The greatest ending in cinema history, according to Jane Fonda
What makes a good ending to a movie? There is arguably nothing worse than watching a film and seeing the credits beginning to roll or “Directed by…” appearing on the screen before you feel like you’ve reached an adequate resolution. “Is that it?” you might think to yourself, scrambling for a way to piece together everything you’ve just watched so that the ending makes sense.
People have long argued about the best (and worst) movie endings of all time. How about Casablanca, with its iconic lines “Here’s looking at you, kid” and “We’ll always have Paris”? Or what about the exhilarating duel that brings The Good, the Bad and the Ugly to its end? An ending can make or break a film, allowing it to go from good to great, and the sign of an iconic movie can always be found in a memorable final scene.
In all honesty, there’s no definitive way to pick the best ending in cinema history. Watching a film is a personal experience, and we often connect to an ending because of what it stirs in us. Maybe you still haven’t gotten over Toy Story 3, when Andy gives his toys away before heading to college. Or maybe you’re still trying to make sense of the final moments of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Jane Fonda, the star of many popular movies like Klute, 9 to 5, Barbarella, and Coming Home, has her own take on the greatest ending in cinema history, and it’s one you might not expect from her. Despite her tenure in many great films during the ‘60s and beyond, Fonda’s pick (via Marie Claire) is much more recent – and it’s also from a genre she is not typically associated with.
The actor selected Jordan Peele’s 2017 film Get Out as having the best ending ever, which is certainly a great choice. The movie, which earned widespread acclaim upon its release, sees Daniel Kaluuya star as a black man who visits his white girlfriend Rose’s family for the first time, only for him to discover that there is a lot more to them than first meets the eye.
A timely tale of racial politics in modern America, Get Out was praised by critics for its sharp blend of humour, horror, and biting social commentary on a society steeped in racist thinking. The film’s ending is especially memorable, with events spiralling out of control after Kaluuya’s character, Chris, uncovers that Rose’s family has been implanting people’s brains into the bodies of Black individuals to steal their perceived strengths.
As the film reaches its climax, Chris manages to get his revenge on the family. After Rose brandishes her gun and events turn messy, Chris grapples with strangling her to death, only for Rod to turn up in a cop car, temporarily tricking us into thinking that Chris is in trouble with the police.
It’s a tense ending that allows both revenge and trauma to boil to the surface, and one that has allowed Get Out to become one of the most acclaimed movies of the past decade.
