Movie Endings With Troubling Implications That Slipped By You

John Woo's "Face/Off" circles around two characters who face off with their, well, faces off –- hence the title's double entendre. FBI agent Sean Archer holds a personal vendetta against Castor Troy, a psychopathic bomber who murdered Archer's 6-year-old son. Archer's vendetta drives him to take extreme measures to capture Troy and foil his plans, eventually leading him to undergo a temporary surgery that makes him look and sound like Troy. However, a string of unfortunate events confines Archer in the prison he was infiltrating as Troy, allowing the real Troy to adopt Archer's face and identity, moving in with his family.

As a result, Sean Archer's wife, Eve, goes through a traumatic series of events at the film's climax — finding out that she's been living with a sociopathic killer who she'd mistaken for her husband, then being held hostage by Troy who still has Sean's face, after which their daughter, Jamie, is also taken hostage by Troy-as-Sean. In the end, Sean (finally back in his own face) happily reunites with his family, but in reality, it wouldn't be easy for Eve and Jamie to immediately "unsee" Sean as the murderer and sociopath that Troy was without the help of some family counseling and therapy.

The central premise of Christopher Nolan's "Inception" hinges on energy tycoon Saito employing Dominick Cobb to "incept" an idea into his rival's mind, an idea that will lead him to abandon the energy industry –- effectively handing Saito a monopoly. Despite several hiccups along the way, the team is ultimately successful in persuading Saito's competitor, Robert Fischer, that dissolving his company and becoming "his own man" is what his father would've wanted.

Dealing with real-world monopolies isn't as fun or gleeful as playing the "Monopoly" board game, as a company that dominates an industry without strong competitors runs the risk of abusing its position and overly raising prices for consumers. The film establishes Saito as a ruthless and powerful businessman, with the ability to eliminate fugitive-from-the-law Cobb's "wanted" status permanently with only a phone call. The fact that someone like him would have a monopoly on something as essential and in-demand as energy would be concerning for the planet and pose a potential crisis. We can only hope that spending 50 years in limbo gave Saito some perspective, and that he'll use his influence for humanitarian causes rather than out of selfishness and greed.

"Whiplash" tells the tale of an extremely toxic teacher-student pair who go to extreme lengths to perfect their craft and musical talents –- at the expense of their relationships, family, and their own mental health. Throughout the film, ambitious drummer Andrew Neiman relentlessly hammers towards his desire for greatness, fueled by his abrasive music teacher Terence Fletcher, neither of whom will tolerate mediocrity in their work. As a result, Andrew distances himself from his father, splits up with his girlfriend, repeatedly injures his hands from overplaying, and is involved in a near-fatal car accident before making his way to the concert.

The climactic concert sequence, in which Andrew finally earns Fletcher's nod of approval following a rigorous drum solo, gives the impression of a triumphant ending for Andrew. But with time, viewers come to see that Andrew has ultimately fallen into a deep pit of suffering and self-abuse, evident by the image of his father during the climactic sequence, who watches his son fall into a deep pit of artistic obsession. Andrew's very likely dark path after the film's events is hinted at by Fletcher's constant idolization of jazz musician Charlie Parker throughout the film, who himself had mental health issues and drug addictions (via Biography) and who died at age 34.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

In Robert Zemeckis' classic film, we watch as Forrest Gump's adventures take him across the globe. Despite his low IQ, he achieves fame on his football team, fights in Vietnam, plays ping-pong against Chinese teams in ping-pong diplomacy, receives the Medal of Honor from President Lyndon B. Johnson, and reports an office burglary that unfolds into the Watergate scandal. Plus, he finds himself crossing paths with the likes of Elvis Presley and John Lennon. However, it's Forrest's relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Jenny, over the course of decades that serves as the film's unifying narrative thread.

When Forrest finally catches up to Jenny at the end of the movie, she reveals that she's been infected with an "unknown virus" and that she has a son who's also named "Forrest." Jenny succumbs to her illness, which is implied to be HIV/AIDS, leaving Forrest Jr. in the care of Forrest Sr. Tragically, since HIV/AIDS can be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy, it's possible that Forrest Jr. also carries the virus. In a 2019 interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, "Forrest Gump" screenwriter Eric Roth confirmed that the now-shelved sequel would've begun with Forrest Jr. being diagnosed with AIDS and facing discrimination in school as a result.

"Big" follows 12-year-old Josh Baskin whose wish to grow "big" comes true, as he grows into an adult body over night. Since his mother doesn't believe that this 30-year-old man is indeed her son, Josh moves to New York City and gets a entry level job at a prominent toy manufacturing company. That's where he impresses owner Mr. MacMillan with his insight into current toys and his childlike enthusiasm, and soon, he's promoted to vice president of product development. 

Along the way, Josh develops a romantic relationship with co-worker Susan Lawrence, which fades away as our protagonist finds adulthood stressful and exhausting and wishes to become a child again. Despite Susan's initial disbelief, she's ultimately convinced that Josh is a child, and she bids a tearful goodbye at the end of the film as she drops him at his home.

The revelation that Josh was a 12-year-old child all along doesn't cause Susan any distress at any time during the movie's ending, which is odd, especially considering that she'd previously "spent the night" at Josh's apartment. The fact that Susan still harbors love for Josh at the end of the film and her lack of regret or revulsion over having been intimate with him all indicate something problematic about Susan's character.

At the end of Bong Joon-ho's post-apocalyptic "Snowpiercer," Chris Evans' Curtis succeeds in reaching the frontmost car of the Snowpiercer train, after having battled through disheartening classism and segregation faced by passengers from the rear of the train, with each approaching car acting as classist tiers of its passengers. Up in the engine, he meets Wilford, the architect of the locomotive that houses the last of humanity's survivors in a non-habitable world. Wilford offers Curtis his position to lead the train, but Curtis is shocked by the revelation that Wilford has been using children as slaves in the engine, as they're small enough to fit in the engine compartments. 

Outraged that the entire train literally runs on human suffering and knowing there's no way to fix this broken system, Curtis sets off an explosion that derails and destroys Snowpiercer. In the wake of the crash, the film closes with a polar bear spotting Yona and Timmy, the two children who are the only survivors from the crashed train and, by extension, the only remaining human beings left. They can step outside without instantly freezing to death, which — coupled with the bear sighting — gives us hope that Earth might once again be habitable. However, even if the cold weather is livable, the two children aren't shown to have any survival skills needed to exist on their own without adults, let alone hold their own against a polar bear. Chances are good they'll eventually die of either cold, starvation, or an animal attack.