Ending

Rating: 7/10 (21 February 2005)

This was a strange and at times disturbing movie, but I strongly disagree with the statement that the director didn't know how to end the movie. The ending the director chose was very powerful (in my opinion). He was personifying Sol's hypothesis about computers: when they begin to crash they go in a cycle, and eventually realize their destruction, and end up spitting out their "ingredients" and putting an end to themselves. Max is like a computer. He goes in these destructive cycles with his headaches and eventually starts hallucinating. Max eventually figures out the magic number, but ends up destroying it as well as "crashing" (or drilling out in this case) the part of him (his computer) that is causing him such turmoil. The last time we see Max is when he is in the park, looking at the leaves in a tree looking actually happy. He isn't being torn apart trying to figure out the mathematical reasons behind life. I think the director had every intention to portray that. It was a very powerful ending, and a very well done movie.