!!SPOILER ALERT!! !!SPOILER ALERT!!
I was glued to the screen for the whole movie, and I'm happy that the ending gave a worthy payoff. Paulina is by far the strongest person in that house. Even though Gerardo loves her, he also envies and resents her, because she is so much stronger than he is. He tells Dr Miranda how she saved his life by not giving up Gerardo's name, even under torture, and Gerardo knew he would have confessed everything right away. Paulina thinks he gave up too much in order to get appointed to the investigating committee- he agreed to only look at cases where people died, which to her was a betrayal of all the torture survivors.
Gerardo vacillates weakly through the whole movie. He typifies all people who cannot bring themselves to take unpleasant, decisive action against other people, so he's always pinned on the very uncomfortable horns of his own dilemmas. He cannot accept the necessity of killing Dr Miranda to save himself and Paulina, even though Dr Miranda himself recognized the necessity- if he's innocent, they've committed a serious crime against him. If he's guilty, he deserves death, and by kidnapping him they've compromised any potential legal case against him. Either way, they must kill him to save themselves. But Gerardo does not have the strength to face this. Paulina is matter-of-fact- "we have to kill him." Gerardo's character suggests why evil people always seem to succeed- they have no such restraints, and the law fails victims of crimes.
At the end, when Dr Miranda finally confesses, Paulina sees that he too is a victim. A morally weak man who got sucked into becoming a torturer, and who discovered he liked it. Paulina is the only "pure" character in the movie; her clarity of moral vision remains steadfast. And, she kept her word- she said she would let him go if he confessed. When she got a genuine confession, when he admitted what he had done, and vindicated everything Paulina said, that was her liberation. No more excuses from the likes of Gerardo- he could no longer deny her experiences and judgement. She no longer has to protect him by not telling him everything.
Gerardo, in his own way, is as weak as Dr Miranda. He would rather disbelieve Paulina than believe Dr Miranda is her torturer, because believing Paulina means he has to do something about it. His weak blathering about "the law" and process is priceless. Edmund Burke had people like Gerardo in mind when he said “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
The final scene sums up everything, without a single word of dialog. All three are attending a live performance of "Death and the Maiden." Paulina looks up and makes eye contact with Dr Miranda, who is sitting in the balcony with his family. She's not happy to see him, but she has found a measure of peace. Gerardo sees him, and suddenly he looks like he's sitting on spikes. Ben Kingsley is such a wonderful actor- the look he gives Paulina is a combination of "we have a special bond from our shared experiences," and the type of gratitude that a torture victim displays to a captor who shows him any kindness.
Great movie, great performances.
I was glued to the screen for the whole movie, and I'm happy that the ending gave a worthy payoff. Paulina is by far the strongest person in that house. Even though Gerardo loves her, he also envies and resents her, because she is so much stronger than he is. He tells Dr Miranda how she saved his life by not giving up Gerardo's name, even under torture, and Gerardo knew he would have confessed everything right away. Paulina thinks he gave up too much in order to get appointed to the investigating committee- he agreed to only look at cases where people died, which to her was a betrayal of all the torture survivors.
Gerardo vacillates weakly through the whole movie. He typifies all people who cannot bring themselves to take unpleasant, decisive action against other people, so he's always pinned on the very uncomfortable horns of his own dilemmas. He cannot accept the necessity of killing Dr Miranda to save himself and Paulina, even though Dr Miranda himself recognized the necessity- if he's innocent, they've committed a serious crime against him. If he's guilty, he deserves death, and by kidnapping him they've compromised any potential legal case against him. Either way, they must kill him to save themselves. But Gerardo does not have the strength to face this. Paulina is matter-of-fact- "we have to kill him." Gerardo's character suggests why evil people always seem to succeed- they have no such restraints, and the law fails victims of crimes.
At the end, when Dr Miranda finally confesses, Paulina sees that he too is a victim. A morally weak man who got sucked into becoming a torturer, and who discovered he liked it. Paulina is the only "pure" character in the movie; her clarity of moral vision remains steadfast. And, she kept her word- she said she would let him go if he confessed. When she got a genuine confession, when he admitted what he had done, and vindicated everything Paulina said, that was her liberation. No more excuses from the likes of Gerardo- he could no longer deny her experiences and judgement. She no longer has to protect him by not telling him everything.
Gerardo, in his own way, is as weak as Dr Miranda. He would rather disbelieve Paulina than believe Dr Miranda is her torturer, because believing Paulina means he has to do something about it. His weak blathering about "the law" and process is priceless. Edmund Burke had people like Gerardo in mind when he said “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
The final scene sums up everything, without a single word of dialog. All three are attending a live performance of "Death and the Maiden." Paulina looks up and makes eye contact with Dr Miranda, who is sitting in the balcony with his family. She's not happy to see him, but she has found a measure of peace. Gerardo sees him, and suddenly he looks like he's sitting on spikes. Ben Kingsley is such a wonderful actor- the look he gives Paulina is a combination of "we have a special bond from our shared experiences," and the type of gratitude that a torture victim displays to a captor who shows him any kindness.
Great movie, great performances.