somebody please explain the ending?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Klute
hifisapi — 21 years ago(June 22, 2004 10:30 PM)
I saw this film for the first time yesterday but I didnt get the ending.
what happened? who was the killer? why did fonda attack klute? sorry I
guess I was half asleep at the end. I really liked the film. fonda was very good. The film is very dated, but I enjoyed that, things were different in
the early 70's and this film proves it.
JCO -
alix_one — 21 years ago(June 28, 2004 02:46 AM)
Hello hifisapi,
the ending of "Klute" is rather ambivalent. Bree wanted to leave New York but she knew that she probably would be back again within a few days. She was reasonable enough to know that she wasnt able to change her way of life.
This is also the reason why she didnt want to continue her relationship with John Klute; she felt too much for him so she didnt want him to be hurt. On the other hand she might as well change her mind once again.
The killer was Peter Cable, Tom Grunemans boss and the same guy who hired Klute to look for Gruneman.
Bree attacked Klute because she was really scared of him. He had just attacked her pimp and when Klute turned to her she thought that he wanted to beat her, too.
I hope this helps a little. Hope you dont mind my English, Im a little bit out of practice
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bholen33 — 21 years ago(March 06, 2005 12:32 PM)
As far as Bree attacking Klute, she doesn't attack him because she is scared. Her attack on Klute is more of a result of her self-destructive behavior. She knows Klute genuinely cares for her and values her as a person, which frightens her. "You always hurt the ones you love", that phrase applies here.
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jbowring — 20 years ago(June 03, 2005 06:31 AM)
I think Bree brought her (former) pimp into her apartment to piss off Sutherland's character. Then she lashed out with the scissors to further push him away - she was afraid of her feelings for him, yes. But the presence of the pimp was (to me) so obviously deliberate - she knew how Sutherland felt about him. She was trying to stick it to him, to conceal her real feelings for him. Just watched this for the first time last night! Terrific! Another question about the ending - we hear the voice over of her conversation with her analyst, but we're seeing her leave with the detective. I'm not so convinced she is being honest with her analyst: I think she leaves with Sutherland despite herself.
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alix_one — 20 years ago(June 03, 2005 08:56 AM)
I think that Bree THINKS that she is being honest at the moment when she talks to her analyst. Brees main problem is that she cannot make up her mind whether to lead a normal life "back in Cabbageville" or to keep on tricking.
So we see her leave with Klute but she knows herself well enough to admit that something stronger than her might drag her back into her old life.
On the other hand I am not quite convinced that Bree really leaves New York in order to live with John. After all that happened she aurely wants to get out of the city but does she really join him?
In the final scene in Brees appartement they dont look like a couple in love looking forward to spend time together. Bree seems to be impatient and kind of harsh, Johns looks are awkward and uneasy.
What do you think about that, jbowring? Id be glad to know your opinion. -
alix_one — 20 years ago(June 08, 2005 09:07 AM)
Thank you, rduke! I try to do my very best
By the way, I have often tried to figure out what Bree would do with her life. I mean, if she really left to start a relationship with Klute, what was she supposed to do all day long in rural Pennsylvania? Or what could be her future if she returned to NYC?
I have to admit that I dont see her as a loving wife or even as an actress. As a matter of fact, I cant think of anything she could really fill her empty life with. Does anyone of you have any idea? -
coldwind9 — 20 years ago(December 17, 2005 05:43 AM)
She leaves with Klute. They get married six months later. They have kids. Dabble with vegetarianism. Go to soccer practice, band rehearsal, and dance recitals. Buy Honda Civics, then Accords. She runs for City Council, is involved in PTO, joins a book club with her friends to unwind once a month. Writes for the local paper while she works on her novel. Takes cooking classes.
Just like the rest of us did. -
kathryn49 — 17 years ago(March 07, 2009 09:42 PM)
coldwind:
De to the Pressing. But I don't think so on the Hondas, Klute strikes me as a GM man, after all he was spotted in that god-awful wagon before the club scene.
"I never dreamed that any mere physical experience could be so stimulating!" -The African Queen -
coldwind9 — 16 years ago(March 09, 2010 05:03 PM)
Kathryn
Depressing? That's a rich full life! Note the great dinner party in the beginninggotta be better than hanging out with all that horrible disco music blasting. As for GM, it was '71 you may have a point. -
jbowring — 20 years ago(June 13, 2005 09:09 AM)
I think I should view it again, that's what I think! hee. I hear what you're saying - I think Bree is unclear about what she really wants. She has some disturbing realizations, like witnessing what's become of her former friend, the woman with her partner who are waiting for their dealer in the slummy apaprtment. The look on her face when she leaves is not ambiguous at all, in that scene. I also think in the final scene, either after she's taken the phone call or while the phone is still ringing, she shrugs in a way that almost says "Well, what are you gonna do/what can I do? This is my life / was my life." Almost a "well, there you go" gesture. Maybe I'm reading way too much into this, but that's what I love about film - trying to get to the kernel of it. What do you think?
J. -
fiftyfootqueenie — 19 years ago(October 13, 2006 08:08 AM)
I like your version Cookie. Leaving behind a life like that doesn't mean you have to embrace its diametric opposite e.g - the bourgeoise suburban horror. Bree was a blood bohemian, a born outsider. As she says of the Life More Ordinary - 'I'd go mad.'