A bookend is a framing device that creates a parallel between the opening and closing sequences of a movie. It is usually an analogous shot of the same person, place, scene, or object, having undergone the changes that accumulated over the course of the film. The final frame is portrayed as a mirror of the first frame to convey a sense of completion of a journey, to depict the growth or decline of a character by striking a contrast, or to portray the same situation in two different lights.
Parasite, like most Bong Joon-ho movies, begins and ends on the same note – the crushing, undeniable weight of reality. Everyone is seemingly back where they started, but their lives have been altered in irrevocable ways. The opening and closing shots occur in the half-basement residence of the Kims, featuring socks that never seem to dry and dreams that will never materialize. A desperate Ki-woo clings onto a residue of hope – initially for a Wi-Fi signal, and finally for his family to be one again.
The use of bookends in 1917 is interesting because of its one-shot style of cinematography. It begins with Lance Corporal Schofield dozing against a tree and subsequently learning that he has a mission to undertake. He only gets to rest again when he has completed the mission, but the journey has changed him. His companion Blake is no longer with him but persists in a part of his being instead. The audience knows that war hasn’t broken his spirit, and he’s only resting until he must rise again.
Gone Girl begins and ends with the same shot of Amy Dunne’s head being caressed by her husband Nick, who is harboring disturbed thoughts. The opening scene smells like trouble, but the final shot feels like suffocation. The audience sees just how deep the trap runs and why neither of them will get out of it. Ultimately, very little has changed for the Dunnes. But to the audience, it feels like the before and after of finding out a terrible secret.
Knives Out makes use of two different props as clever bookends. Initially, we see Harlan’s ‘My House, My Rules, My Coffee’ mug featured on his breakfast tray. At the end, Marta drinks out of the mug with ‘My House’ prominently on display as her gaze sweeps over the rest of the Thrombeys. Further, Harlan’s portrait changes expression when the mystery has been solved to reveal a ‘justice has been served’ smirk.
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