James Cameron has delivered his verdict on the divisive ending to his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow’s Netflix movie A House of Dynamite.
The film, which follows the minutes after a nuclear missile has been launched at the United States, was generally praised by critics with The Independent awarding it four stars.
*Warning — Spoilers ahead for A House of Dynamite*
However some viewers found the ending underwhelming, as the movie concludes ambiguously. The audience never learns whether the president (played by Idris Elba) has decided to let the missile hit Chicago in order to avoid a full-scale war or has chosen to retaliate. The actual impact of the missile is never shown.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cameron said he recently had dinner with Bigelow and told her he loved the ending.
“I said to her, ‘I utterly defend that ending,’” recalled Cameron. “It’s really the only possible ending. You don’t get to the end of The Lady or the Tiger? and know what’s behind which door.”
The Lady or the Tiger is an 1882 short story by Frank R. Stockton in which it is never revealed whether a princess decides to send the man she loves to be eaten by a tiger or to marry another woman.
Cameron went on to further explain: “But that’s not even really the point. The point is: From the moment the scenario began at minute zero when the missile was launched and detected, the outcome already sucked.
“There was no good outcome, and the movie spent two hours showing you there is no good outcome. We cannot countenance these weapons existing at all.
“And it all boils down to one guy in the American system, the president, who is the only person allowed to launch a nuclear strike, either offensively or defensively, and the lives of every person on the planet revolve around that one person. That’s the world we live in and we need to remember that when we vote next time.”
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Cameron and Bigelow were married from 1989 to 1991, and worked together on films including 1991’s Point Break and 1995’s Strange Days.
Meanwhile, Cameron recently called out comedian Amy Poehler for making an “ignorant” joke about the former couple at the Golden Globes in 2013.
“Amy Poehler’s remark was an ignorant dig at an event which is supposed to be a celebration of cinema and filmmakers, not a roast,” said Cameron.
