I just saw this movie and holy shit. What a brutal fucking ending. Bradley Cooper is a damn amazing actor, that's for sure. I'm surprised he wasn't nominated for this. His reaction in the very last shot was just haunting.
That ending made perfect sense though. His character deserved it, given how he kept going further and further off the deep end, all for the sake of the grift, to the point where he killed two people. I should've seen it coming; the fact that he went from a wealthy mentalist to the type of person he pitied and looked down upon the most. That was a real gut punch, especially considering how that geek was treated in the beginning, which Stan witnessed up close. It brought it all full-circle.
That said, this movie was good but not great. The second act was too bloated, and could've been at least 15 minutes shorter. There should've been less scenes with Cate Blanchett's character, as Stan's relationship with her just wasn't very deep or interesting. Plus it essentially led to nothing given how she steals all his money and betrays him in the end. It should've focused more on Rooney Mara's character and their relationship. Not to mention the judge's wife's murder-suicide?!? WTF? So random.
In the end, I still recommend this movie, despite it's 2.5-hour runtime. If for nothing else than that brutal and rather demeaning ending.
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