A lot rides on a film's ending

Rating: 7/10 (24 January 2013)

Source Code is a very interesting little film. It follows in the footsteps of films like Deja Vu, Inception and Looper (although Looper was of course released afterwards). And one of the things these films have in common is that they raise a lot of questions and discussion after you've seen them. So I came to the IMDb message board for Source Code expecting nothing different. However what I found there, in comparison to the other three films, was different. The whole movie wasn't so much being discussed, but simply the ending. And the general question that kept coming up, which I admit had occurred to me also at the time, was 'does the ending make any sense at all?'
Now Source Code is a mystery thriller, which is a lot of fun to try and work out, so I'm not going to spoil the ending for you. I'll simply talk about the implications it had. Firstly, it must be said that an ending that gets people talking at all is an accomplishment. After all, isn't that what every filmmaker strives for? Christopher Nolan ended Inception brilliantly by leaving a huge gaping question for the audience, rather than giving a definitive answer. Although he did leave clues throughout the story for us to go back and work out the answer for ourselves. Here, director Duncan Jones takes a different approach. He gives us a clear and absolute ending, but the clear ending he gives raises more questions than answers (an achievement in itself). Personally I didn't like it and thought (along with a few others I've talked to) that it should have ended at a particular point a few minutes earlier. I think you'll know which point I mean when you watch it.
The ending aside, Source Code is a pretty entertaining, well produced and well acted film. Right from the start we are hooked into the mystery the main character finds himself in. We both find out information at the same pace and it makes for fun watching. There's a whodunnit aspect in there, which never takes center stage, but makes for a nice little addition to the story. Jake Gyllenhaal carries the film pretty well and Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga provide good support throughout. Definitely worth a watch this one and I'll let you make up your own mind regarding the ending.