People can be very picky about how they like a film to end! Some people opt for a sad ending while others will only go for films with happy endings. However, the ending of a film needs to feel genuine to the story they are trying to tell.
One person recently decided to take to the internet to ask, “What is the greatest end scene monologue in a movie?” And the internet folk came out in droves to share their own favourite film moments ! Some of the examples that people gave did not come directly at the close of the film, but we’ll let them off I suppose.
Anyway, see if your favourite is listed below, and if it isn’t then let us know what yours is in the comments! (Oh, and SPOILERS ahead…obviously!)
“Big Fish gets me every time…” — emptylighthouse
I am a massive fan of this film and so was made up when I saw Redditor emptylighthouse point to this film’s ending as one of their favourites. They specifically quoted the lines:
“That was my father’s final joke, I guess. A man tells his stories so many times that he becomes the stories. They live on after him. And in that way, he becomes immortal.”
“Tears in the rain from blade runner!” — Grumpicake
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.”
This was obviously going to feature because…well, have you seen Blade Runner? The legendary Rutger Hauer delivering this line is just perfection.
Cast Away. — btstfn
I do not know anyone who wasn’t massively affected by Tom Hanks’ monologue towards the end of that film:
“…I’m back. In Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass… And I’ve lost her all over again. I’m so sad that I don’t have Kelly. But I’m so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?”
In Bruges.
“I’m a fan of the final sequence in In Bruges, with Colin Farrell’s monologue.” — AMetalWorld
There are a plethora of things to love in Colin Farrell’s final speech in In Bruges, and the entire film as a whole. However, what makes that end so impactful is that, after all that has come before, his final line is: “I really, really hoped I wouldn’t die.”
The Shawshank Redemption.
“I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope. – Red, Shawshank Redemption.” — President_Calhoun
The Shawshank Redemption has achieved an almost mythical status as a film nowadays, and its ending sequence has a lot to play in that fact.
“Abraham Lincoln from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” — HuskyDJ2015
“Fourscore and…seven minutes ago. We, your forefathers, were brought on a most excellent adventure conceived by our new friends, Bill…and Ted. These two great gentlemen are dedicated to a proposition that was true in my time, just as it’s true today. Be excellent to each other…and…PARTY ON DUDES!!!!”
The speech that Lincoln gives in this film lives on in the hearts of countless people without a doubt!
Stand By Me.
Okay, I am not sure if you can count this one as a monologue as such, but user Juice_Stanton did say that they loved the final line of Stand By Me being: “I never had any friends later on like the ones I did when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?”
I guess we’ll let it slide seeing as how it’s such a great film.
American Psycho.
Redditor randomuser8975 claimed their favourite final monologue to be this one, from the end of American Psycho (it’s certainly an intense choice!):
“There are no more barriers to cross. All I have in common with the uncontrollable and the insane, the vicious and the evil, all the mayhem I have caused and my utter indifference toward it I have now surpassed. My pain is constant and sharp, and I do not hope for a better world for anyone. In fact, I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no one to escape. But even after admitting this, there is no catharsis; my punishment continues to elude me, and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself. No new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This confession has meant nothing.”
Trainspotting.
Mark Renton’s famous speech at the end of the original Trainspotting has been parodied hundreds of times and that’s because, as Redditor MrBarraclough pointed out, it is a classic:
“Now I’m cleaning up and I’m moving on, going straight and choosing life. I’m looking forward to it already. I’m gonna be just like you. The job, the family, the f****** big television. The washing machine, the car, the compact disc and electrical tin opener, good health, low cholesterol, dental insurance, mortgage, starter home, leisure wear, luggage, three piece suite, DIY, game shows, junk food, children, walks in the park, nine to five, good at golf, washing the car, choice of sweaters, family Christmas, indexed pension, tax exemption, clearing gutters, getting by, looking ahead, the day you die.”
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“Lee J. Cobb’s rant at the end of 12 Angry Men…” — monty_kurns
“Not a typical monologue like the others posted, but Lee J. Cobb’s rant at the end of 12 Angry Men always gets me. The whole movie he puts up a hard, cold face in favor of the defendant being guilty. Unlike Ed Begley’s racial bias, Cobb’s is a personal problem with his relationship to his son.
“He put his son’s face to the defendant and when, at the end, all the evidence points the other way, he has his breakdown and it all comes pouring out. While that’s going on, the other 11 just sit there and watch it happen, not trying to stop it, and allowing him to get it out of his system,” wrote user monty_kurns.
“Charlie Chaplin’s speech at the end of The Great Dictator…” — ZappSmithBrannigan
“It’s f****** epic, and often considered the greatest speech in film history. [Brings] me to tears every time I watch it,” this user went on to write. And they’re not wrong, it is an incredibly powerful speech with such lines as:
“The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish…”
The Usual Suspects. — bigdayout95-14
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. And like that – poof – he was gone…” was a lot of people’s favourite final line. The line itself is actually commonly credited to Charles Baudelaire.
Se7en.
User BirdGuy64 wrote that they are particularly fond of the final lines of the film Se7en, as William Somerset says:
“Ernest Hemingway once wrote, ‘The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.’ I agree with the second part.”
“Beneath the Planet of the Apes.” — TheChainLink2
This user went on to justify their choice by writing:
“‘”In one of the countless billions of galaxies in the universe lies a medium-sized star. And one of its satellites, a green and insignificant planet, is now dead.’ [It’s] Simple. Concise. Haunting.”
Bit of a left field one…
“I’m not sure it counts as a monologue but Tim Curry’s bit and physical comedy at the end of clue detailing who the murderer is comes to mind.” — OldManWarner_
It always baffles me that Clue has become something of a cult classic. Although, Tim Curry can do no wrong I suppose!
h/t: Reddit
