Bookended Films

I have film suggestions (and one play suggestion) that use the bookend technique. What is that, you ask? Think about how some films end and begin with a similar sequence or shot, like two bookends. It gives closure to the audience. Today I'll illustrate the concept using movies and one play that executes this wonderfully.

Courtesy of Lionsgate

I'm going to begin by listing the movies I am using for illustration purposes. You will find spoilers in this post for all these films and the one play I reference. In one case, three Simon Pegg films are referenced as a set (because they are a set, technically) since they use the same bookending technique in their dialogue. The movies and play I'm using will be:

Knives Out, Frankenweenie, Hot Fuzz and Shawn of the Dead and At World's End, White Christmas, Cabaret

You have been warned! Watch these before you proceed, should you want to be surprised by Knives Out or Hot Fuzz, which are mysteries. Either way, they are fantastic. 

A lot of bookending techniques can be seen as foreshadowing. Mysteries are full of bookend elements. Not all these bookend movies are mysteries, but at least two are. When we say foreshadowed we mines well have said bookended. 

This technique can be used via dialogue, visual elements, settings, and situations. In several movies, the same dialogue at the beginning and end can mean two different things, but be worded verbatim. Objects will show up in scenes that were featured in previous scenes. Set pieces may appear twice. 

Knives Out

The movie is set up brilliantly. The basic plot is this; Benoit Blanc is investigating the death of Harlan Thrombey, a prominent mystery writer who has, according to authorities, committed suicide. It complicates from here and I won't go into it. I'll try not to tell you the culprit in this section. You might deduce it logically from here. I just won't say the name directly. 

I did a watch-and-blog approach for this film specifically. It has so much detail to it that I had to. First off, we see a mug that says "my house, my rules, my coffee!!" come into the second shot in the film. At the end, Marta is holding that mug (the last shot of the film). This is bookending visually. Another visual bookend could be the knives chair seen during the interviews, which the culprit pulls a knife from at the end, in the same room. 

This may just be a plot point, but the game that Harlan played with his daughter (the code on paper shown early in the film) is one of the elements of the last scene of the film (when Linda reads the note she finds on Harlan's desk). This is definitely something, because "You tell her or I will" is a part of the dialogue early in the film when Linda's husband is being questioned. Harlan did tell Linda of her husband's affair, even after his death, which is a bookend closure situation. Richard opens it to find it blank, but it all had to do with the game Harlan played with Linda. 

Yet another bookend is the case of who hired Benoit Blanc, which is only solved in the next-to-last scene (when the true culprit is revealed). This one is self-explanatory. Another little nugget is the inability to lie causes Marta to throw up in the first interview with Benoit Blanc and then the last scene, where she lies to the culprit about a phone call result. That may be nothing, though. 

In Marta's flashback of what truly happened that night, there are several examples of bookending, such as the "not knowing a real knife from a stage prop" dialogue and the medication being identified correctly despite the label mishap or a missing label. The knife is important because our true culprit (who stole the antidote meds) picked up a prop knife and tried to kill Marta in the second to last scene (and is directly referenced in the same sentence as the prop knife). The medication is simply the closure of the mystery and the proof that Marta did nothing wrong. Lots of mysteries are bookended for simple closure reasons. Even the conversation about how "in ten minutes" Harlan would die "if someone switched the meds on purpose" is bookending since that is what was intended to happen. This movie's script was cleverly written, giving you the solution early in the film under your nose. Harlan figured out the murder method himself. Later Marta also hears that Fran has a relative in the medical examiner's office, which gets mentioned at the end reveal, as well as Fran's stash, referenced early in the film. Nana seeing everything is also bookended since our detective talks to her later on. Ransom saying only the help calls him Hugh is another instance where it makes an impact on the ending. 

Frankenweenie

Is this one really bookended? Yes, just look at the film that the main character made. It mirrors the ending, where all the kids' pets being brought back to life causes Godzilla-like chaos in the town. His dog Sparky saves the day by taking out the flying bat-cat (much like a furry pterodactyl). His dog even dies and comes to life all over again. This is foreshadowed first thing in the movie, literally, the first scene you see. Soon after the first scene you will see the dog get hit by a car and later brought back to life. The middle of the movie is just him hiding Sparky. 

Let me break it down. No, actually, let me show you the end and beginning scenes together. Watch the first scene, then one of the last. It isn't exact, but the scenario itself is extremely close. 

Simon Pegg Films

Hot Fuzz, At World's end, and Shawn of the Dead are a series of parody films. They are all starring Simon Pegg. They all include references to Point Break, but they also do the same bookending in every single one. The beginning dialogue and end dialogue are near exact. The tone is never the same as the first instance of the phrase.  One parody is an alien movie, one is a buddy cop film, and one is a zombie movie. It's best that I show you what I mean. 

These are brilliant. I can't explain it any better than these videos already do. I love all three of these films, but most of all Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. Let me just add a video about the third film before I move on. 

See what I mean? These are written to be like this. Same formula. 

Cabaret

This one is a musical, one that focuses on several characters, and yet, it is all about the Nazi party taking over. The Nazi party destroys everyone in the musical until no one is okay. If you're looking for a light musical you might want to skip this one tonight. It is on this list because one song is sung twice in two different tones. The opening and closing songs have the same lyrics. 

The video below is the first opening song. Listen to it first.

And now watch this.

The idea is that the Nazis in Germany killed everyone's happiness. I watched this one live at the Players Guild. It had a female narrator instead of a gay man narrator (the one singing), but I actually liked that spin. If you didn't know, homosexuals were killed along with Jews under Nazi reign. So, if you didn't understand that last video you now know. I think the contrast in songs makes everything quite clear. The whole show paints the entire picture. It happens slowly, with subtle changes taking place as the plot continues. It is so much better performed live, though. See it live. Spring for the theatre tickets.

White Christmas

Why this one? Simple, the Major General. The set piece at the end and the whole unit returning to honor the Major General make this bookended. They sing to him in both scenes.  They don't throw that in just because they can. There is a reason we begin with the scene honoring the Major General. Take a look at the scene below. 

This next song is at the end.

This is the same tone, which makes it unlike Cabaret, but it is the same song. It's heartwarming. This one is good to watch when Christmas rolls around. 

I released a book! 

Have you heard? I have released Wrenville after a year of editing! I am ecstatic. Check out my book at this amazon link. It is available in paperback and Kindle ebook. Leave a review if you read it. I can't wait for all of you blog readers to enjoy it. Below is a celebratory meme and a blurb about my new book. Happy reading!

Courtesy of memegenerator.net

Sources:

https://www.proz.com/kudoz/kog-to-lan/cinema-film-tv-drama/6755216-bookend-technique.html