Paul Verhoeven explains the ending of ‘Total Recall’
One of the most expensive movies ever made at the time of its release, producer Ronald Shusett’s desire to persevere with bringing Philip K. Dick’s short story We Can Remember It for You Wholesale to the big screen was vindicated in spectacular fashion when Paul Verhoeven unleashed Total Recall.
Having been in development since 1974 and passing through the hands of several production companies and studios in that time, it proved to be worth the wait. Arnold Schwarzenegger had been circling it for years but was told he wasn’t the right fit for the role of Douglas Quaid before the success of The Terminator, Commando, and Predator, among others, ensured his star power was undeniable.
Meanwhile, Verhoeven had announced himself to Hollywood with RoboCop, and partnering up a filmmaker with distinctly slick and subversive sensibilities alongside an A-list superstar for a blockbuster sci-fi action epic made Total Recall happen at the perfect moment with the ideal people leading the charge.
Naturally, it was a massive success at the box office and was widely acclaimed for being a lot more complex, thought-provoking, and intelligent than the average intergalactic extravaganza or Schwarzenegger vehicle. There were one-liners, quips galore, and the woman with three boobs, sure, but for the most part, Total Recall wasn’t overtly gratuitous when it came to dispensing its violence or utilising its cutting-edge practical and visual effects.
The ending has generated vast debate, though, with the ambiguity failing to clarify whether Schwarzenegger’s hero really is an elite-level operative who has a change of heart to tear down a cosmic conspiracy that threatens the poor and downtrodden citizens of Mars or if the entire thing takes place entirely inside his head from the moment he first visits the Rekall facility onward.
It’s a lot easier to believe that Quaid really did save the entire planet from imminent destruction, but Verhoeven deliberately kept things open-ended by ensuring just enough of the requests specifically made by the protagonist prior to his dream vacation played out on-screen to create that element of doubt.
The director is more qualified than anyone else to clear the air, which he did by stating on the film’s DVD commentary that “it’s a dream”. In addition, he acknowledged that it’s “disturbing to the audience because they don’t want that”.
In his eyes, “they want an adventure story; they don’t want a fake adventure story”, but that’s precisely what he gave them anyway.
However, during an interview with Mandatory, Verhoeven would change his tune and say, “there is never a preference to say this is really what he dreams about and this is the truth”. Being entirely unhelpful, the director would go on to state, “It’s both true” and “there is no choice”, leaving the conclusion of Total Recall entirely open to interpretation once again.
