This post contains spoilers. Just thought you'd like to know....
At the end of Wag the Dog, is Dustin Hoffman's character dead or was it just a set up by the secret service. Because the newcast about Albanian terrorists and the closing shot of the conference room, lead me to question how dead Dustin Hoffman is.
Any clarification would be nice.
He's dead. He was too much of a risk.
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The film making suggests dead.However,I suppose he might not be dead, but I suppose the film-maker could be playing a nice little trick and leaving it down to you and which you are willing to believe, the news reports or your own instinct. Fitting in with the theme of the whole movie. Dead or alive, the ending works. I would be more inclined to say dead though, due to the scenes preceeding that.
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Wow, I started this thread four years ago, and its still going.
shareWow. I'm surprised at the debate on this topic. His being killed is the only thing that makes sense to conclude the movie. It's been awhile since I've seen it, but there's no doubt at all. All along, he wanted the credit for his efforts. And when it became apparent that the secret would have to remain just that--a secret--he threatened to go public. And so he had to be terminated. It was definitely a dark comedy. A happy ending wouldn't have made any sense. And it wouldn't have worked plot-wise.
shareDead. Hoffman kept insisting he wanted credit, credit, credit, and De Niro kept saying, no, no, no. Hoffman wouldn't listen and was killed.
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He's dead. They killed him to keep him quiet.
Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, and / or doesn't.
Are People actually debating this? Clearly, he's dead.
Brean(De Niro)looked sad to have to have Dunst(Hoffman) killed, why would he look sad if it was just a fake death?
The maid said he was dead.
What would faking his death achieve? Were people not concentrating when watching this? He wanted to take credit and he couldn't, since that would reveal that the whole thing was fake. He spoke about it multiple times then at the end picked up a phone and Brean had to stop him. His death being faked wouldn't stop Dunst from revealing the truth.
He's dead. It's a black comedy about how the media can be manipulated. Despite the film's quirkiness, the fact is that leaving Motss alive risks pulling aside the curtain and revealing the wizard. De Niro's character cannot let that happen. When he threatens Tracy Lime (Kirsten Dunst) with death if she talks about helping to fake footage, I did not feel he was fooling around. And Motss is far more dangerous than a teenage actress to the whole edifice if he is indiscreet. The mass manipulation has a body count.
It is true we never see Motss killed, but we never see Tessio killed at the end of The Godfather either. Like Motss, we see him being taken away. Unlike Carlo, he is not garotted in a car, or at least it is not shown. I have yet to encounter any claim Michael did not have him killed, though.
As to the Albanian terrorists, maybe it is another stage in the deception, but American smoke and mirrors re a foreign country might have unintended consequences. Perhaps the fake war is opening the way for real bloodshed.
"Chicken soup - with a *beep* straw."