The final shot of any movie is arguably the most important (although the opening shot could be considered just as important) because it’s the last image the audience sees before leaving the theater. The best final shots unify the themes of the story that just took place, provide plenty of closure, and prompt all kinds of discussion on the drive home.
From Martin Scorsese’s The Departed to the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man to Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, the 2000s brought some truly great movies — and, with them, some of the most memorable final shots of all time.
The Departed (2006)
The final shot of Martin Scorsese’s Best Picture-winning crime thriller Colin Sullivan, played by Matt Damon —– an actual rat is seen crawling along the window ledge of Sullivan’s apartment.
The view out the window behind the rat is a reference to classic gangster movies from the 1930s and 1940s, like Scarface, Little Caesar, and White Heat.
The Wrestler (2008)
Throughout Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, the titular has-been Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) is told that he needs to give up wrestling for the sake of his health in his advancing age, but he doesn’t know life outside the ring and refuses to quit.
In the final scene of the movie, Randy goes out into the ring. With tears in his eyes, he pulls off his signature move, the “Ram Jam.” He soars off-camera and the end credits roll.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is the quintessential Batman movie, and it ends with the Bat making a sacrifice that only he can make. After Harvey Dent turned evil, Batman offers to take the fall for his crimes in order to preserve his image as Gotham’s symbol of hope.
In the final shot, Batman rides into the night on the Batpod, pursued relentlessly by Gotham’s law enforcement, heading into an uncertain future.
Gladiator (2000)
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator brought the swords-and-sandals genre back in style, paving the way for such recent entries as the Spartacus TV franchise.
At the end of Gladiator, Juba buries the figurines of Maximus’ wife and son in the Colosseum where he died. The camera settles on a landscape shot of Rome. The gorgeous final shot of Rome has a beauty and optimism missing from the majority of the movie.
Oldboy (2003)
Park Chan-wook’s grisly revenge thriller Oldboy culminates in the shocking twist that Oh Dae-su has been tricked into sleeping with his own daughter. At the end of the movie, he goes to see a hypnotist to have the memory erased.
In the hauntingly ambiguous final shot, Dae-su embraces his daughter with a warm smile that slowly turns into an agonized frown. The meaning of the ending is in the eye of the beholder.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Col. Hans Landa comes dangerously close to getting away with his years of Nazi war crimes in Quentin Tarantino’s carving a swastika into his forehead.
The final shot gets a little meta as the camera looks up at Aldo with a bloody knife and Tarantino uses him as a mouthpiece to declare, “You know something, Utivich, I think this just might be my masterpiece.”
Before Sunset (2004)
Like the other Before movies, Before Sunset plays out in real time. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) reconnect after being apart for nine years and promptly fall back in love with each other as they wander around Paris.
Jesse has a plane to catch, but he offers to walk Céline up to her apartment so they can spend a few more moments together. As Céline dances to Nina Simone’s “Just in Time,” she tells Jesse, “Baby, you are gonna miss that plane,” to which he smiles and replies, “I know.” The movie ends ambiguously, but it’s clear that Jesse doesn’t want to leave.
A Serious Man (2009)
Much like Job in the Bible, Larry Gopnik’s life falls apart spectacularly over the course of a week in the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man. At the end of the movie, he receives a call from his doctor with grave medical news.
At the same time, there’s a tornado warning so all the kids in Larry’s son’s school are sent to the shelter. When they get outside, they see a giant, apocalyptic storm bearing down on them.
Up (2009)
Pete Docter’s Up is one of Pixar’s most challenging movies because it deals with the difficult subject of grief. Following the heartbreaking opening montage, Carl Fredricksen begins his character arc as a widower mourning the loss of his wife. They always dreamed of flying their house to Paradise Falls, and Carl sets out to do just that.
The final shot of Carl and Ellie’s house sitting at the top of Paradise Falls provides a perfect visual metaphor for Carl’s emotional closure.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
The saga of oil baron Daniel Plainview reaches a violent conclusion in the final scene of Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood. Eli Sunday pays Daniel a visit in his private bowling alley and Daniel ends up bludgeoning him to death with a bowling pin.
When the butler shows up to ask about all the commotion, as Eli rapidly bleeds out all over the floor, Daniel simply cries out, “I’m finished!”
