MovieChat Forums > Maggie (2015) Discussion > Great film. Disappointing ending. SPOILE...

Great film. Disappointing ending. SPOILERS!

posted 9 years ago by CapnDred
6 replies | jump to latest

I loved this film. I loved the tone, the pace, and the emotional weight of the film. I thought it was an interesting take on what could be called a zombie film.

But the whole way through, it seems to be posing the question: what will Wade do? How will he end it? Will he have the fortitude to put a shotgun shell in his daughter's head to end it painlessly for her? Will he be unable to shoot his daughter and instead feed her the medicine that will end her life much more slowly and painfully? Or will he find himself unable to kill his own child by his own hand, and submit to her being quarantined, knowing she will have a miserable and lonely end to her life, surrounded by strangers and violence? Or will he even forgo all of these options, and let the disease play out until Maggie claims him and maybe even his wife as the next victims? Or will Wade's wife, the girl's step-mother do what he can't, and what will that do to the remaining family?
For me, that was the emotional crux and interest of this film.

And then the film completely robs him of that decision when Maggie commits suicide. It was a kinder decision for the character and easier on the audience, and it spoke a lot to Maggie's character, but just seemed to chicken out of answering the question that the film had posed from its opening.

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[–] libbyful 9 years ago

At the end, they did show wade putting shells into his gun, which I took to mean he'd made his decision, but a follow through would've been nice or at least to see his reaction and heartbreak at finding her body.

[–] ghostdog2041 9 years ago

I can't believe they robbed this film of the entire dramatic arch of will he or won't he. And not only that, we didn't even get to see the reaction. And I don't think they ever said they loved each other. I was totally shocked by this film. And not in the way I wanted to be.
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[–] Howlin Wolf 9 years ago

I see what you mean, but on the other hand, it does reinforce the bond between father and daughter; she was willing to do the necessary to protect him.

It did go on for a shot too long, though; it should have ended with her eyes reflecting her fall to the ground!

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[–] thebigmouth 9 years ago

Very interesting criticism, but I personally disagree. IMO, Maggie is as much the protagonist as Wade. Arguably even moreso since the movie is named "Maggie," not "Wade," and she's onscreen longer than he is. That's why the conclusion of the film focuses more on her character arc, not his.

As I see it, the movie establishes their relationship at the start of film as one where responsible father is always protecting irresponsible daughter from the consequences of her actions.

One dilemma the film poses is, as you note, whether father will make the hard decision to protect her one last time by killing her instead of sending her to quarantine. But the other dilemma is whether daughter will finally take responsibility for herself and embrace her fate.

That's the point of the ending imo. Maggie reversed their roles by protecting her father from having to make the hard choice to kill her himself. It was the culmination of her character arc.

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[–] CapnDred 9 years ago

@thebigmouth.

I just rewatched the film and came on here to say exactly what you've just said.
I now love the ending. Knowing how it will end and so not reeling from feeling I've had the rug pulled, I think the ending is perfect.
You're right - the film didn't take the choice from Wade; Maggie did. She saw that he couldn't do it, and she spared him. At the point where the film labours all this weight of expectancy on Wade, he's not up to it because he loves her too much, so Maggie steps up and shoulders the weight because she loves him too much, completing her character arc, and her life. It's rather beautiful how these two care for each other through this near-impossible final decision.

Also, something I'd missed before: I think Wade HAD made his choice. His choice is to die with his daughter.

The first time I watched the film, I thought he'd merely forgotten to retrieve his dropped shell but I think it's the case that he deliberately didn't put it in there.
For one, that's not something you'd forget if you'd made a reasoned decision to shoot your own daughter. He also goes straight for the shell after Maggie leaves so he knew all along it was there.

Also, he's clearly awake as she kisses him. If the plan was to shoot her if she got too close, she couldn't get much closer than putting her mouth on his head and yet he makes no move.

Thirdly, it's quite clearly shown that his phone is running out of battery. I'm inferring that he hasn't stocked the generator with wood for the night. He hasn't charged his phone. He isn't planning on being around in the morning.

I think Wade had made the decision to die with his daughter, dooming them both. Maggie took responsibility and spared him. It was already too late for her but she took action before it was too late for him as well.

Wade had made his choice by the end of the film. Maggie didn't accept it.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 9 years ago

That's an interesting read, paralleling what the father did with his four-year-old daughter earlier in the movie. But how would that play out? It's not like he would die instantly, and also not like the cops wouldn't come back. I also think having characters make choices like that works much better if the two of them were the only ones in the family. To do that when you have two young children who still depend on you is a very different decision.

Quarantine sounds terrible, yet the boy Maggie was dating didn't follow through on going out quickly. Maybe that's one of the themes of the movie, that it's easy to say that's what you should do but hard to really pull the trigger, literally, when the time comes.

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