I really thought this move started out good, and it wasn't having any problems keeping me glued to the screen...And then the script did a complete 180. It was almost impossible to know what was going on by the end. The thing that gets me is, it didn't have to be that way. The story had a good premise, with plenty of different avenues to go, and the way it was handling Billy's character arc after Betty broke him out of prison was fun and original. In addition, I really wanted to see what they would do with the money, and if Billy would eventually be able to change Betty's outlook on life. Instead, it felt like a cop-out. Either that or they ran out of cash. For example, once they hit the abandoned town, they never left that location. Sure they go in the "diner" and the "church" but those were both pretty lame settings. This, as opposed to the first half of the movie were we go from a jail, to a motel, to a long country highway, to an old gas station in the middle of the desert. Maybe I'm just bummed out because it had so much potential, and it hits act 3 and just craps out. In all honesty, even after reading other people's opinions and input, the ending just doesn't add up for me. I mean, if the directors intent was to make us realize that Billy is really dead, and he has to constantly relive killing the people he loves, well then, the director did a awful job. I say this because, he's completely cu cu and insane by the time he's killing Betty. For god sakes, the guys smiling, and obviously enjoying it! If he is supposed to be in agony, stop having so much fun, and being so sadistic about it. I think it would have been more effective if he would have been more emotional (maybe if he cried while killing Betty.) Also, we don't actually get to see him kill her either, and I was really looking forward to it.
Just a side note, everyone else has mentioned the Tarantino style being evident, and I'm not going to argue that . But, I just want to say that Quentin doesn't have a copyright on witty dialogue mixed with gritty violence. That said, the whole not showing Betty getting killed, reminded me of the cutting the ear off scene in Reservoir Dogs, when the camera pans away instead of showing the act itself, except, in the case of Hide, it was completely ineffective. If your going to throw us a curve ball ending like that, at least let us see the hot blonde get stabbed to death.
Just a side note, everyone else has mentioned the Tarantino style being evident, and I'm not going to argue that . But, I just want to say that Quentin doesn't have a copyright on witty dialogue mixed with gritty violence. That said, the whole not showing Betty getting killed, reminded me of the cutting the ear off scene in Reservoir Dogs, when the camera pans away instead of showing the act itself, except, in the case of Hide, it was completely ineffective. If your going to throw us a curve ball ending like that, at least let us see the hot blonde get stabbed to death.