10 Movie Endings You Definitely Misunderstood The First Time

In a similar vein to In Bruges, we have a contentious movie ending that's wildly misunderstood because exhausting audiences get hung up on the wrong detail - especially on their first viewing.

Christopher Nolan's Inception of course ends with Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) completing the titular task and being granted passage back to the U.S. to be reunited with his children.

In the film's final moments, Cobb spins Mal's (Marion Cotillard) reality-discerning totem - a spinning top - before going to his kids. Nolan then abruptly cuts to black, the top still spinning - albeit with a wobble - leaving it ambiguous if Cobb is awake or still in the dream world.

And though some frustration over that ambiguity is understandable the first time you watch Inception, the true intent of Nolan's ending comes into focus the next time you watch it.

The point is that whether Cobb is awake or dreaming doesn't matter - he spins the top and goes over to his kids, having seemingly stopped caring about defining his own reality anymore.

Nolan has effectively confirmed as much in interviews, while expressing bemusement that some viewers simply won't stop chasing an answer to a mystery that both wasn't meant to be answered and, ultimately, isn't what the ending is even really about.