8 Movies Where You’re Not Supposed To Work Out The Ending

Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler is the story of an aging sports professional as he struggles to come to terms with life outside of the ring, but it's so much more than that. It's an exploration of one man's unwillingness to leave his youth behind and an examination of a battle we all must face: growing old.

The movie's final showdown pits Mickey Rouke's Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson against the Ayatollah, a match he goes ahead with against his doctor's warning that wrestling again could fatally undo the effects of his recent heart surgery.

Before the curtain drops, Randy is seen mustering what little strength he has left to perform his trademark finishing move from the top ropes. The noise of the crowd gradually fades and the camera shifts to a shot of the arena's ceiling, leaving in uncertain whether the protagonist died doing what he loves in the ring.

Fans have speculated about his fate, and most seem absolutely certain he perished during that fight, but what happens to him after the credits have rolled was never supposed to be a mystery for viewers to solve. Whether the heart attack Randy appeared to be suffering killed him or simply ended his flagging wresting career is unimportant. The point is that he went out in a blaze of his former glory, and that was as happy an ending as he could have hoped for.