So, the hero has trudged through certain defeat and the gates of death, won through and succeeded against all odds. Yippee! Good guys won, bad guys ate dirt. All is well with the world, and the story closes as the hero gallops into the sunset with a lady on his arm and stars in his eys. Not just a happy ending, but vindication of the entire journey.
When I find a movie that manages such a feat, it sticks with me for a very, very, very long time. I'd point to Ever After (a retold Cinderella story) as a fine example. It takes what normally is a pretty typical fairy tale when the hunky hero saves the fragile as glass damsel and turns it into the same story but with believable characters and a strong female lead. The journey is justified at the end, with an absolutely satisfying thumping of the baddies.
I'm sure we've all heard that "the journey is it's own reward." Well, yes, to a point. But, we all want to see the end of the story, right? And I'm sure that for the most part we want to see a satisfying conclusion. Certainly there's plenty of stories that end with big question marks, or a purposely unsatisfying conclusion, but the great majority close up and end. Watching the picture form as an outside witness is unbelievably satisfying.
I applaud every storyteller able to pull it off, like a close-up magic trick. No matter how close you look, you miss the technique, but you don't care because the magic happens right before your eyes.
- M
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