A well executed death scene can pack the final emotional punch for a movie. It can legitimize an ending and bring the audience to tears. It can bring a cheer from the crowd when the we see the antagonist finally gets their long-awaited end. Or it can open the window for a lot of ridicule and embarrassment due to poor direction, writing, or acting. While it may not ruin the movie as a whole, it will stick out as a negative dip in an otherwise good movie.
Here are my favorites.
WARNING: SPOILERS COMING AT YOU
It would be easy to pick Obi-Wan Kenobi. His death in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope has a lot going for it. It is sacrificial, for one. He looks over at Luke, and knows that for Skywalker to start the journey to being a Jedi he needs to die. And since it happens in the first movie when the audience doesn't have a lot of information, the death is shrouded in mystery. Why did Kenobi deactivate his saber and let Vader strike him down? And why did he disappear? The enigmatic elements behind the death is also the downfall for why I didn't pick this as my favorite death. While we know Ben Kenobi is a benevolent character, we don't really get to grow attached to him. He's there as a mentor, and then he's gone. He had a high stature, and because of that the death means something, but we're not emotionally attached enough to know how much it means.
When I said Saving Private Ryan Emily countered with, "That whole movie is a death scene." I can't really disagree, but the scene I have in mind involves the medic, Wade. They are moving across an open field to take down a few Germans. We run through the smoke--a close third perspective from Upham--ducking down because of the gunfire. The German soldiers are overtaken, but that's when we hear people calling for a medic. We run to the cries, seeing our medic, Wade, laying flat on his back trying to direct his fellow soldiers in helping him with his wounds. They tear his shirt open and there are numerous bullet holes, all seeping dark crimson. The men pour water on his torso and wipe the blood away, but the holes keep producing more and more blood. They just won't stop. There is even a moment when all the men put their hands on the gaping wounds, trying to stop the bleeding with pressure, but it's not enough. They guide his hand to one bullet hole and when he feels his liver he knows there is no hope. This scene shows how underrated Giovanni Ribisi is. When he asks for more morphine--enough to overdose on, we can be happy as an audience because he's not going to be in pain anymore, but he was the moral character. In many respects Wade was their compass. But now, they're on their own. This death is handled so well, but it is not my #1 pick. Partly because every death in Saving Private Ryan is packed full of emotional turmoil and Wade's is one of the first. The story doesn't hinge on him, so while it lets the audience connect with the movie on a deeper level, it doesn't let us have that overlying epiphany I'm looking for.
My pick for the best death scene is Stephen Bloom from The Brothers Bloom. Stephen spends the entire movie claiming he's trying to help his younger brother obtain the life he wants. It's all for Bloom, but we continually suspect Stephen only uses his brother because Bloom holds the skill sets that are needed to complete the cons. He never seems selfless; instead every action Stephen takes is for his own personal gain, even if he is saying otherwise. There is a scene early in the movie when they talk about the fake blood staying the vibrant red even after it has dried on their clothes. At the end of the movie the brothers are involved in a shootout with their arch nemesis Diamond Dog's henchmen. Bloom scares the men away and runs up to his brother. There is a vivid red seeping into his white dress shirt. Stephen laughs, and tells Bloom that it's all part of the con. He tell his young brother to grab the girl and get going, he'd catch up. Bloom asks about the blood and we hear the echo of fake blood. He hugs his brother like he's never hugged him before. The reign of the brothers bloom was going to continue on. We cut to Bloom waking up in the car, his cuff hanging in front of his face. The blood has dried to an ugly brown. The car is pulled over and Bloom stumbles into a field, tears streaming down his face. The movie cuts back to Stephen sitting down on a chair, looking up at the spotlights, allowing life to leave his body. All Bloom wanted was to live an unscripted life, and with Stephen's death the wish is granted. It was the first time we were able to see Stephen act in a selfless manner for his brother.
And I cry every time.
So there are mine. What are yours?
