A great final line is the perfect way to punctuate a film and send the audience out on a high. From “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship” (Casablanca) to “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads” (Back To The Future), the most famous final lines in cinema have acted alternately as punchlines to solicit one last laugh, thematic conclusions to tie the film together, and in some instances, a climactic narrative twist just before the credits roll.
Every word of a screenplay, down to the ending, is rich real estate for thrilling an audience. Coming up with the perfect last utterance will leave your reader excited the moment they set your script down.
Here are some examples of iconic final lines to inspire you. *Spoilers ahead*
1. Seven (1995) - “I agree with the second part.”
At the end of Seven, serial killer John Doe triumphs over Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman’s detectives by killing Pitt’s wife and, in turn, willing Pitt to kill him. It’s a tricky balance bringing a movie to such a brutal conclusion without losing the audience, but Freeman’s last voice-over line does an eloquent job of managing the audience after the horror they witnessed, while tying up the movie’s themes. “Ernest Hemingway once wrote, ‘The world is a fine place and worth fighting for,’” Freeman says, “I agree with the second part.” The line serves as a slightly cynical assurance that, although evil often wins out, good will always exist among those intent on fighting the darkness. It’s an oddly hopeful sentiment for such a nightmarish finale.
2. Before Sunset (2004) - “Baby, you are gonna miss that plane.”
Richard Linklater’s 2004 sequel to Before Sunrise (1995) plays as much like a suspense film as a romance. One-time former lovers Jesse and Celine spontaneously reunite in Paris a decade after their romantic first meeting, racing a ticking clock until Jesse’s scheduled flight takes him back to his wife and kid. They walk the city, musing on why they didn’t end up together, and the audience is left on tenterhooks, wondering whether now they will. With time running out until his flight, Jesse winds up in Celine’s apartment, adoringly watching her do a Nina Simone impression, and she utters the immortal line, “Baby, you are gonna miss that plane.” Jesse smiles to himself, fiddling with his wedding ring, and answers the film’s question in its final frames. “I know.” The movie then fades to black, the narrative having been resolved on a single line.
3. The Usual Suspects (1995) - “And like that… he’s gone.”
Christopher McQuarrie’s Oscar-winning script for The Usual Suspects hinges on an unforgettable twist, and the script punctuates that twist with a now-famous voice-over line. After a drug deal gone violently wrong, Agent Dave Kujan launches an investigation to track down the mythical crime lord behind the operation, Keyser Söze. Kevin Spacey’s “Verbal” Kint, a meek and overly talkative suspect with cerebral palsy, is the last suspect to be let go. Once Kujan takes a step back and reviews the evidence once more, he realizes that Kint actually is Keyzer Söze. While viewers are sure to remember the iconic image of Kint correcting his limp and loosening up his hand to reveal the swaggering walk of Söze, the film concludes on a memorable voice-over line that has since become a classic, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. And like that… he’s gone.”
4. Iron Man (2008) - “I am Iron Man.”
Prior to Iron Man, superhero movies like Batman (1989) and Spider-Man (2002) emphasized the necessity of our hero hiding their secret identity. The success of Iron Man was due in part to just how different Tony Stark is from the comic book heroes that came before him, subverting cliches with transgressive humor at every turn, and the final seconds of the movie are no exception. At a press conference where the playboy industrialist is tasked with giving a prepared statement to explain away the events of the film, he can’t help himself, and in one last unexpected twist, he tells the whole world, “I am Iron Man.” The line is not only in keeping with the character, but it’s also a final, surprising narrative twist and a gleeful laugh line, subverting 30 years of prior superhero movies.
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - “Okay.”
The central question of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is essentially, “Would you still pursue a relationship if you knew it was doomed to fail?” Ex-lovers Joel and Clementine each undergo a scientific procedure to get their memories of one another erased. When a disgruntled employee leaks the records to the former patients, they’re faced with the reality that they were once lovers who grew to hate each other. Clementine sadly accepts that they’re not right for each other, but Joel stops her, unable to think of anything he doesn’t like about her. “But you will think of things,” she assures him, “And I’ll get bored of you and feel trapped because that’s what happens with me.” But Joel just shrugs, smiles, and says, “Okay.” Clementine laughs and agrees, “Okay,” leaving the audience to assume that despite the inevitability of heartbreak, Joel and Clementine will try again, answering the film’s central question. It’s a simple line, but one that contains incredible power as it brings the film to a close.
6, 7, 8. Billy Wilder, KING OF THE FINAL LINE
Sunset Boulevard (1950), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960)
Billy Wilder is the ultimate screenwriter to study when it comes to final lines. Few filmmakers have ended their movies with as much goosebump or laugh-inducing wit. There’s fading Hollywood star turned murderer Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, who, in a fit of crazed delusion, tells the assembled press at her crime scene, “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up,” encapsulating the twisted side of Hollywood and celebrity. There’s Jack Lemmon telling the object of his desire, hard-bitten Shirley MacLaine, that he absolutely adores her while she shuffles cards at the end of The Apartment, met with the wry, unsentimental response, “Shut up and deal.”
And in perhaps the greatest punchline in film history, there’s Joe E. Brown’s response to Lemmon’s confession in Some Like It Hot, that although he’s convincingly disguised himself as a woman while seducing Brown’s rich suitor character, he’s a man. Brown responds with the unexpected, “Nobody’s perfect,” a hilarious final note for this madcap comedy that also boldly reiterates the film’s embrace of gender fluidity and romantic acceptance. Wilder once instructed, “The third act must build, build, build in tempo and action until the last event, and then - that’s it. Don’t hang around.” His final dialogue lines are key examples of getting out on the highest of notes.
Next time you watch a favorite film, focus on how the last line of dialogue operates. Whether you’re coming to a thematic conclusion, determining the fate of two lovers, or revealing one last big twist, the final line is a great place to do it. The better the line, the more iconic the moment, so choose those words carefully. And then, as Billy Wilder would tell you, “Don’t hang around.”