Fighting the Momentum

The idea of the twist ending has been around a very for a very long time in literature, some even claiming it goes as far back as Arabian Nights. Many directors use twist ending cheaply and are only in the film to make it's otherwise stale premise acceptable. But a few films perfect the shock ending almost as if it is an art.

One of the most foremost directors that heavily deal in twist endings is David Fincher. With his 1995 breakout film Se7en, Fincher launched himself onto the scene with an ending the punched audiences in the stomach. His next film, Fight Club, heralded one of the most famous endings of all time. We start by seeing into the life an unnamed corporate employee who suffers from chronic insomnia. Our protagonist begins to find solace in a man he befriended on a business trip, Tyler Durdan. The two begin to have routine scuffles outside of bars that attract attention from working class men. The group decide to begin a club for these men to meet together. However over time the club begin to evolve and go out of the protagonists control and directly into Durdan's hands. I can only minorly touch on the ending of this film without giving it away, but what makes it so great is simplicity and how well it makes sense. It is a seamless reveal that enriches the film as a whole

Christopher Nolan is a director that received massive praise for his recent films such The Dark Knight, Incepetion, and Interstellar. However one if his first films, Momento, is in my opinion his greatest, and certainly most under appreciated. Momento follows, and I use that term loosely, Leonard Shulty, a man who's wife was killed during a home invasion by two men, one whom escaped. Leonard suffered a head injury during the attack and is unable to retain short term memory. As he conducts his own investigation to find the second murderer he must himself notes and clues to remind himself of what's going on. What makes this movie unique it is told in reverse chronological order, meaning we see the last 5 minutes, then the 5 minutes before that, etc, etc. It is so different but at the same time so well done that, it almost makes each scene a new twist, yet still remaining fresh. The twist actually appears at the beginning of the chronological order, as opposed to fight club. Both films however are brought together by their endings, making it whole.