Red Lights The Meaning Of The Film, Plot Summary, Ending Explained. In 2012, the film by Rodrigo Cortes Red Lights appeared. Viewer reviews of the thriller are mostly positive. This is due to an interesting plot, an original ending and a talented cast. The main characters of the film “Red Lights”, the meaning of which is analyzed in the article, were played by the magnificent Robert De Niro, the strict but attractive Sigourney Weaver, the charming Cillian Murphy and the sweet, gentle Elizabeth Olsen.
Summary
The meaning of the film “Red Lights” lies on the surface of the storyline. So, a brief summary of the thriller.
Doctor of pseudo-paranormal sciences Margaret Matheson and physicist Tom Buckley reveal the fraudulent machinations of magicians, psychics. They check the accuracy of the data of everyone who indicates the presence of supernatural abilities.
On a note! In the laboratory where the research is being done, there is a poster with a modified quote from the X-Files “I Want To Believe” – ”I Want To Understand”. Trust but verify.
Both run parallel lectures for students interested in their activities. Each of the characters has their own secret:
- Margaret’s son has been in a coma since the age of 4. The woman hesitates to turn off the life support machines;
- Tom’s mother suffered at the hands of a psychic who misdiagnosed her.
Over time, Matheson’s student, Sally Owen, joins the team of investigators. Mutual sympathy develops between the girl and Tom.
Margaret and Tom are shocked by the news that the famous blind magician Simon Silver, who left the stage 30 years ago, will soon arrive in the city. Once, in her youth, the doctor talked with him, and the villain took advantage of her weakness regarding her son, who was in a coma. Simon disappeared when a journalist who tried to expose a charlatan died at his performance.
After Silver arrives, strange things begin to happen. Margaret picks up the phone, but the phone is silent. In the coffee, she discovers a bent spoon. All this scares the woman. After talking with Tom about Simon, Matheson suddenly becomes ill and dies.
Continuation of the case
The physicist decides to solve the mystery of Silver’s fraud.
The institute of paranormal phenomena is going to conduct an experiment – to test Silver’s abilities. The psychic is offered a series of tests, which he must perform under the strict supervision of independent experts. Tom becomes the observer of the experiment.
According to experts, Silver really has abilities. But Tom continues to look for a catch and asks his assistant Ben to find evidence of the magician’s fraudulent actions from the videos taken.
Buckley goes to Simon’s performance. In the toilet, he is beaten by the psychic’s guard. The disfigured physicist goes into the hall and exposes the charlatan. In fact, Silver is not blind. All his abilities are the result of well-thought-out manipulations and agreements with agents.
Tom himself turns out to be a real psychic with paranormal abilities. She and Owen disconnect Margaret’s son from life support machines.
Plot Explanation
What is the meaning of the movie “Red Lights”?
The thriller tells about two heroes who are trying with all their might to prevent unscrupulous psychics from deceiving people.
The problem of fraud in the field of paranormal phenomena has long been of concern to mankind. Despite the lack of real confirmation of the effectiveness of the actions of magicians in curing the sick and getting rid of evil spirits, people again and again turn to them for help. The director of “Red Lights” urges viewers to be careful in this matter. After all, charlatans often cause irreparable harm to the health of their patients.
Reality Denial
Also, the meaning of the film “Red Lights” is how easy it is to deceive society. People are very gullible and often want to be deceived themselves. They so want to believe in miracles and magic. That is why the actions of psychics help some – they believe too much in the miraculous manipulation of the latter.
Even the main characters in the film preferred to deceive themselves, to deny the existing realities. Margaret kept her son between two worlds for more than 20 years, trying to convince herself that something could change. She was afraid that there was nothing after death. For this reason, she began to work as a specialist in the field of investigation of pseudo-paranormal phenomena.
It is interesting! The film “Red Lights”, the meaning of which is in the search for people with supernatural abilities, is based on real cases of taking false psychics. For example, the episode of exposing Leonardo Palladino is a film adaptation of the arrest of fraudulent magician Peter Popoff in 1986.
On a subconscious level, Matheson sought to find a person who would give her hope, make her life easier. That is a real psychic. And such a person was always next to her – this is her partner.
Tom also deceived himself all his life, not wanting to accept his abilities. Self-denial tore him apart. He needed proof of the existence of people like him. This leads the hero to Margaret, who must help him either establish himself in self-denial, or believe in his superpowers.
As a result, the activities of the heroes completely contradicted their aspirations. They exposed magicians and psychics, told everyone about the absence of paranormal phenomena. However, they themselves, deep down, hoped to find a real “wizard” who would help them destroy the walls of self-denial.
What is the essence of the ending
Some viewers had difficulty explaining the meaning of the Red Lights ending. Not everyone understood what director Rodrigo Cortes wanted to say with such a controversial ending.
The thriller ends as follows: Tom was able to expose the most difficult client, the psychic Silver. He managed to prove to everyone that Simon is a charlatan. But then the viewer learns that there are people with paranormal abilities. This is the main character.
The meaning of the ending of the film “Red Lights” is that the hero finally stopped denying himself and accepted his abilities. He realized that bent spoons, exploding lamps, dead birds, contactless turning on of the TV – this is the work of his hands. His thoughts, fears, anger manifested in this form. Now Tom knows what he is capable of, what a huge powerful force is in his hands. The only thing the hero regrets is that he did not have time to tell the truth to Matheson and could not alleviate her suffering.
Red Lights 2012 is a film with meaning. The depth of the problems raised in the thriller, the strong performance of the actors make you let through all the feelings, emotions of the main characters and feel great sympathy for them. The film leaves an unforgettable impression. After watching it, you understand that the world has not forgotten how to make good quality movies.
