Premonition Ending Explained & Film Analysis

The film “Premonition”: was Jim’s death predetermined. “Premonition” (2007): plot, meaning of the film with Sandra Bullock, explanation of the ending

Country: USA

Genre: Thriller, Drama, Detective

Year of production: 2007

Directed by: Mennan Yapo

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon, Shayne McClure

tagline: “Imagine the impossible”

“Premonition” is a psychological thriller with elements of mysticism. At first glance, this is a confusing film with an unclear ending. But only for the first. The meaning of the film “Premonition” with Sandra Bullock is the importance of the last chance. There is no hidden meaning here, but the main idea is very important: fate cannot be changed, but this is not necessary if there is love between people.

The plot of the movie

Brief description of the content of the film “Premonition” (Premonition). Linda (Sandra Bullock) is a typical American housewife. She has a loving husband, Jim, and two beautiful daughters.

Sandra Bullock as Linda and Julian McMahon as Father Jim. Frame from the film.

One day she was told that Jim had died in a car accident. Having survived the shock, Linda fell into a depression, then told her daughters about it, and then … woke up and found that Jim was alive and well.

At first, the heroine of Sandra Bullock thought that she just had a nightmare, but the next day she again saw a monstrous picture – preparations for Jim’s burial.

Linda could not understand in any way that this was her madness, or was it a heavy premonition? Having dealt with her feelings a little, she realized that she had a meeting with fate itself.

And she was preparing a terrible blow for her: by chance, a woman found out about the betrayal of her beloved husband. Linda decided to try to change fate. But closer to the finale, she began to understand that everything was going the way it should be. In the end, she realized that the more she tried to control the situation, the worse she was able to do it. Because control is an illusion.

Ending explanation

The explanation of the ending (more precisely, its solution) can look quite confusing. However, all the events that at first seem separate, gradually add up to a whole picture.

It is worth remembering how the film begins and ends. Jim bought a house, the family moved in. “Premonition” ends with the daughters telling Linda that things are about to be brought in. At the beginning of the film, the couple has no children, and at the end, daughters appear. In addition, at some point, Linda realizes that she is pregnant … That is, the beginning and end of the film are different. And the meaning of the ending of the film “Premonition” is that all that happened was not a dream.

However, the essence of the film “Premonition” is still not in the finale. The main idea is expressed by the priest. He tells Linda, “It’s never too late to figure out what’s important in life and try to fight for it.”

The meaning of the film

The meaning of the film “Premonition” is that the life path of each person is predetermined from the very beginning. And no matter what he does, he will in any case move towards his destined destination. Fate cannot be fooled. Or maybe worth a try?

The word “premonition” itself has two different meanings – premonition and warning. Perhaps the film is more about a warning about the inevitable.

However, the meaning of the picture does not change from the meaning of the word. We see a typical American family – beautiful young spouses live in one of the sleeping areas of the city. They have a big house, in the backyard there is a lawn for children’s games, the husband has a good job.

Unfortunately, at some point, many couples go through a crisis. This also affected Linda’s family. The once great love and tenderness has been replaced by insecurity, doubts and tension in relationships.

The frightening events taking place in Linda’s life made her believe that she must act – and that she must and can change fate.

The girls were played by Shayne McClure and Courtney Taylor Burness. Frame from the film.

“Premonition” is a picture about fate. Its meaning lies in the fact that each person can at some point return to a particular page in his life, review past events and give them a new assessment. Probably, the truth revealed (even if it is too late) will help to change the future life. At least that’s what I want to believe.

Another opinion

Some viewers in their analysis put forward a different, darker interpretation of the film “Premonition”.

We perceive the film through the prism of Linda’s experiences – the whole movie is shown through her eyes. There are several details that indirectly indicate that Jim’s death could have been prevented, but Linda did not do it – and quite consciously.

The point of no return began from the moment when Linda, who loved her husband very much, found out about his betrayal. From that moment on, burning resentment, jealousy and even hatred settled in her heart.

In one of the mise-en-scenes, she utters the key phrase, which sounds like this: “Maybe everything is for the best?”. Resentment against Jim, complete impotence before the betrayal and the inability to forgive him led the main character to an obsession: her husband died or will die soon.

Accepting this obsession, Linda began to accurately project it into her mind, which then began to detail the fantasies. For example, Linda meets with a policeman, and the consciousness of the offended woman projects this meeting as follows: the policeman appears at her house and informs her of Jim’s death.

The role of Annie was played by Nia Long. Frame from the film.

Gradually, the woman plunges into the world of her gloomy fantasies: her brain “thinks up” exactly how the disaster happened and suggests the place of the accident. Linda is driving to the scene of a fictional accident, imagining how it could happen, and at that moment her heart is in a titanic struggle of revenge and the desire to forgive Jim.

Revenge wins. But Linda decides that she needs a child from him, and puts on a farce in the evening, which ends in a passionate night.

Being in a state of stress and anxiety, Linda unconsciously began to intimidate Jim – she told him several times that she dreamed of his death. Frightened, Jim went to the insurer and doubled the insurance amount. That is, all their joint property after his death was to go to Linda and the children.

In order to calm her conscience a little, Linda went to the priest, but she lied in confession. The clergyman unconsciously played along with her, instilling in her the idea of her “chosenness.” So Linda received a “blessing to kill.”

She told Jim that she would help him avoid the accident. Consciously or not, she thoroughly confused him on the road, as a result of which he nevertheless got into an accident and died. Linda lied to the children that she was not at the scene of the accident, and in order to at least somehow calm her conscience, she set about preparing the funeral as soon as possible.

Frame from the film.

Then Linda bought a house and, in order not to arouse the suspicions of others, created the illusion that “life goes on”. The heroine visited a psychotherapist and played a performance in front of him, then she staged a farce at the church – these actions of hers led to the fact that Linda was not accused of murder and she began to live happily on. Without Jim…

This version seems interesting: all the more so because if Linda had not asked her husband to turn around, he would not have ended up across the road and, most likely, would have survived.

But she breaks on the cornerstone: after all, she loved him. All her strength was directed to the preservation of the family. She didn’t have any of the intricate schemes in her head that usually pop up in the minds of people planning a murder. However, you can’t escape fate…

At the end of the film “Premonition” the words of the priest sound like an echo. It is they who say that Linda began a new life (literally, found the strength in herself to start living again), and does not at all indicate that she finally got rid of her traitor husband. She did not want his death – finding the strength to forgive him, she tried to save his life. But you can’t escape fate.