he seems determined to believe his delusions. In the end, it is unclear if the experiment really failed or if Teddy is pretending it did because he would prefer to be lobotomized than live with the truth that he killed his wife.

2 Are MacReady & Childs Human? (The Thing)

John Carpenter’s The Thing is one of the best horror films of all time. It takes place in an isolated arctic research facility where the small crew is being hunted by a deadly alien. The alien has the ability to take the form of its victims which makes it hard to trust anyone.

As most of the crew is picked off, the hero MacReady seemingly blows up the alien. He then finds there was one other survivor, Childs. As the two men wait for rescue that may or may not arrive, neither MacReady nor the audience is sure if Childs is really human. And for that matter, no one’s really sure if MacReady himself is human.

1 Was Arthur Fleck Just Joking? (Joker)

One of the most talked-about films of last year was Todd Philips’ Joker, largely because of the much-debated ending. The film follows the downward spiral of Arthur Fleck, a wannabe stand-up comedian whose violent breakdown inadvertently inspires the city of Gotham to revolt.

The film ends with Arthur going on a murder spree on live TV before being arrested. But on his way to prison, he is freed by the angry mob who cheer him on as a hero. The film then cuts to Arthur in a mental institution, laughing at the story he just told. Some think Arthur was recounting the events of the film (which he now finds funny) while others think everything was just an elaborate joke inside Joker’s head.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/dc-joker-ambiguous-movie-ending-questions/