Triangle – Explanation of the plot & Meaning of the movie ending
The puzzle film Triangle (2009) is a mystical thriller, a complex psychological drama, as well as a soul shaking and a brain explosion. The audience is divided into those who are delighted and those who did not understand. However, of those who are delighted, many do not understand either.
What is happening in the film – an endless time loop or hallucinations of the mentally ill main character? Probably, such explanations also have a right to exist. But still, the true meaning of the “Triangle” is far from obvious, encrypted by its creators, therefore it takes time and attention to be realized.
Briefly about the plot
The heroine of Melissa George, named Jess, is the mother of an autistic child, tired of a hopeless life. Jesse is young and attractive, she gladly accepts an invitation to a boat trip in the company of her friend Greg and his friends. A wonderful sunny day promises to be quite pleasant.
Suddenly, Greg’s yacht gets caught in a terrible thunderstorm and capsizes.
Five young men await rescue in the ocean on an overturned yacht. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge liner appears, the wrecked happily climb aboard. The guys are sure that they are saved. However, they fail to find any of the crew members, the ship is completely empty. Subsequently, the oddities become more and more. As a result, all those who survived at sea, one after another, perish on the liner.
The heroine must return to her son, but is there a way to escape from the captivity of the ghost ship? All of Jess’s efforts lead nowhere: different actions do not change the result in principle. Bloody murders are repeated over and over again.
Major scenes with a secret meaning
Some scenes from the film are deeply symbolic and require close attention. In addition to the fact that these episodes leave a strong impression, they also contain hints and clues that will help you understand the hidden meaning of the plot.
Survivors of the storm
The company on Greg’s yacht is caught in a terrible storm, during which one of the guests – Heather – is washed overboard. But the question is: the five who survived – did they survive or died? The time on Jess’s clock and on the ship coincides – it is 8.17 – the time of the car accident and the death of his son, while for Greg and others the time stopped at 11.30 – the moment of the storm. It seems that only the missing Heather survived, as she is absent from the vicious circle of the horrors taking place.
The main character of the film is Jess. All the rest are pulled by the heroine in her endless time loop, a kind of impossible Penrose staircase. Greg and company are just extras, their actions don’t matter.
Liner “Aeolus” – ghost ship
The name of the ship “Aeolus” is Aeolus, the formidable lord of the winds from ancient Greek mythology. Sisyphus, the son of Aeolus, once tried to deceive Death, for which he was severely punished: he was doomed to hard eternal work that did not bring results.
The heroine is punished in this way, she is doomed hundreds and thousands of times to repeat useless attempts to change something. What followed such a harsh punishment?
Is the accident the beginning?
Towards the end of the movie, the viewer sees the scene of the accident. At the same time, the feeling does not leave that it is the car accident in which the heroine’s son, autistic Tommy dies, that is precisely the key starting point. Jess is also killed in this accident, time stops for her at 8.17. Everything that happens in the future is her personal circles of hell.
Not just a driver
The deceased Jess after the accident looks from the side at the deceased son. A taxi driver who comes up says that the boy can no longer be saved and offers to give her a lift.
In the context of the allegorical plot, the driver is Charon, a mythological character who transports the souls of the dead to the eternal kingdom of the dead. Arriving at the port, Jess gets out of the car. The taxi driver says that he will leave the meter on. He is waiting.
– You will return, right?
– Yes I promise.
Breaking a promise leads the heroine to a situation almost the same as that of the long-suffering ancient Greek Sisyphus. From now on, whatever Jess does will be just Sisyphean labor: useless, difficult, desperate.
Why Triangle
“Triangle” is the name of Greg’s yacht, on which the heroes of the film set off on an ill-fated tragic voyage. However, in addition to this, there are a number of hidden associations with the triangle symbol.
- The ship “Aeolus”. Aeolus is the name of three characters in ancient Greek myths at once, often mixing. It was originally a uniform way. Absolute hit: the main character on the liner is one in three persons, and her actions are threefold.
- Karpman’s triangle is a psychological model of interaction between people: successive roles of an unfortunate victim, a kind rescuer, an evil pursuer. At first, Jess the victim simply does not understand what is happening, then – unsuccessfully tries to save the doomed friends, finally, she herself becomes a ruthless killer.
- Three most perceivable scenes from the film, giving an understanding of the meaning of infinity: a mountain of medallions, identical corpses, hundreds of dead birds. How many times has this whole nightmare been repeated?
The meaning of the film “Triangle”
The film is amazing, if not easy at all. The modern interpretation of the myth of Sisyphus is undoubtedly. But not only. The tense, intricate plot evokes strong emotions, the desire to understand the secret meaning makes you watch the film more than once.
The psychological film-drama raises questions from the attentive viewer. Why does the heroine constantly strive to return to the yacht and again launch an endless storyline with a known outcome, because it is impossible to bring her son back to life? Where does this senseless persistence come from? Is it possible to leave the closed triangle, what needs to be done for this?
Jess was not an exemplary mother, she often broke down and offended her son, for which she was gnawed by an enduring feeling of guilt. Hence her desire to escape from the ship, return to her son, correct the situation. And if nothing can be fixed, then at least to be next to your child again, to see and hug again. Even if not for long. Tommy’s son is her world.
My world is waiting outside the school for my mother to take it. And don’t talk about my world anymore.
The solution seems to be this: to stop the recurring madness, Jess needs to let go of the situation. When the heroine realizes that with her perseverance she only repeats the suffering and death of her son many times, she will reconcile and return to the driver who is waiting. After all, the counter is not turned off.
