The idea for favorite Closing lines, is far from new, but says as much about personal movie tastes as any other movie list. Comparing openings and closings is an interesting exercise because for openings we often look at the whole scene or sequence, whereas the end of a movie is often summed up by a final line.
While opening lines do exist, and can be quite fantastic, they don’t always sync up with the best opening scenes. Take for example, the opening line in The Departed (“I don’t wanna be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me); awesome line and a great introduction to Frank Costello, but all of the newsreel footage prior doesn’t quite add up to an especially compelling opening. Or what about the opening sequence for There Will Be Blood, an all-time great opener, with no spoken dialogue for the first 15-20 minutes.
What it comes down to is that at the beginning of a movie the viewer is being thrust into a new world, and while an opening line can be golden, we’re trying to take in so much new information at the time that a single line is not necessarily representative of the feeling created by the whole sequence. Particularly since there is more to follow, it’s hard to focus on the opening line. Whereas, a closing line represents the movie’s sign-off. It’s the last bit we’ll hear, and the last images we’ll see on the screen. It causes or represents the feeling we’re left with, which is why the closing line, though smaller than the whole end scene, is often more meaningful. We don’t know we’re watching the last scene in a movie until it ends. Once the final words are uttered, the movie ends and we’re left with our thoughts.
For this list, I wanted to try something slightly different, so I borrowed the Top 10-style that is utilized by Cinefix. If you haven’t watched any content from Cinefix, they’re a fantastic YouTube channel for movie lovers. The way they format their top 10 lists is they come up with 10 archetypes within each list and name their favorite movie in each archetype. For example, their list of best character arcs, has one entry for the best hero’s journey, one entry for a rise-and-fall, one flat arc, and so on. Although this format isn’t perfect for every list someone may want to make, it’s a wonderful way to appreciate the many different varieties of a particular attribute, like character arcs, and it’s also a way to acknowledge more movies, as each category has 3+ honorable mentions.
As an FYI, I went backwards with this list, which may not have been the correct way to do it. I listed out my 30 or so favorite closing lines, selected my 10 favorite, and then retro-fitted all of them into 10 categories. Was this scientifically valid, perhaps not, but hopefully this list does a good job of acknowledging the different types of closing lines, while still explaining why my choices were my choices. There are some entries that could theoretically fall into multiple categories, which is an imperfection I don’t like, but, alas, I’m living with it.
Given that we’re talking about the last lines of movies, SPOILERS of course.
To the list!
10). Category: Noir
There are many definitions and versions of noir stories that can range from happily cynical to utterly depressing. Film noir is defined as “a film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace.” I will add that this is usually surrounding some sort of crime and corruption. Another interesting aspect of noir comes from another great YouTube channel, Jack’s Movie Reviews, in which Jack notes that film noir often shows a corruption of the American dream. This allows for many possibilities for how a final line can hit us.
The final line in There Will Be Blood wraps up the story of a ruthless, misanthrope who achieves the American dream, but still feels empty. Sunset Boulevard’s finale plays like a fever dream showing us a delusional woman, seemingly unaware that she just killed off our disillusioned hero. In a Lonely Place’s final line is tragically romantic, quoting a line Humphrey Bogart’s character wrote earlier in the movie. But, in a sentimental way, I have to give this spot to the final line from L.A. Confidential.
“Some men get the world, others gets ex-hookers and a trip to Arizona.”
The line is said playfully by the not-quite-femme fatale, Lynn Bracken (Kim Basinger). Our hero cops (Exley and White) have just survived a shootout with a corrupt group of officers, and the more politically-minded Exley has made a deal with his superiors (and a councilman) to help shape the narrative of what happened, which includes branding the lead villain, corrupt LAPD Captain Dudley Smith, as a slain hero. This is the tragic beauty of noir movies; despite overcoming some police corruption, the system is still rigged and the public won’t know the truth.
Exley figures out how to leverage more for himself, and makes his less-than-moral deal with the city. The other officer, Bud White, just heads to Arizona with the woman (ex-hooker) he loves. The final line is happy, with an undercurrent of corruption, which is a perfect, lovably noir sign-off.
I’ll just say ahead of time that my #1 closing line is also from a noir movie, but, it leaves the viewer with an entirely different feeling.
9). Category: Back to where we started
In addition to summarizing a plot element or a mood (like noir), the closing line can provide the finishing touches on the main character’s arc and the story’s theme. “Back to where we started” is a fun riff on a flat arc character.
Flat arcs are simultaneously overdone and underutilized. They’re common in genre movies where the story isn’t about a character change, but rather plot events like a disaster, or a comedy, or a romance. These are common and can be enjoyable, but the underutilized element is when characters end up exactly where they start despite the events of the story. This arrival back to where we started the movie can be punctuated by the character’s final line.
In A Clockwork Orange, the final line represents all of the different mind control experiments done on Alex, ultimately jolting him back to where he started. In Gone Girl, a final line that could fall in multiple categories, is nearly identical to the opening line, a result of the villain’s manipulation. But the ultimate for me has to go to Memento, which finished up with, “Now, where was I?”
By the movie’s end, we learn more about some of Leonard’s past actions and he reflects about his choice to lie to himself in order to preserve his happiness. It feels like a moment of clarity, if he doesn’t plan on changing, at least he’s acknowledging where he’s at, until…”Now where was I?”
The line is a persistent reminder that no matter how much progress Leonard (an amnesiac) makes, or what he discovers, it’s only a matter of time before he forgets it all and has to start all over again. He’s doomed to repeat this cycle until he dies.
8). Category: Sarcasm
Yes, the sarcastic final line. A favorite in buddy movies or adventure movies between characters with good repartee. One character quips to the other and then the credits roll, leaving the audience with positivity and good vibes.
Butch and Sundance joke around the whole movie, so it only makes sense for Butch to make one last quip before they go out in a blaze of glory. The joke between Brody and Hooper as they paddle to safety at the end of Jaws makes the audience feel relieved after they defeat the shark. But my personal favorite here is Pulp Fiction’s, “I think we should be leaving now. Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
The movie technically ends where it starts, back at the diner, however, it’s now from a much different perspective. After a thrilling standoff between Yolanda, Jules and Vincent, the tension is diffused and everyone walks away happily. Jules has his epiphany and is getting out of the game. Vincent, who died earlier in this nonlinear story, walks off happily, blissfully ignorant to his fate. His understated final line to Jules is a perfectly sarcastic quip to finish off their cool, but relatable banter that has entertained us for much of the movie.
Perhaps Jaws or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are better examples of easing the tension, but those movie mean far less to me than the enjoyable ride that is Pulp Fiction.
7). Category: Acceptance
Our main character may not quite be happy or sad, but they’ve reached a cathartic acceptance of their situation, which is reflected in their semi-hopeful final line. The Narrator accepts the absurdity of his past actions by the end of Fight Club after killing off Tyler Durden. Jim Gordon guides us through accepting that Batman will take the blame for Dent’s crimes in The Dark Knight. But my top choice here goes to Amadeus.
“Mediocrities everywhere…I absolve you. I absolve you. I absolve you. I absolve you. I absolve you all.”
Salieri has been driven mad, lamenting his shortcomings as a composer. After living a religiously devout existence, his bitterness toward God for not endowing him with a greater musical gift drive his jealously evil plan to destroy Mozart, a breathtaking talent inside of a foul man-child.
The whole movie is spent either in the present time, with Salieri lamenting to a priest about his lack of success despite leading a good Christian life, or flashbacks explaining how he killed one of God’s vessel’s (Mozart). And yet through talking about it, so many years later, the final lines allow us to feel good that, although highly flawed, Salieri may be able to live out his days with some semblance of peace.
6). Category: Tension Relief/Catharsis
This is specifically as it relates to a final line that occurs just after a heavy climax. While Amadeus allows us to feel some catharsis that the character has changed internally, this category specifically highlights final lines that just show the character expressing relief.
Think Ripley’s sign-off after defeating the Xenomorph in, Alien. A soldier’s expression after the bridge explodes in The Bridge on the River Kwai. Or even the relief the audience feels at the hanging of Amon Goeth in Schindler’s List. But my favorite here, goes to, surprise, surprise, Halloween.
“It was the bogeyman.”
“As a matter of fact…it was.”
I know, I know. I reference Halloween on nearly every list I make. But I just love how understated and matter-of-fact Dr. Loomis is in his response. This is all about tone and payoff.
Dr. Loomis spends the whole movie vehemently telling anyone who would listen that 1) Michael Myers escaped, 2) He’s going back home to Haddonfield, and 3) He will kill more people. Loomis is adamant about those three things to the point of almost overacting (I think Donald Pleasance is perfect in the role). However, each person that Loomis talks to either doesn’t care or downplays the threat. By contrast, Loomis is dialed up to eleven.
Simultaneously, the idea of the bogeyman is planted early in the movie when Tommy Doyle, the kid that our protagonist, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), babysits for, asks her if the bogeyman is real. She of course says, ‘it isn’t’, however, Tommy is tormented, first by bullies at school, and then by visions of a shadowy figure outside the house across the street.
This final line pays off the fact that Laurie now believes in the bogeyman, and the understated response from Loomis perfectly juxtaposes his tone for much of the movie, illustrating how severe the ordeal was. It isn’t a cool or cute one-liner. It’s an exhausted and stunned man acknowledging that they’re lucky to be alive.
5). Category: Open-ended
The open-ended finale is maddening for some, but when used correctly, so that it lines up with the rest of the story, it’s golden. Both Eyes Wide Shut and No Country For Old Men end somewhat abruptly, leaving us unsure of what’s in store for our protagonists. I think both endings are well-suited in both movies, but, for me, there’s only one choice here, it’s the final line of John Carpenter’s The Thing.
“Why don’t we just…wait here for a little while. See what happens…”
What a perfect way to end a movie rife with paranoia about who is human and who is alien. Unlike, say, North by Northwest, a windy spy thriller where our final words come from two lovers on their honeymoon after defeating the antagonists, The Thing starts out locally, about survival, but ends up devolving to just making sure this alien doesn’t survive to infect all of humanity. It isn’t a happy ending, it’s what needs to be done.
Only, the The Thing doesn’t even give us the satisfaction. There are two “men” left. They’ve blown everything up and are just sitting outside in the Antarctic climate, waiting to freeze to death. We don’t know if one, both or neither are human. MacReady’s nihilistic quip at the end really just hits home that we can’t know for sure what’s going to happen. Both will freeze, sure, but if one or both is an alien, then the titular thing will survive.
4). Category: Cheeky (To the audience)
This, to me, feels different than the sarcastic category from #8, in that the character speaking the line isn’t necessarily making a joke to another character. The final line is more of a wink at the audience.
Lt. Aldo Rain’s quote about his “masterpiece” is a meta-note from Tarantino in Inglourious Basterds. Michael Caine’s voiceover at the end of The Prestige is talking about the audience to the audience. The Usual Suspects ends with Keyser Soze citing Charles Baudelaire’s quote about the devil which both punctuates the story and winks at the audience after tricking everyone. My choice here goes to Hannibal Lecter’s cheeky “ta-ta” in The Silence of the Lambs.
“I do wish we could chat longer, but…I’m having an old friend for dinner. Bye.”
“Dr. Lecter…Dr. Lecter.”
There’s a million reasons this sign-off is so great. First off, after a rousing climax in which Clarice kills Buffalo Bill and saves Catherine Martin, we’ve almost forgotten about Lecter, who escaped prison at the start of Act IV, and hasn’t been seen or referenced since. So, it’s a fun/scary reminder that he’s still out there.
Of course, it’s also a double entendre, which is why it’s “cheeky”. If anyone else says ‘they’re having an old friend for dinner’, we know what it means, but when Lecter says it…it’s comically terrifying.
3). Category: Character change
This is kind of the opposite of the #9 entry. These last words serve as proof that the events of the movies have caused our protagonist to undergo an internal change. Sometimes they come straight from the horse’s mouth, other times they come from other characters. In The Godfather, the final words come from others, bowing their heads in respect for their new Don. In Goodfellas, I don’t know if Henry, himself has changed, but his final lament expresses the chasm of difference between his old life as a gangster and his new normal in witness protection. Despite competition from two of the five greatest movies ever made, I give the nod to Somerset’s final words from Se7en.
“Ernest Hemingway once wrote, ‘the world is a fine place, and worth fighting for.’ I agree with the second part.”
The ending of Se7en is many things – intense, shocking, a downer (for Mills, and the audience). But actually, as noted in the above video, the ending marks a positive change for Somerset.
The detective was planning to retire and leave the city due to his own apathy, which he believes has grown over the years of trying to protect and serve a bleak and apathetic city. That’s how he starts the movie, and that’s how he feels for much of it. Even if he’s intrigued by this series of killings, and is shaken up by Detective Mills’ words at the bar, he still plans to retire and leave the city at the end of the week. And then John Doe violently shakes him from his apathy, and makes him want to keep fighting the good fight.
So…Se7en, is actually an optimistic movie. A positive change arc. Morgan Freeman’s voiceover never hurts either.
2). Category: Heartwarming Catharsis
If the #7 category was about lines that indicate a character has accepted his fate, and #6 is about the catharsis that comes from a character expressing relief after a barely making it out with their life, #2 is pure positivity. It’s a line that expresses the character we love, finally getting what they want. The “I love you’s” at the end of Rocky provide this catharsis, Juba’s world weary, “But not yet…”, warms our hearts at the end of Gladiator. But the spot here goes to Red’s final narration in The Shawshank Redemption.
“I find I’m so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope I can see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”
Speaking of Morgan Freeman narration, and the final words being proof of a character’s internal change. Shawshank could’ve been in the last category, but the feeling these words provide is just so much happier. The end of Shawshank on the beach with Morgan Freeman narrating is the happiest I ever feel watching any movie.
1). Category: Gut-wrenching
The last category, the sad ending. As noted in the #10 entry, this is from a noir movie, and I won’t beat around the bush as it’s probably one of the five most famous closing lines in movie history. What could be better than the closing line from Chinatown?
“Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown.”
I’m sure some of it depends on your age, but it’s hard to forget the first time you see the ending of Chinatown. It’s a movie that ends in the complete opposite fashion of basically every movie I had ever seen to that point.
I don’t know if any final line cuts to the core of a movie more brutally. It is a noir movie and could’ve been used for that category, however, the vibe at the end of Chinatown is so much worse than L.A. Confidential. While the two movies share a lot of DNA, it almost felt wrong to lump them in together. At the end of L.A.C., both heroes are arguably better off than they were at the start, even if White had to leave the city and the LAPD. In Chinatown, no one is better off, except, of course, for the evil Noah Cross.
The movie does a great job of referencing Jake’s history as a cop in Chinatown without overdoing it. If they didn’t mention it enough, then we wouldn’t have understood what Walsh meant when he said it, but if they referenced Chinatown constantly, then the line would’ve had a diminished effect. Just a perfect line that says so much with so little.
It’s an ending that was debated over by Roman Polanski (the director), Robert Towne (the screenwriter) and Robert Evans (the producer). I’m certainly not a Polanski apologist, but I think it took someone with his particular experience and worldview (a Holocaust survivor) to figure out the ending of this movie. Robert Towne got the (deserved) Oscar for the screenplay, but the movie comes from Polanski’s worldview. It’s a brutal kick in the gut, punctuated by that last line.
Honorable mentions for this category went to Raging Bull and Avengers: Infinity War, but neither stood a chance.
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