The Sunday Question is BACK here on LiE, and ready for you to stretch your mind once more in debate.This Week's Prompt: Is admitting, or acknowledging, through a review that a film has a TWIST ending, without giving details, a spoiler?
Considerations: This method of advertising was really put at the forefront this year with Shutter Island, quoting a review as saying "It's a twist you won't see coming" (or something along those lines). On one hand you've failed to give any detail on the twist, and given the film that can mean anything. On the other hand admitting the film has a twist ending tells the viewer not to trust what's being presented. It removes the directors ability for misdirecting the audience, as it's assumed that's what is being done. Which can greatly affect how one watches a particular movie.
LET THE DEBATE BEGIN!
8 better thoughts:
In a review, perhaps less so than a tagline used to advertise the movie. When reading a review, you expect to be given an indication of what the movie is about. There's also more room in the review to warn readers that what they're about to read may give away elements of the mother that some would perhaps rather avoid.
But advertising, in my opinion, should be devoid of spoilers or hints of spoilers. Telling the viewer there's a twist instantly gets them guessing, and thus when the twist does come, it's totally expected. Surely twists are plot points that are unexpected?
Well, admitting the movie has a twist ending isn't much of a spoiler. Saying what the twist is, that's a different matter.
I don't believe that stating a film has a twist ending is giving anything away. Viewers might watch more closely, but most still won't figure it out.
Knowing that there's a twist ending coming up tends to ruin the atmosphere that the film is building up to get the effect of that twist. I think if the reviewer thought the movie was good, then they can write in a way that doesn't say there's a twist. If they though that on a whole, the movie was mediocre, then revealing that there is a twist isn't as much of a problem.
There is a fine line between spoiling the movie and writing a good movie review. Stating that there is a twist at the end might spoil the movie for a few but it also generates interest in the movie. Additionally, a twist belongs to the structure of the movie hence, it should be discussed in the review.
It's an almost-unavoidable spoiler. It generates interest in the movie, but you'll keep expecting a character be revealed as a figment of the imagination or something like that. At least in Shutter Island, it wasn't all a dream.
Now genre twists--when a movie goes from one genre to another, as a twist in itself--is even harder to not acknowledge, and even more of a spoiler.
^I guess I don't need to watch Shutter Island now. Speaking of spoilers that was one.
Since it almost certainly has an impact on what your experience watching the film will be like, I think it is a mild spoiler. Although I find it very tough to leave this out of a review, especially when the twist ending is either one of my main problems with the movie, or one of the things I like best about it. If I feel strongly about the twist ending, I feel obligated to at least mention it in the review.
Post a Comment