It’s no secret that an ending can make or break a movie. After all, the audience is likely to remember a lackluster film's powerful ending more than the reverse. Indeed, Hollywood history is filled with examples of endings that, for one reason or another, were anticlimactic and failed to live up to the movie as a whole.
At the same time, there are also some fascinating examples of films that have used an anticlimax to achieve a rather contradictory sort of power, illustrating the extent to which a subtle and skilled filmmaker can use this device to cleverly subvert audience expectations. 'Civil War' Alex Garland’s Civil War immerses viewers in the dark and tumultuous world of an American torn asunder by civil war. It primarily focuses on a group of war photographers trying to get to DC to interview the President of the United States before his inevitable downfall.
In the end, one of the journalists (played by Kirsten Dunst ) gives her life so that her young protege can live, and the latter snaps a picture of the President after he’s killed. It’s a macabre way to end the movie and an anticlimactic one, leaving the viewer wondering what the point of it all was. 'The Grey' Liam Neeson has made a name for himself acting in various adrenaline-pumping action films.
In The Grey , he plays John Ottway, a man stranded in the wilderness who has to survive an attack by a group of grey wolves. The film’s main narrative ends with a fade to black as he prepares to confront the al.