Source Code Thoughts
If you are reading this then you have seen Source Code and wish to discuss the films divisive ending. As you are reading this you do not need the ending explained and therefore we can go straight into what the ending means and how others are interpreting it.
When I came out of Source Code I thought there was only one way to interpret the ending, which is that, the Source Code creates an alternate reality and the end of the film is a reality in which Colter Stevens has stopped the bomb and now lives inside the body of Sean Fentress. While another version of Colter Stevens is inside the Source Code which is yet to be utilized due to the fact that the attack, which led to its use in the original reality, has not happened in this newly created reality. Goodwin now knows the full potential of the Source Code in this new reality and has been told to tell this unused Colter Stevens that everything will be ok.
My main problem with this ending is that I did not buy the central romance as I believed it was not developed enough due to it being rather overshadowed by the films engaging sci-fi concepts and central mystery, with Stevens relationship with his father being the more engaging emotional aspect of the film for me. I have no issue with the fact that the Source Code creates alternate realities and it leads to an interesting discussion about whether the first reality we are introduced to in the film is infact one of the alternate realities created by the Source Code.
At first I thought the final five minutes were a heaven of sorts for Stevens as his life support machine had been turned off and this is an ending I would have been happy with. However Duncan Jones has confirmed that the ending is an alternate reality and the film blatantly states that so ultimately it being heaven is not a feasible interpretation of the films conclusion despite how it fits with the tone of this final reality.
Many including myself believe that the film should have finished on that fantastic freeze shot, the last moment of Stevens’s life. This was in fact the original ending in Ben Ripley’s script and it was Duncan Jones not the studio that pushed for those extra five minutes or so. My first thought was that the added baggage at the end stunk of a typical clichéd Hollywood “Studio ending” so it surprised me that Jones had pushed for it as he left Moon open with a great deal of ambiguity. His reasoning for the extra scene was that as a self-proclaimed science fiction geek he wanted to address the alternate reality side of the narrative for people like him. His intention was to leave half of the audience satisfied with the love story and the other in deep science fiction discussion.
As I said I have no problem with the ending other than the fact that I didn’t go with the love story at least not on a first viewing. One major problem that people have is what happened to the original Sean Fentress? I go with the camp that every time the Source Code starts that is the beginning of a new alternate reality, therefore each reality that the Source Code starts is a reality that has the psychical appearance of Sean Fentress but the conscious and personality of Colter Stevens. Whether Colter stops the bomb or not Fentress is doomed to die at least on the inside in every reality.
Many have questioned how Stevens can now live a life inside the body of Sean Fentress for the rest of his life and that is an avenue filled with many questions however this is a question that I think is a case of over thinking the films conclusion, something I advised viewers not to do in my review as it will only lead to questions like this one which have no answer. I am not saying to not think about films or that thinking about films is bad, however I think this is a film that you could ruin your understanding of in your brain if you continue to go to deep into the implications of it. What is more engaging and interesting to ponder about the Stevens/Fentress swap is the morality of it rather than the logistics of it.
A line from Duncan Jones that I believe nicely sums up what he set out do with this ending is that Colter starts the film as a man in a place where has no idea what is going on but ends the film as the master of his own world. While the film could have finished on the freeze shot, could have been heaven rather than an alternate reality or could have left it ambiguous as to whether it is heaven or an alternate reality I find the ending less disappointing the more I think about it. At first I was disappointed with what seemed like a clichéd Hollywood ending and believed they had squandered or ignored possible better endings. As I have mentioned numerous times the only main problem with the ending that remains is a lack of investment in the love story aspect of the film, which is crucial to your appreciation of at least one element of the ending.
Two other twists in the film that I want to briefly address are the identity of the bomber and the twist that Colter Stevens is infact dead everywhere but the brain. As I said in my review I felt the reveal of the bomber was well played but I felt they did not go into his motive as much as I would have liked. Its not that his motive was weak, more that it needed more screen time as I never felt he had the intimidating presence that perhaps he should of.
The shot of Stevens’s body inside the Source Code is one of the most memorable images from the film. This was the twist in the film that surprised me the most as I had no idea it was coming. It provided striking imagery was genuinely unexpected and gave way to the moral themes of the film.
What did you think of the ending to Source Code? Do you think it should have finished on the freeze? Do you think it should have been heaven? Were you satisfied with the love story? Do you think that the films original reality could in fact be an alternate reality set up by the Source Code? What did you think about the identity and motive of the bomber? What did you think of the twist that Colter Stevens was dead but his brain was still active? What was your favourite scene? Tell us all your thoughts about Source Code in the Your Say section.
By Movie Parliament Prime Minister,
Michael Dalton
When I came out of Source Code I thought there was only one way to interpret the ending, which is that, the Source Code creates an alternate reality and the end of the film is a reality in which Colter Stevens has stopped the bomb and now lives inside the body of Sean Fentress. While another version of Colter Stevens is inside the Source Code which is yet to be utilized due to the fact that the attack, which led to its use in the original reality, has not happened in this newly created reality. Goodwin now knows the full potential of the Source Code in this new reality and has been told to tell this unused Colter Stevens that everything will be ok.
My main problem with this ending is that I did not buy the central romance as I believed it was not developed enough due to it being rather overshadowed by the films engaging sci-fi concepts and central mystery, with Stevens relationship with his father being the more engaging emotional aspect of the film for me. I have no issue with the fact that the Source Code creates alternate realities and it leads to an interesting discussion about whether the first reality we are introduced to in the film is infact one of the alternate realities created by the Source Code.
At first I thought the final five minutes were a heaven of sorts for Stevens as his life support machine had been turned off and this is an ending I would have been happy with. However Duncan Jones has confirmed that the ending is an alternate reality and the film blatantly states that so ultimately it being heaven is not a feasible interpretation of the films conclusion despite how it fits with the tone of this final reality.
Many including myself believe that the film should have finished on that fantastic freeze shot, the last moment of Stevens’s life. This was in fact the original ending in Ben Ripley’s script and it was Duncan Jones not the studio that pushed for those extra five minutes or so. My first thought was that the added baggage at the end stunk of a typical clichéd Hollywood “Studio ending” so it surprised me that Jones had pushed for it as he left Moon open with a great deal of ambiguity. His reasoning for the extra scene was that as a self-proclaimed science fiction geek he wanted to address the alternate reality side of the narrative for people like him. His intention was to leave half of the audience satisfied with the love story and the other in deep science fiction discussion.
As I said I have no problem with the ending other than the fact that I didn’t go with the love story at least not on a first viewing. One major problem that people have is what happened to the original Sean Fentress? I go with the camp that every time the Source Code starts that is the beginning of a new alternate reality, therefore each reality that the Source Code starts is a reality that has the psychical appearance of Sean Fentress but the conscious and personality of Colter Stevens. Whether Colter stops the bomb or not Fentress is doomed to die at least on the inside in every reality.
Many have questioned how Stevens can now live a life inside the body of Sean Fentress for the rest of his life and that is an avenue filled with many questions however this is a question that I think is a case of over thinking the films conclusion, something I advised viewers not to do in my review as it will only lead to questions like this one which have no answer. I am not saying to not think about films or that thinking about films is bad, however I think this is a film that you could ruin your understanding of in your brain if you continue to go to deep into the implications of it. What is more engaging and interesting to ponder about the Stevens/Fentress swap is the morality of it rather than the logistics of it.
A line from Duncan Jones that I believe nicely sums up what he set out do with this ending is that Colter starts the film as a man in a place where has no idea what is going on but ends the film as the master of his own world. While the film could have finished on the freeze shot, could have been heaven rather than an alternate reality or could have left it ambiguous as to whether it is heaven or an alternate reality I find the ending less disappointing the more I think about it. At first I was disappointed with what seemed like a clichéd Hollywood ending and believed they had squandered or ignored possible better endings. As I have mentioned numerous times the only main problem with the ending that remains is a lack of investment in the love story aspect of the film, which is crucial to your appreciation of at least one element of the ending.
Two other twists in the film that I want to briefly address are the identity of the bomber and the twist that Colter Stevens is infact dead everywhere but the brain. As I said in my review I felt the reveal of the bomber was well played but I felt they did not go into his motive as much as I would have liked. Its not that his motive was weak, more that it needed more screen time as I never felt he had the intimidating presence that perhaps he should of.
The shot of Stevens’s body inside the Source Code is one of the most memorable images from the film. This was the twist in the film that surprised me the most as I had no idea it was coming. It provided striking imagery was genuinely unexpected and gave way to the moral themes of the film.
What did you think of the ending to Source Code? Do you think it should have finished on the freeze? Do you think it should have been heaven? Were you satisfied with the love story? Do you think that the films original reality could in fact be an alternate reality set up by the Source Code? What did you think about the identity and motive of the bomber? What did you think of the twist that Colter Stevens was dead but his brain was still active? What was your favourite scene? Tell us all your thoughts about Source Code in the Your Say section.
By Movie Parliament Prime Minister,
Michael Dalton
