Ryan McNeil
“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
What is it about a great final line? Like a gloriously composed opening shot, or a perfectly chosen musical cue, they can stick with us long after the film ends. They become a capsule of the entire narrative, find a special place in cinema lore, and will be quoted (and mis-quoted) for ages to come. But where does the romanticism surrounding them come from?
“Alright Mr.DeMille – I’m ready for my close-up”
There have been endless posts and lists written about the best lines in cinema history. These are the snippets of dialogue so well-crafted, that they have entered the greater collective conscience. These lines aren’t the catchy Coen Brothers’ references you toss around with fellow film geeks (“You betcha, ya”). No, these lines have taken on such mythos that you can probably work them into conversation with your grandmother and be understood. And yet, at least three-quarters of the time, these iconic lines are somewhere in the middle of the story…seldom at the end.
“I’m having an old friend for dinner”
On the surface, one last line shouldn’t carry this sort of clout: It’s one sentence amongst hundreds. It’s not like every film builds up to a twist that is suddenly revealed at the last possible second – and even when they are, the reveal doesn’t come down to that last line of spoken dialogue. Not even if your name is Shymalan. No, that last line is often just a way to close out two hours’ traffic, to give the audience a nod and thank them for coming out before the curtain comes down. Every once in a while though, a screenwriter comes along and gives that final nod some panache. The words go beyond just being apropos, and instead gain a certain poetry.
“Where we’re going we don’t need…*roads*.”
What gives that poetry a little bit of extra lift is the way that real life is, of course, seldom like the movies. Most of us will never tell off a boss seconds before walking out of a job we dislike in a blaze of glory. Our romantic relationships never end with the sweet sorrow of parting on a lyrical note. Far more often they involve bumpy, awkward, unfortunately necessary post-mortem conversations. Most of the couples I know that ended would have given their right arm for a snappy send-off. Even the happy moments – the moments that you don’t realize are so special until well after they are over. The perfect afternoons, the endless summers, the once-in-a-lifetime journeys. Nobody takes a moment and sums them up with wit as they end; perhaps that’s because those involve can’t always actually spot the end. That’s life, and it’s never written down for us by Charlie Kauffman.
“Mein Fuehrer, I can walk!”
Happily, in the movies it can all be mapped out. Since some of the best stories leave us wondering what happened to the characters after the credits rolled, the movie might not be leaving us with any finality. However, to cushion the blow, thoughtful screenwriter gives us a keepsake to take with us. It’s seldom an explanation; heck sometimes it only heightens the ambiguity by giving us something unceremonious before the hard cut to black comes. Only sometimes is it tied to the broader themes. For every mention of how we need the eggs, there are fifteen other instances of pure confusion like “Silencio”.
“It’s too bad she won’t live — but then again, who does?”
Perhaps it’s the fact that the trick is somewhat unique to the movies. Sure it’s used in drama and likewise in literature, but something about the cinamatic artform seems to give a great last line its greatest chance at glory. When a writer takes that window of opportunity, it becomes clearer what make these moments of ultimate lyricism so lasting. They articulate at moments we never have, never recognize, or never articulate. What’s more, they do it with such poise.
In a curiously beautiful way they encapsulate everything we’ve just seen, and at the same time they stand alone as a piece of art themselves.
“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”
“Oh no. It wasn’t the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast.”
“Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon. We have the stars.”
“Nobody’s perfect.”
The best closing quotes sum up the entire movie with all its complexities in just a few words. Nice essay.
It was really hard to keep “Nobody’s perfect” out of this – ditto “Shut up and deal”. Wilder was really great at writing closing lines, wasn’t he?
This post reminded me of my favorite closing line ever, which is actually from a book (don’t know about the film, because I haven’t seen it): Bonjour Tristesse.
All the time you wonder what the book’s title means, and then suddenly at the end it all fits in so perfectly.
I liked how you included the actual closing lines in your essay.
I wish you’d left that comment two days ago when I went and bought myself a handful of new books – now I really want to know what it means!
Oh this is lovely. I think closing lines are so important and the really good ones like those you have put are absolutely unforgettable. This is one of the places where films triumph over books for me, because very rarely are the last lines of books amazing. And that usually pisses me off because I love that last line and many of the really good books fail to give that.
I wonder why last lines of books don’t stick with us in the same way. I can remember a lot more first lines of books than I can last lines…
If you go by chronological order in Pulp Fiction, ‘Zed is dead baby, Zed is dead’ would have been the last line. Yes, it’s a cheat but a great line indeed.
Spoilers dude!! Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Funny thing is that “Zed’s dead, baby” is actually a way better closing line than the one QT actually goes with.
Of course, he’d make up for that in BASTERDS with “I think this might just be my masterpiece”
“It will be a love story – for she will be by heroine for all time. And her name will be Viola.”
“I can’t believe it. It’s right here where we live. Right here in St. Louis.”
“You have to have a little faith in people.”
“Robert E. Lee Prewitt. Isn’t that a silly old name?”
Believe it or not, three of those four aren’t ringing a bell for me. I know number three of course. Care to fill me in on the others?
Shakespeare in Love, Meet Me In St Louis and From Here to Eternity. I do love those movies so and all three of those lines in context really bring them home.
Cripes.
Of course the line about Viola is from SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE…what’s wrong with me?
Love this post, Ryan! Those last lines really do act as a last kiss. I appreciated the one from Silence of the Lambs you listed, especially 🙂
Now that I’d like to actually think of some closing lines, my mind is a blank. But one line I’m particularly fond of from Elizabethtown (where’s the surprise in that, I know!) happens in the middle of the film:
“I’m impossible to forget, but I’m hard to remember.”
Where Cameron Crowe final lines are concerned, it’s difficult to top –
“What do you love about music”
“To begin with – Everything.”
Although, while many weren’t fussed about WE BOUGHT A ZOO, the final line of the story (“Why not?”) *is* a good’n.
I’d love to see an actual list of memorable first lines. And, the converse, films that end powerfully with silence or not silence exactly but no dialogue like The Verdict (phone ringing) or The Graduate (Simon & Garfunkel singing). So many ways to make a great movie.
Lists? Lists?? You must have me confused with another website.
Jokes aside, I strayed away from listmaking about a year ago, and I don’t miss it. Off the top of my head though:
“You gotta have a little more faith in people” MANHATTAN
“You’ve met me at a very strange time in my life” FIGHT CLUB
“Nobody’s perfect” SOME LIKE IT HOT
“I think this just might be my masterpiece” INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
(Not to mention the half dozen or so that break up the paragraphs of this post)