Help me come up with an ending

C

c.g._eads

Veteran
I liked the feedback people gave for another poster so I decided to post my own current script problem.

In one of the subplots of my film, I have this older character who's a painter who lost his hand at some point in his past. Presumably (I still haven't decided yet), this is the hand he used to paint with - and now he can no longer paint because of it. This character interacts with my main characters some (a boy and a girl who he has taught to paint) - and while he's not a huge part of the story, I would like him to have his own arc.

He's supposed to be mysterious - his life, his past, etc. So I would like it when it's finally revealed what happened to his hand, that it's pretty revelatory. Almost like a twist that nobody saw coming.

Of course, this has been very tough to do without feeling cliche. Also, every time I try to have him tell the story, it sounds very lame. It doesn't sound real.

You guys can really riff on this. Joke around or real ideas. Anything to get my brain working to help see the character in another way. Thanks.
 
He cut it off himself.

That would be the most shocking i could think of.

Reasons he would do it, I dont know maybe he was so absorbed with his art it was destroying his life so he decides the only way to make it stop is to chop his hand off or something like that.

I dunno that was the first thing that popped into my head, If i think of anything else i will let you know.
 
He cut it off on a bad acid trip in a fit of despair over his inability to achieve perfection in his painting...kind of "if thine eye offends thee, pluck it out."

It was obviously done while under the influence and something he has regretted (duh) since.
 
At the peak of his popularity as a painter, having sold a piece for an outrageous sum that will take him to the next level of success, there is a fire in his loft/studio after the big celebration. During this fire, he has the choice of saving himself and THE painting, or his loving fiancée…he chooses his fiancée and loses his hand to the third-degree burns incurred as a result of his selfless act. Resentful and depressed, he proceeded to drive the love of his live away! (It’s a sad, sad story)
 
YaBoyTopher said:
He cut it off himself.

That would be the most shocking i could think of.
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Good idea. Maybe Van Gogh was his idol and he wanted to be like him but thought chopping off the ear would be derivative or cliche.

Or maybe he lost the hand in a sword fight with his sworn enemy but at the climactic moment the painter finds out his enemy is actually his father!

Actually off hand (no pun intended) it seems like the important point is that he doesn't paint any more, is it really necessary that he has no hand? Seems crude. If he was passionate about painting he'd probably learn to use the other hand.

Also, is this character critical to the story?
 
The reason an artist's paintings become more valuable after his death is because collectors know there won't be any more. Maybe this guy was trying to make his existing paintings worth more for the same reason -- by cutting off his hand, he made sure there wouldn't be any more of his paintings for the market. Sadly, it didn't work out the way he planned.

OR.....

He DID achieve that one perfect piece of art, the very pinnacle of all his efforts -- and cut off his hand because he couldn't bear the thought of painting anything less perfect, and he knew he could never achieve that level of perfection again.

Lots of good ideas posted here. :)

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I will think on it and come back, but for now, I want to go watch Happy Gilmore.

:beer::thumbup::grin:
 
his hand was cut off by a sociopath customer (or his/her hired thugs) who wanted to either:
- increase the existing paintings' value by preventing any more being painted
- increase the existing paintings' value by the shock publicity of the hand loss
- force the artist to live more intensely and emotionally due to the hand loss, and thus eventually paint even better with his other hand
- any combination of the above three

And whether the artist knows this is another matter again...
 
I say he lost his painting hand in an accident, but one in which he was forced to choose between losing his hand or losing his kids. And he ended up losing both the hand and his kids.

This would give a pretty decent story in why he chooses to teach these kids to paint, seeing in them maybe the possibilities of what he may have done with his own children, but also brings him back to the real joy that painting is in his own life....seeing the art and innocence of the world through the new and unblemished eyes of the boy and girl.


Feel free to hate it. :D
 
The artist, over the course of several years, becomes so into his work that he actually locks himself in a room where he paints non stop for days and days. He eventually goes completely insane and when he can't brew the correct shade of red he gets so enraged that he resorts to just cutting his hand off and draining blood to use as paint. At some point he passes out from the blood loss and his servant (or other loved one) who brings him food everyday ends up trudging through five miles of muddy earth carrying the man to someone who can save his life. Over the next month or so, while he heals, he regains his sanity because he has been away from his work for so long. The withdrawels and angry episodes fade and he becomes normal again.

I'll put some more thought into it...
 
Well the thing we have to remember is that the OP said that the painter 'is not a huge part of the story'. A lot of what we're coming up with here is more 'main character' stuff than minor character stuff.
 
I used to date a girl and every time after we had sex her hand would get totally cramped and locked for hours afterwards ( Yes I am that good )

...Anyway SHE WAS A PAINTER and these episodes used to freak her out because it was a hint of some sort of latent condition that could eventually become full blown if the cause wan`t treated early.

...But this disorder was a symptom of something else, something deeper, something emotional. She was raised in a strict religious home and getting boned up the butt hole was just too naughty for her subconscious to deal with and hence the frozen hand.

I think a chopped off or severed hand is too much unless its a splatter based script but from what I gather its some sort of drama right? ... If so then your choice on one level is correct in that it gives a direction but on another level it is unrefined.

It represents something, is an expression of something, what? ... Its an obstacle, it prevents him from indulging in the act of painting which is the soul of his existence ( Like my former membership at Reduser.net )

Take it from the physical level and let it drop down to a deeper psychological level...Let the painters hand or arm be out of commision, a sort of self inflicted punishment for something, that will leave the possibility of him redeeming the use of it further on down the line when the story calls for it. It always nice with an out. A back door so to speak. An option.

Without the hand its pretty tough unless of course he is ambidextrous that would certainly solve his problem but maybe would be too easy...

You could always poke his eyes out, it worked for Sophocles.
 
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chapelgrovefilms said:
Well the thing we have to remember is that the OP said that the painter 'is not a huge part of the story'. A lot of what we're coming up with here is more 'main character' stuff than minor character stuff.
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I think maybe it is more backstory and not intended to actually be IN the screenplay. Just giving him an idea of how this guy could have a past, what his circumstances are, and how he might use it to give this handles painter an arc that can play into the bigger story in an unexpected way, but still be relevant.

Right?
 
Haha, a lot of these were very funny. Enjoyed reading them.

I should rephrase that. He's not the *main* part of the story. But he is fairly important. The movie is about two kids who meet up at a summer community once a year. we watch them only through the two weeks that they spend each year at this community. They start at 6 years old and the last time period is when one of them is 70. This reclusive old painter inspires both of them to follow their passion (the girl as a painter - the boy sa writer) as opposed to living life the way you're "supposed" to. We follow them through their lives this way and eventually the old man dies. As the boy (now an old man) is cleaning out the old man's things - he finally comes to "the truth" about his life. -- think very similar to Great Expectations --

Now the main story is really between the boy and girl. But it would be nice if there was a cool twist to this old man's secret life that they never knew about. Even better if it somehow tied in with their own story. I'm scared of the one hand thing. It has the potential to come off very cheesy. But at the same time, I feel there's something interesting about a painter who lost the ability to do the only thing he loves. I guess what I'm saying is, I'm not even sold on the hand. It could be something else completely if it makes his character compelling. The character is so mysterious throughout. It would be nice if we actually paid off that mystery with an interesting story in the end.

edit: DogDay - I like where you're going with that.

edit: more on Old Man

Also, one of the reasons the old man has 1 hand: The movie starts off through the eyes of 2 six year-olds. And as we all know, as children, we tend to see a more exaggerated view of life. The two have heard rumors about this old man who roams the beaches who only has one hand. It's become a sort of fairy tale/urban legend that kids talk to each other about. And then the two actually see him. See that there really *is* this man with no hand, freak out and run away. In this context, I think it works. Because it's seeing this man through the eyes of two children. But as they get older - in their twenties, in their thirties - that part of the story doesn't seem as real. The fairy tale aspect of it that worked feels like it's in a different movie now that they're no longer children. That's the genesis of the idea anyway.
 
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What about paralysis? Much easier to pull off than a missing hand. Maybe he tried to commit suicide, shot himself in the head, but survived -- minus the use of his arm.

Or an injury. Maybe somebody in his life convinced him to do what he was 'supposed' to do -- get a 'real' job, do the painting in his spare time. But he got injured on that 'real' job, and could never paint again.

.
 
He is a painter = Its visual = You want to impede him, him the painter not the baker or the cop the painter...Its a type. If you want to F_CK him up mess with his ability to see.

But now if you take that route you may be able to tie it into the boys discovery "Late in the day"

Like this...Maybe.

Many artists writers and musicians have been blind yet have continued to contribute never the less because they have an inner vision. What if this painter goes blind from drinking too much or from the fumes of working too long hours or whatever but he keeps painting even though he can not see what he is doing...And people who see his canvases see chaos totally incoherent scribblings, but he continues and continues until the day he dies. When the boy rummages through the dead painters stuff in an attic suddenly upside down and in the dusty light figures materialize and he suddenly gets "It"..."It" being that to go your own way means also paying a price ( Fill this caption in yourselves ) and many times sacrifice that goes unrewarded but never the less you have your INTEGRITY intact and that to some is worth most of all...Not to bow.
 
My vote would be the painter has a nefarious past, losing the hand itself becomes his integral to his character arc - perhaps a redemption story.

So the painter used his artful talents in the line of duty, albeit a bad deed. Perhaps he was a document forger on the side, maybe counterfeiting, kiting checks, or forging documents to bilk the mafia. Actually, his hand doesn't need to be severed if you don't want it to be too graphic. Heck, you could even make him out as a pool hustler.

Anyway, that's a few quickie thoughts - p.m. me if you need more.

Happy trails, Michael
 
How about this....

He's missing a hand, or the arm and hand are paralyzed. He can still paint with his other hand, but he's given up on it and on life in general. He can still teach painting though. But in the end, what the boy discovers is that while the old man was a great artist, he was never a great painter -- he was a concert violinist! Losing the use of his hand cost him his music, so he abandoned it completely. He turned to painting as an avenue for creative expression, since he could no longer play music.

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moonlitnite said:
My vote would be the painter has a nefarious past, losing the hand itself becomes his integral to his character arc - perhaps a redemption story.

So the painter used his artful talents in the line of duty, albeit a bad deed. Perhaps he was a document forger on the side, maybe counterfeiting, kiting checks, or forging documents to bilk the mafia. Actually, his hand doesn't need to be severed if you don't want it to be too graphic. Heck, you could even make him out as a pool hustler.

Anyway, that's a few quickie thoughts - p.m. me if you need more.

Happy trails, Michael
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Or forging art masterpieces?

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