“Resolution” tells the amazing story of friendship between two unique personalities. Michael, an ordinary American, decides to leave his future mother-wife and goes to an abandoned house located on an Indian reservation. The purpose of his journey is to save his friend Chris from a dangerous drug addiction. Armed with handcuffs, Michael chains Chris to him and they spend a whole week together, fighting his strong addiction to drugs.
In a chaotic environment of drug addicts, friends and Indians, Chris and Michael find themselves embroiled in many unpredictable situations. Drug addicts, chasing Chris, demand to return their debt, the Indians bill for the use of their territory, and in the house itself, mysterious books and films begin to appear, reflecting the madness of people.
However, the most mysterious moments begin when Chris and Michael discover that one of the tapes has captured their own reflections.
The meaning of the film
The world created by Benson and Moorhead is a universal metaphor in many ways. In this world, time loops symbolize intractable moral and psychological problems that the characters are unable to cope with. Chris is lost in his destructive addiction, half-concealing his selfishness and having a childlike manner, unwilling to take on daily duties and not knowing how to enjoy life. Michael wishes to impose his views of correctness on a friend by expressing his arrogance and demands, seeing Chris’ correction as another way to find self-confidence.
Justin, without noticing it, constantly overwhelms his brother with his control. He doesn’t let Aaron take the initiative by solving all problems on his own and constantly tells him what to do. Justin’s desire to protect and keep his brother safe is coupled with a sense of superiority, and his fear of losing control causes him to abuse trust and lie about the members of the cult.
As a result, Aaron decides to stay in this time loop forever because he cannot achieve his brother’s respect. For him, Justin becomes the same monster that a mysterious entity is for cultists: both control the lives of other people, depriving them of their freedom of choice and forcing them to follow the same predetermined scenario.
The desire to have a higher power that defines the world has always been present, and in “Paranormal” the characters encounter various religious images. Despite the fact that they left the community and began an independent life, the brothers cannot get rid of the influence of these mysterious forces. But only when they understand their relationship and take responsibility for their own destiny, they manage to avoid entanglement in the noose and free themselves.
Movie ending explanation
The final fragment hints at the broad influence of an elusive force known as the Infinite, extending beyond what is shown. Even after the protagonists have left the dangerous situation, they sense the presence of a mysterious being (which some believe to be a real god) through a flock of birds. There is an alarm about the “flashing light” – the heroes are in an endless time loop and their gas is constantly running out, but the car still continues to move. This is just a hypothesis.
It is also possible that Aaron and Justin were only able to get out because Infinity decided so: perhaps she studies the behavior of people in everyday life – in society. However, it also influences their behavior. The younger brother often says that the older one spoils everything – as if against his will, spontaneously and incomprehensibly. Many people explicitly state that the Infinite loves to get into the minds of people and inspire them with other people’s thoughts and desires. What if all these years the brothers were under the influence of this creature even outside the camp and without reboots? And if this is so, then the influence of Infinity is actually limitless and covers the entire planet. On the reservation, he just has a “sandbox” and a platform for experiments.
Evidence of this is the pillars of volcanic rock that the heroes meet outside the camp, and the fact that an unknown force threw a videotape with a message to their younger brother. We constantly hear that Infinity communicates with his “favorites” – test subjects. In addition, we see that the monument by the road is out of our time: the flowers do not wither and the drawing does not deteriorate under the influence of time.
By the way, in the second part of the film, Michael suggests that they are faced with someone or something, constantly creating evidence and waiting for events to develop. The elusive creature is like a director making a film for himself. This is indicated not only by the fact that Infinity loves videos and photographs. If in Breaking these words could be interpreted as an attempt to break the fourth wall and accuse the audience of enjoying the suffering of others, then in Paranormal this interpretation takes on a more extended (and frightening) meaning.
The original title – “Resolution” – hints that the story can be interpreted in different ways. So what was written above should be considered as one of the possible versions of events. The closing credits are stylized like a kaleidoscope, and some of the effects in the film itself also indicate that we are either misreading what is happening or not seeing the whole picture.
