collateral

OK, this post is really for Thinh, but I thought I'd make it public in the off-chance that someone else reads it and wants to discuss. However, I should note that I am writing about the movie Collateral and also make mention of the movie Unfaithful. If any reader has not seen these movies (but plans to), then please do not read any further!

I finally saw Collateral the other day, and there were lots of things I liked about it. But I didn't like the ending. It left me hanging, and not in a good way.

First of all, did the police officer who believed the cab driver was not really the hit man really die? He was shot, but I thought he was wearing a bullet-proof vest. I kept thinking that he would reappear. How could he not? He was the only character who knew the truth (or at least suspected it).

Not only did the cop never reappear, but the cab driver and his woman walked off in the end as if all was over and done with. And yet, whether or not the police officer was alive, the driver was still going to have to face a police force that believed he was the bad guy! I was still on the edge of my seat when it ended, just like that. What the??

I am all for an ending that makes me wonder what might have happened after the credits roll. Unfaithful is a good example of that (did they turn themselves in? or was it just coincidence that they had driven to the police station in the first place?) But this one was different. I felt like there was more to the story, and the film ran out of budget or something. It just stopped and left me feeling ripped off. And I wonder...what was your take on all of this?