Ambiguity in the Dark
Last week was a dark week for me. By which I mean that it was time for Frameline, San Francisco’s LGBT film festival, so I spent much of the week sitting in a darkened auditorium, with God ever by my side.
There are a number of things that I like about going to film festivals. I get to see films that may never make it into wide release. I get to see them with an audience of enthusiasts. And, especially at Frameline, I get to sit in on Q&A sessions with the film makers.
One of the themes that God pointed out to me was being repeated in several of the Q&As this year was a form of cowardice being presented as if it were a virtue. I talked about this in the context of fast food back in April, when I complained that the supposed professionals preparing my food wanted me to micromanage the process, in effect making me into the chef. Here’s the film director’s equivalent: “Yeah, I wanted to leave that ambiguous so the audience could make up their own mind.”
Well, screw you, you coward. It’s not my job to decide how your story was supposed to end. You’re the professional storyteller so do your job and make a commitment, make a decision, and just accept that some of us will like it and some won’t. You’ll actually probably please more people, because I can tell you, judging by the number of questions people have about what actually happened, not saying is pissing a lot of us off. Look, don’t be scared to have an unhappy ending, but if you do, make sure it has value and was supported by the rest of the film. Also, don’t be afraid to have a happy ending, but if you do, make sure it isn’t contradictory to where the rest of the film was going.
Oh and God wants me to add, as to that whole “slice of life” thing? That’s what newspapers and magazines are for, fiction should actually tell a story. Stories end. If your film just stops, without actually ending, most of us don’t like that.
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