SPOILER AHEAD!
If the ending was meant to depict that the protagonist (John) died because he couldn't climb out of the pit he dug, IT'S RIDICULOUS.
1) The shovel was within reach. He could use it to form a kind of dirt ramp.
2) Even without the shovel, he could use his left (uninjured) hand to pull dirt away from the side of the pit, forming a ramp.
3) He could attempt to climb up on the girl's body.
It was ridiculous from the time his finger was cut off to the end. You'd think the way he was acting he lost 2 legs and an arm. Yeah it would hurt but not cripple him like it did.
shareI must've seen a version with a different ending. In the version I saw, John dug a fairly deep grave in the forest after being through an incredible ordeal which resulted in him becoming exhausted, dehydrated, hungry, suffering from severe pain and mild to moderate blood loss anemia. He was so tired and sore and weak after finishing the grave that he nearly was unable to climb out of it. He did finally manage to climb out far enough to grab Ingrid's body and pull her into the grave on top of him, unintentionally. With the weight of the body impairing his respiration, and having no source of water or energy to recuperate, I found it quite reasonable to assume that he would be dead within a few hours unless somebody happened upon the scene to rescue him, which, of course, would have led to another full series of dreadful problems the realization of which deprived this already severely depressed individual of any strong motivation to continue to live. GREAT ENDING.
shareAll you did was describe the ending, which doesn't make it any more realistic. So he managed to dig that deep grave, but unfortunately at the very moment he finished he didn't have a single bit of energy left to climb out of it? It's ridiculous. I don't think anybody is saying he should have been able to jump out of the grave and jog all the way home, but the sequence of events doesn't justify him being so out of it that he'd (possibly) accept death like that.
shareGREAT ENDING indeed. His finger was cut very crudely - not at the joint but on the bone. He was already bleeding alot by the time he got to the truck. People forget the film cut the ACTUAL time out it took to drag the body with the sled and dig the entire ditch.
It was powerful when you realize it is the end for him. Comparing that to when he believes it's the end you have some great cinema indeed.
I see movies.
It was suicide. Simple as that.
it probably took him a few hours to dig that massive grave, sparing us the visibility and time, with a lobbed off finger wrapped in a dirty ass rag....imagine if you would, digging a massive grave like that with one hand while the other bleeding throbbing hand sits idle...he died.
IMO, the one thing that made the ending silly would be why the hell would that guy stay back with the woman and make him go with the money and assume it would be impossible for Sam Rockwell's character to hide up on the bank and shoot him in the head with his other finger which is exactly what happened. The likely thing would be to just go with the guy to get the money and not be a sitting duck in the open field.
The movie overall I didn't mind though. A bit slow and depressing but still entertaining enough.
The way i saw it was that it was an ending which was left to the viewers imagination. Who's to say he didn't wake up and climb on the body to free himself by pushing his feet against the side of the grave after standing on her and wedgeing his way out? Alternatively he could have been devoid of wnergy due to blood loss and died in the grave he dug with the girl he killed
I think it's left to ones own interpretation personally, if you wanted to live then you would find a way out of that grave, however if you felt you had nothing to live for you would accept you were stuck and die.
It's all down to ones personal interpreation
What's even less realistic is for him digging such deep grave with practically one hand. I couldn't probably do it and I'm a reasonably healthy young guy.
shareExcellent point. I don't have a huge problem with Rockwell dying at the end but if you're feeling near the end (due to sepsis, blood loss or whatever) you don't dig a beautiful rectangular deep pit. Come on, man!
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