I know this sounds dumb, but did anyone besides me think, near the end, that it was just a childhood fantasy and not really happening? I thought that when they were playing hide and seek and playing on the playground. I know it sounds crazy, but did anyone else think that?
shareNope... I thought she should have been bashing his head in and getting her daughter out of there.
shareYes.
At first I was very dissatisfied by the ending. I thought it was too easy, and the girl got control way too easily. It was just an unjustified reversal, especially since the brother has been said to be controlling her the whole rest of their life.
As I thought about it later, I was also reminded of the sound design. It's an open courtyard as she approaches the house, but the sounds are all echoey, like we're in a chamber. (Her skull? Heh.)
Also, why wouldn't this be her fantasy? Throughout the film she is paralyzed by men, eg the landlord. This very well could be her fantasy as she is unconscious in the hospital; this is how she can win and find her imaginary child.
At least, that's what I prefer to think. It could be that the ending just plain sucks.
Not for a minute.
I'm all right, I'm alllll right!
Unfortunately I saw this film while on holiday in America, I have never seen it in the UK so I don’t know if the US & UK versions have different endings but at the end of the US version I saw in the final scene, Ann hugs her daughter, and Superintendent Newhouse says to them, "Sleep well...now that you exist." To my mind this means Bunny does exist & is not a figment of Ann’s mind. Can anyone out there in IMDB land confirm if the UK version ends differently?
shareNo, it was really happening.
shareIt doesn't sound dumb to me, because briefly there was some camera work which may have given the impression that there was another twist like what you describe.
Nope.
shareAt the very end of Bunny Lake is Missing - the camera zooms out, the picture fades to black with the exception of a doll cut out shape - the we see a hand place the cut out doll into the shape making the entire picture fade to black.
I got the impression that this child cut out shape was the "mind view" of Stevie. Anne's brother had two different personalities, I think. It appeared as though his other personality was watching all of this taking place through the cut out doll area via his mind.
I know that this probably does not make sense.
However, I hope that someone is able to watch the ending of Bunny Lake is Miss -- and pays close attention to the way that the film fades to black. The unique way that this film fades to black could indicate a "childhood fantasy."