Looper Explained: What’s Up With the Ending?

Looper (2012) is a film about the future. In the picture, the not very distant future (2044 and 2074) is shown as gloomy, full of murders, cruelty and aggression. People learned to travel in time, which was the reason for the emergence of a new position – a killer in time (looper).

The heroes of the film were sent victims from the future (in 2074 it is no longer possible to kill with impunity, as in 2044, so people were caught, tied up and sent to 2044). They were sent with bags on their heads and ingots in their backs, which paid for the work of the killer. The crown order for each of the loopers was the murder of himself (in this case, the bars were gold), after which the killer went on a well-deserved rest lasting thirty years. Not everyone could decide to kill themselves. It is psychologically difficult to shoot yourself and then live with the knowledge of how many years and days you have left.

A friend of the protagonist, for example, could not kill himself from the future, took pity on him and let him leave, for which the most severe reprisals from customers awaited him, because “not closing the loop” was considered a terrible mistake.

Movie heroes

The main characters of the film are the young Looper Joe and he, but in thirty years. It so happened that both heroes meet in 2044, young Joe cannot kill his old self, and they are both looking for the killer of Joe’s beloved wife. Only in 2044 the killer is a very small boy, but this does not bother the heroes.

Young Joe is a rather desperate guy who leads an unhealthy lifestyle, indulges in drugs (in the future they are available in the form of eye drops), kills his victims of their future in cold blood, is merciless, capable of betrayal.

But further life in China, love, attachments change a person, old Joe is completely different – wise, reasonable. But after the death of a person dear to him, his wife, he again shows cruelty, becomes dry and merciless. Returns to the past, escapes from his young self and goes for revenge.

Development of events

Young Joe, after talking with the “future version of himself”, finds the killer of his future wife himself – a little boy living on a farm with a young, pretty mother who loves her son dearly. The man manages to become attached to both the mother and the baby, to love them. Of course, after that, it becomes difficult for him to kill the child.

But this is what old Joe wants, blinded by the desire for revenge. Time passes, he finds a farm where little Sid lives. Meanwhile, the boy shows amazing abilities: when he is upset or angry, all objects fly into the air. By the presence of these abilities, both versions of Joe understand that the baby is the Shaman, the future strong merciless killer.

Unexpected ending

Young Joe fails to convince himself from the future not to kill a little boy with unusual abilities, but he helps the mother and the baby escape. They do not have time – the old and merciless Joe with a weapon grows in their way. The boy causes a storm, trying to protect himself and his mother, but calms down and old Joe again grabs his weapon. The mother blocks the boy with herself, giving him the opportunity to escape into the reeds.

Young Joe finds himself at the scene of the duel, watches what is happening and suddenly realizes that now he will kill the boy’s mother from the future, he will feel scared and abandoned, grow up, harden and become that cruel killer Shaman, holding the criminal world in fear in 2074. If the mother remains alive, she will raise the boy kind. And he finds an unexpected way to prevent the murder – he shoots himself. Accordingly, Joe from the future disappears, Sid and his mother remain alive.

Unexpectedly for all viewers, Joe made a strong and respectable act, sacrificed himself for the lives of the people he loved, for the sake of their full happy future.

What does the film teach the viewer, what is its meaning?

The meaning of the film Looper, philosophical overtones. The film, which at first glance seems like a rather violent action movie, is filled with deep philosophical meaning. It shows how much love can change a person. This can be seen in the example of Joe from the future – he has already known love, from a young indifferent killer he has become a serious, adult man. But the loss of his wife broke him, returned him to cruelty.

Young Joe was forced by love to change, to become capable of truly masculine deeds.

In addition to the power of love, an important thing that the film teaches is that we build our own future, it can be different and depends on how we act at the moment.

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