Black Bear (2020) ENDING EXPLAINED | Comedy-Drama Thriller Film

[@BurnsReviews]

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[@MattieBennett]

My theory is that the two parts are a visualation of Allison's creative process and she is writing a movie throughout. The black bear is a symbol of writer's block. When part 1 cuts to black, Allison scraps the idea and continues writing what we see being filmed during part 2. The black bear at the end is her hitting writer's block again. I need to watch it a few more times but that was my initial reaction to it!

[@oga7002]

woah. i agree with you

[@BurnsReviews]

Maybe.. or maybe she’s really determined to include a black bear in her story but every time she does, she goes “nah that’s stupid... let’s start over” hahaha

[@anniemcknight5314]

Omg YES

[@Ednigma124]

So what is it, that the black bear literally real black bear..?

[@doublefeature]

this is kind of how i interpreted it as well esp with the ending going back to that one shot of her writing and then proceeding to cross it out. she looks directly into the camera at the end of the movie as well, i think that was telling. as if to say, yeah who knows which of those narratives were real and which were her simply writing. before the second part, i thought she was purposefully inserting herself into this couples marriage to create drama that she could then write about. the second part was either, the writing playing itself out as a movie or a whole other meta story she was writing about a movie. the whole thing was very meta.

[@mikeygreenbeans]

What a performance by Aubrey Plaza, my goodness.

[@BurnsReviews]

I wonder if she legit just downed a bottle of whisky or she did all the scenes sober. Neither would surprise me, she’s great

[@BreakdancingMiracle]

I felt the entire time like it was her being herself.

[@wren4077]

Aubrey

[@brajeshsingh2391]

outstanding performance indeed. they probably could not round off the movie as well possible. like it seems incomplete as if something is missing. but this was really a great performance. maybe towards the end she became a little too dramatic or expressive but her acting was great. Also I must say I really could not understand the reason for her showing so much skin. It makes her character look manipulative and cheap. But probably that was the idea. But her character and acting are really the backbone of the movie. As far as ending is concerned well the part 2 is really part 1 in real sequence of events. and part 1 is really the second or final part in the sequence of events. And the final scene is the final scene. I would not proceed to explain further to spoil the suspense or plot twist. But it's a great effort. This is how you make an Indie movie. It's low budget but not cheap. Its original, intense and well acted. Recommended.

[@twotoestavern6005]

A tremendous performance. Broke my heart to see her breakdown and cry. Simply amazing

[@graceelizabethhelgeson7260]

Alright guys I got it. So I think the second part of the movie happened first in the Allison's real life. After this experience happened to her she was fueled with anger and came back to the house to rewrite this movie by putting herself in Blair's shoes and actually lived the part. She took the pain of having a woman come into her house and steal her husband's attention, love and then eventually marriage, and flipped the narrative by becoming that woman.

[@BurnsReviews]

but why the bear?

[@gracehelgeson6328]

@@BurnsReviews good point. I have no fuckin clue

[@brajeshsingh2391]

exactly. its what I thought.

[@almairki4297]

Even if that is true.. this doesn't make the plot any better .. The only good thing about the movie is the performance by the lead actors especially aubry.. Analysing a mediocre plot doesn't make it great..

[@almairki4297]

@@BurnsReviews It is tool to make the movie complex and interesting..it has nothing to do with the story.. It is a metaphor of " intelligent and deep plot " They throw symbols and characters that doesn't make sense just to give you the idea that the movie has hidden meanings and significance.. (Trying too hard to be different and uniqe )

[@adamcollins4345]

It seems as though many clues come in part 1 Allison explains at dinner, “I actually think that I’m so easy to read, that people just get confused and make it harder on themselves...” That’s us, the viewer trying to figure her out...also, when she is sitting on the couch with Gabe, “I’ve been lying since the second I got here...” I believe these two lines are key indicators on what Lawerence M Levine is trying to convey about film - One can never tell where reality and fiction meet, the lines are always blurred. This is a redundant theme throughout the film... Yet, we still insist on finding a “truth” in a film. In the plot, the narrative, whether it is an autobiographical vision of the director, etc. We always search for truth and more complicated meaning throughout ANY film, even, as these quotes remind us, we KNOW we’re always being “lied to” the moment the film starts on screen.

[@TangoNevada]

Sure. why not. Could be. Or not.

[@keegankennedy1293]

Act 2 ACTUALLY happened in real life. It is both a "behind the scenes look" at the first time her HUSBAND attempted to make the movie-- AND the real life cheating that happened during the after party. That then inspired the wife, who goes and cries on the dock, to write a better more truthful movie, which we get to see in Act 1. Many people will say that the details of what we see in Act 1 and Act 2 don't matter because they are just a random string of thoughts and attempts as a writer encounters "writer's block". This explanation works....and makes sense, but it is not at all satisfying, and proves to be a "catch all" explanation. I think if you pay attention and focus on the real life moments of Act 2, you'll see it really happened and inspired the MOVIE that we finally see finished in Act 1

[@TangoNevada]

Maybe, maybe not.

[@keegankennedy1293]

@@TangoNevada Insightful lol

[@TangoNevada]

@@keegankennedy1293 Am I wrong?

[@daviddeida]

Act 2 on the bed she says we killed those people did'nt we?.Seems totally random,he then says we will wake up tomorrow.

[@dec23]

I got the sense that Aubrey's character basically wrote a movie within a movie and she's writing all this in her head at the dock. Once she sits down to write, she no longer has writer's block. I think what was actually reality was the beginning up until she makes her way toward the dock and she sees the guy looking at her. From then on, as she is sitting on the dock, she is creating the rest. 🤷🏼‍♀️I could be wrong though. It was an ok movie, a bit intense. Aubrey did a great job though.

[@BurnsReviews]

Yeah I wish she was in more stuff. Her and Chris Pratt together in Parks and Rec were the best part IMO. It also feels like part 1 is her movie idea and part 2 is her envisioning what would be like if she decided to star in it knowing that she’s starting to be viewed as what the public perceives her as being a faded star. I’ll have to go back and watch it again. I still think that look at the end is because we’re in the making of a movie. It reminded me of when he yelled cut but she wasnt done in the scene. Thanks for watching, i really enjoy hearing what people think :)

[@dec23]

@@BurnsReviews I missed the part where she looked at us in the end. I do believe part 1 is a rough draft and part 2 is an edited version of herself in it like you said. I think part 1 was a really rough edit because the scene with the couple and her at dinner was a bit much. As a viewer I was like "I get it, this couple is doomed, they are all wrong for each other." But the scene dragged on, I felt it was the writer showing us that this was a raw draft and should be edited down later. Basically showing us the writing process...because again, why push an agenda that this couple is doomed other than showing us that Aubrey's character is a director/writer who is still working on her craft. Her character mentioned that she makes movies that no one watches, so this leads me to believe her writing might not be the best. 🤔Again, I could be wrong, but certain parts seemed WAY too much and it made me wonder if that was intentional.

[@limetreess]

This is pretty much what I thought as well! She’s really in the cabin but all romantic connection to Gabe is created in her head/her story.

[@TangoNevada]

I think the bear wrote the movie. Both parts.

[@daviddeida]

Yes I had the same view.Maybe it starts after she leaves them and goes home alone rather than her going for a swim.When they are on the bed after her melt down,she says we killed those people did'nt we?.That shows its all imagined.

[@Contributron]

I think that everything up to Allison going to the dock “actually happened.” She had a somewhat uncomfortable interaction with Blair and she’s somewhat attracted to Gabe. The first “part” of the movie is her imagining what would happen if she allowed her relationships with those two people to continue in those directions, i.e. toying with Blair and sleeping with Gabe. She concludes that it would just lead to pain and there would be karmic consequences (Blair literally beats them over the head with a Buddha statue). The second part is her imagining what those karmic consequences might be by imagining all the characters reincarnated into different roles after they die in the car accident. Blair and Gabe both take on negative aspects of her personality. Blair becomes the lustful homewrecker, Gabe becomes the manipulative, selfish artist, and she is now the victim of both of those things. This is how she figures out what to write about: by imagining scenarios within scenarios and mutating things around until an idea hits her. The movie ends with her leaving the dock and sitting down to write after her daydreaming gives her an idea. I think the bear actually represents the opposite of writer’s block. It represents a new idea coming forward in her mind. And at the end the bear (i.e. the idea) is right in front of her.

[@frimports]

Interestingly thought out. It reminds of Muholland drive thematically and with its constant dread.

[@raygunn95]

dude holy fuck this is it. I mean it's been said to be open to interpretation, but this one makes the most sense to *me* by far, especially as someone who understands parts his life through daydreams and imaginary scenarios- the willfully imagined (by Allison) karmic theme you've applied to this ties things together very nicely. After thinking about this movie on my own, I came to a tentative conclusion that the bear represented something like truth as a symbolic reflection of where the character's mental states are (hence the twice knocked over garbage cans, right before each story goes to absolute shit). The appearance of the bear at the end of the first story wasn't the cause of the disaster so much as it was a reflection of the disaster they had already caused for themselves made manifest. The appearance of the bear at the end of the second story, being a symbol for truth (or perhaps something like the beckoning of natural grace) is something she learns not to fear, and so in approaching it we see that she has grown from her experiences and taken conscious control of her life back from the whirlwind of desperate emotions and default behaviours. The characters' reactions to the bear speak to the way in which we can often fear our intuitions of what is wise, and in fleeing that fear we draw nearer to its true danger. I don't think this understanding of the bear incongruent with yours, because through both lenses the bear is a muse, a spirit animal, or a psychopomp to be followed. It is a form of insight. I also had to wonder why a black bear was chosen for this, of all things. My best hunch is that a black bear, powerful and terrifying though it may be, is generally a docile and unthreatening creature. A black bear, like any animal, may also represent the inherent grace of nature and harmonious existence. The bear's dual significance in this story pertains to the two ways it is perceived: as a terrible predator and as a simple unassuming beast of the forest. Though perhaps at the end of the day the choice was rather arbitrary and I'm reading too much into that decision.

[@whe832kso10]

This is the most convincing theory in these comments imo. But I still wonder, why did part 2 Allison walk towards the bear, instead of whacking “Blair” and “gabe” over the head like Blair did in part 1? And why is part 2 “gabe, aka allison’s husband, called “Bear”??

[@Katie-t1b]

I really like your interpretation

[@AdamC2013]

I wondered if in Part 1, Alison was searching for ‘inspiration’ which in reality is her manipulating people as her creative process to create a movie, and in Part 2, she (a difficult actress) and her husband make that movie and through more manipulation, life begins to imitate art and she experiences the pain that she put Blair through in Part 1. Maybe the black bear at the end was her realisation manifested (because she ended Blair’s life in Part 1 due to the bear/car incident). She smirks towards the bear because she finally realises the cycle, and we interpret her walking away from the lodge as her breaking the cycle. We think Alison broke the destructive cycle, looking for inspiration for her next movie, this time without her manipulative husband, with a scenic tranquil view, pen and paper, and no other characters to manipulate, but then we learn that she is actually manipulating the audience, as our movie watching experience is her manufactured creative process. Hence the stare to camera. And so the cycle continues. I don’t know. This is just what I was thought was happening during the movie. I will be happy if 10% of that is correct. But to be honest I only started thinking about life cycles because of the Buddha statue!

[@BurnsReviews]

oh damn i completely forgot about the Buddha statue. I think she literally hots gabe over the head with it. That has to be a metaphor lol

[@carnivorousplanteater]

woah thats kinda good

[@sorackee]

I really like your theory! I was thinking that part 2 happened first, then decided to stop the 'cycle' that you mentioned and became a film-maker. So, after the events of part 2, she is writing a new script with herself as a filmmaker in her story, but instead trying to manipulate these two characters with her lying and stuff, and you can see how visibly shaken she is by the whole ordeal and how her presence is tearing them apart. The intensity of it all reminds her of part 2 , and she gets lost in the memory of what happened to her. After the bear sequence, she snaps out of her stupor once again then stares at the camera to show that this was all happening in her head the whole time. Part 2 was just her re-hashing her past. But I do think you theory makes more sense.

[@martymillman9487]

i don't think it's a movie within a movie at all. i think it's about the writers process. she's alone in the cabin the entire time. the first environment is her first draft. she sees a bear, crash cut to black. she's inspired ready for a rewrite. "how to raise the stakes? oh make the movie about the making of the first idea." it create a more subversive film. then it starts to repeat. screwing in the pool house. she sees the bear again, then back on the docks. she's ready for the next rewrite

[@BurnsReviews]

i suppose. i don’t why they always end with a random bear appearing

[@astralnight3493]

@@BurnsReviews woosh

[@imjande]

@@BurnsReviews i think the bear represents either writer's block or the point where she decided to change the story and starts all over again.

[@herzeliedstein573]

I think you nailed it

[@KarmaIsARealThing]

I am so at peace with this movie when I tell myself both part 1 and 2 are what scripts she is thinking about on the dock using the people she just interacted with as characters. Because in part 1 she admits to thinking of a movie's purpose before coming up with a story. Her example was 'good triumphs evil' Both parts are about 'jealousy' and she knows jealousy is what she wants the script to be about. I love how open ended it is then, this is how an open ending should be done.

[@BurnsReviews]

i completely agree

[@withcautionsvevo7299]

finally found a comment i completely agreed with. I’m also at peace with this concept, and the others I’ve read are either absurd or had too much complexity that there’s plot holes that doesn’t make sense. why go through thinking so hard when this explanation is the easiest and makes the most sense??

[@christopher677]

I think the ending was her actual reality of starting her script , ending her writers block after she spent time on the dock creating these stories in her imagination. The look breaking the 4th wall at the end is up for interpretation..she could be saying to the audience.." Do you get it? None of that happened ".. All of it was just her trying to come up with a good story sitting on the dock. 🤔🤷‍♂️

[@BurnsReviews]

I mean as far as we know, maybe the actress looked at camera in that take and the director was like “I can use that!”. i’d love to get my hands on an early script

[@abbasakk3649]

I think both parts are in her head. She’s drafting her next movie in her head, which is a movie about filming a movie about Allison, Gabe and Blair. Sometimes she imagines herself in the role of the mistress, sometimes in the role of the wife.

[@jennterry6977]

That's where I'm leaning now too.

[@abbasakk3649]

👏🏻👍🏻

[@BurnsReviews]

I don’t think this movie works as individual parts. The most interesting part is that it bends perception. i dont think it holds up if the film was just part 1 or part 2.

[@swtpeteswtpete1515]

@@BurnsReviews To be honest, film 1 was building to a nice head, gaining steam- I really think this had it continued on could've been very Fargo'ish, noir'ish, gritty'ier, even serial killer'y. The current format flops for me.

[@oga7002]

i had the same thought :3

[@michaelkline2858]

I actually faced a bear in the woods once and I think Aubrey Plaza's character would have likely survived. Black bears rarely attack humans. About 15 years ago, I was eating lunch with my wife and two friends just off a trail in the Blue Ridge Mountains and a bear ran down the slope at us. We all turned around and stood up, but didn't run. The bear slowed down and walked up to about 10 feet in front of me. After staring directly at me for a few seconds, it suddenly started pawing wildly at the ground. Apparently that's called 'bear bluster'. Scientists think it's just a bluffing behavior and claim that no one who has witnessed bear bluster has ever been killed (though, if they were killed, how would we know?). What I do know is that the bear bluster scared the heck out of me. We all backed slowly away and the bear calmly ate our PB&J sandwiches. It seemed distracted enough that I actually went back to grab my friend's picnic blanket. We told the park ranger what had happened on our way out, thinking the bear was a threat that needed relocation. Instead, the ranger scolded us for feeding the bear. Feeding the bear was definitely not our intent, but I certainly don't feel any regrets about not fighting a bear over PB&Js.

[@lisasimpson8895]

why tf aren't there any replies to this comment? this is an amzing story hahahahah

[@maxdow9729]

Love this bro. In a sea of film Theories you hit us with this masterpiece. This should be the film

[@RedDeadRhinestone]

I had two different ending ideas: - The car crash at the beginning actually killed Allison, Blair, and Gabe. For her mistreatment of this couple, and other possible crimes, she is forced to relive what Blair went through. - Part one actually happened, and Allison actually went through all that stuff. After the crash, she told her husband what happened and what she did. For cheating on him, he lets her be the main character, but treats her like shit to get a reaction out of her.

[@BurnsReviews]

Oh man that’s pretty dark. The only flaw with that is there’s a line in there where he screams at her “YOU HAD TO BE STAT THOUGH” Which makes me think it was more her idea. Not to mention theres that scene where she doesnt wanna say the line and he’s like “did you read the script? you’re marking your territory! We can’t do script changes!” I like you’re theory a lot. That’s what they should of done, but i think you’re giving that tool of a director too much credit. part of me wonders if part 1 happened, and through her guilt she’s losing her mind and she’e gabe and and the other girl not as they are but as the people she met in part 1 because she’e losing her mind

[@berlynh3276]

my theory is that part 1 she is writing the plot to a movie, similar to the one in part 2, except this time she put herself in blair’s shoes and blair in hers. i think she wanted blair’s character in her movie to feel the pain that she felt in part 2. now, she obviously added extra details like blair’s character being pregnant and the car accident, but i think she is trying to summarize what happened to her in real life in movie form. so, i think it is a mix of her husbands movie in part 2 with what happened to her. now, part 2 again starts with the scene at the doc and i think in part 2 this is what actually really happened to her in her own life. her husband actually manipulated her and played games with her and that’s why in part 1 she disregards her husband, because she is still mad at him for what actually happened in her life. now both part one and part two end in the scene where abbot’s character is hooking up with either aubrey or gadon’s character. i think the significance of that is that in part 2 that is what really happened and in part 1, allison was seeing what it felt like to be blair. then at the end she is back at the doc looking out so i think then she is reflecting on what happened. the only thing that wouldn’t make sense to me as why she is in the cottage by herself and why she would be writing such a similar plot to her husbands movie? maybe his movie never ended up being released or something because she caught them having an affair? i don’t know this is just my take on the movie

[@BurnsReviews]

maybe. although if part 2 did happen i dont know how she got away from that bear.

[@veroarguello3545]

Burns Reviews for me the last scene where she meets the bear, the bear kills her and she ends up in limbo at the dock which is also the first scene so all of the movie is more of a memory than it reality.

[@meghancook8569]

I really like your take! Here’s my perspective on Black Bear: Plaza is a writer director struggling to write a script. While I believe both parts are fictionalized, I personally think the second half of the movie hews closer to reality (it’s more raw and specific) and the repeated elements are the truth seeping into Plaza’s screenplay throughout. In the first half characters pick up and drop attributes at the drop of a hat - especially as 1st Blair and 1st Gabe play an interesting game of reverse improv to negate each other’s perspectives - and 1st Allison consistently lies about who she is. It’s like the writer is trying to see her own heartbreak from an objective perspective, maybe even trying to put herself in the shoes of the easygoing, desirable woman. But the story goes off the rails and she cuts to black to try again, and the second attempt hits much closer to home. I think it’s fair a lot of people assume the bear is a metaphor for writers block, but I think it’s actually the writer starting with a grain of an idea and trying to build from there. I think each time the writer throws the black bear in she’s trying to distance herself from reality by adding fantastical elements. But when 2nd Gabe goes down the stairs along the boat dock to meet 2nd Blair in the water, the writer is slowly realizing that no matter how many times she rewrites the story she can’t escape what actually happened, and how that pain is informing her story.

[@camilalpm]

It makes so much sense now, thanks

[@gogogetter]

I love this one!

[@mcpeko]

Here I was thinking it was just me who didn't understand stuff again. I feel better now. Thanks. ;) :)

[@BurnsReviews]

Thanks for watching! 🙂

[@wyattshort388]

Okay! I think I cracked it! It is difficult to measure the chronology and reality of each event/phase of the film. But there's a good reason for this. My theory is that the story BEGINS when Allison is on the dock when the lake is covered in fog. There are three layers to the story: 1) the struggling writer sits on a dock and considers what she will write 2) everything aside from her sitting on the dock is us, the audience, sitting in her head as she plots her script (which is based on i) her volatile career and failing marriage and ii) the volatile and failing relationship of her hosts') 3) when she stands up from the dock to return to her room to write. The entire film is about a writer as she struggles and eventually succeeds in plotting her script, "Black Bear." What we don't see, is the actual film. We've only seen her making a chronological mess (as one does) as she plots out an entire script in her head. Her returning to her room to write is to use all of her ideas to write a comprehensive script. So, what we've watched, is the creative process. We haven't actually watched a completed script. And yet, we have. How'd I do?

[@BurnsReviews]

Pretty good! Although anyway you cut it i think she still has to write an ending hahah

[@jennterry6977]

I immediately searched for this after I watched the movie lol. My theory is part 1 was Allison's imagination while she was filming part 2. But I like your idea better.

[@BurnsReviews]

Thank you! :)

[@BurnsReviews]

It’s hard to say what is what with complete certainty but i’d say somewhere in reality theres someone with a guilty conscience hence the other version.

[@DanaFelix]

All I know is that I was high while watching this and now I'm even more confused. Great movie that really makes you think. I want to look up the director's other films now.

[@BurnsReviews]

Hahaha that’s too funny. I can’t imagine watching this high. i feel like the 2nd hand tension would give me anxiety hahah

[@Sydewinder420]

​@@BurnsReviews That's probably the best time to take a deep breath, which should help one relax. ;P That's what I did, anyway. Thanks for the review, Sir. This is just what I needed! :)

[@tinkergnomad]

I think you're right about her writing the story, but I think the bear (and the accident) represents both the "death of the author," and maybe a bit of a personal deathwish. The same person wrote and directed it, and in that interview with AV Club he said when he went to direct it he had to try and forget that he wrote it, and go in like he was working on someone else's screenplay. I think the second part was the second draft of her screenplay, because it felt more true and at the same time further removed from the actual details of the truth, and the bear appeared at her lowest point... A point when she would likely want to surrender to that danger and give up on life. I think she's mining a painful experience for content, but changing it enough so it's not her experience, but the bear at the end of the second, and the accident are both a figurative death of the author, and a deep emotional wish for an end to that pain without having to unalive oneself. I think she's the wife in both scenarios. I think she's writing about her life, and her pain, and creating fictional characters to explore that.

[@garrettadolf1870]

Just a thought, what if the first part was like a rough draft of an idea Allison was pondering. Then the second part is the same idea that she's changed around and added more details to make more complete than the first part. Neither part actually happened, just script ideas. Both were just part of Allison's creative process. Then the film ends with her finally writing these ideas down

[@altoncraigstar]

Thank you Burns for the commentary. This got me thinking of the confusion in Part 1 over the absence of Allison’s husband. Perhaps yes, she had a husband but now they have split. And perhaps Part 2 is a fictional retelling of that story. Part 1 seems to include an array of exposition. Consider, for example, Blair’s question to Allison about acting in her own films, and her statement that she is self involved. I find that plot point to magnify the role of the writer in a unique way. Actors are in spotlight telling the writer’s stories. Writers are ghosts behind the scenes possessing a necessary self-involved perspective to find inspiration on real life events that they tell in stories, or “lying ever since I got here.” It’s interesting that Lawrence Michael Levine initially intended the film to be two parts. First, the story; second, behind the scenes of the story. The concept for this film began as an idea to show an audience more of behind the scenes. I believe what he found in the process of rewriting and creating Black Bear is inviting an audience into the mind of a writer. The writer, Allison (a type of avatar for Lawrence Michael Levine), becomes the principle subject, the main character. I don’t think either Part 1 or Part 2 actually happened. Both stories are “inspired by true events”, both stories are deeply personal to the writer, Lawrence Michael Levine. Both stories are, indeed dreamlike, and actual nightmares. As Allison was searching for the car keys, walking toward the car, driving it… Aubrey Plaza fantastically conveyed the nightmare vibe. And of course, her acting in Part 2 clearly did the same. The camera work and extreme close up angles conveyed the same. Even the isolated cabin in the woods setting had me questioning, initially, if the film would be going in the direction of horror. For me, the bear is a figure of stark awakening into reality. A writer, deep in a rabbit hole of storytelling, imagination, and emotional recall of intense memories, even in a horrifying nightmare is living a thrilling existence. Compare that to the reality of a person sitting alone at a desk, isolated with a pen and a notebook. For me, the final frame of Allison staring at us, the audience… this serves as an invitation into the haunted mind of a writer. For after all, every story ever made is truly about the person who made it.

[@Dyrnwynn]

Two things: You said "Blair is going into labor, or something is wrong with the baby". Gane shoved Blair, slamming her into something with a lot of force. That's why she's having a probable miscarriage. This one isn't really important, but I just wanted to point out that black bears in America rarely kill humans. They usually run away. It's still better not to take any chances, of course.

[@rotflolextreme]

I think the story was just two different ways of looking at the same relationship dynamic. And that each perspective is being written by Allison.

[@abhishekpahwa7185]

So, Only real Person is Aubrey and she is sitting alongside the lake. She is already staying there, even welcome by Gabe and Blair is her imagination. Part 1 is her thinking about a story and a possible ending with hitting a bear in the end. Part 2 is her imagining how the shooting of that story would go and how in the end everyone would start hating her and won't work with her. (She said in starting no one wants to work with her as an actress, so she started directing). There's a new ending but with bear present in this ending as well. Then, movie (in her mind) ends and she starts writing that story.

[@christopher677]

Agree... kinda what I wrote as well..

[@BurnsReviews]

I suppose... I was thinking about all the ending in this movie. The one that stands out to me is the finale of the movie within the movie. It always ends with gabe cheating and the other one finding out. Why is this? Even the final scene of the movie they are filming. its not an ending

[@nobody_fadhhlanndy7]

this is the theory that i found on IMDb that i think make sense The "first" actual draft, when she is shown first arriving at the cottage in the Uber, the dialog is horrible and forced just like an early draft. The characters are constantly changing as she is writing them, so it feels convoluted and wandering. And it's supposed to. She eventually writes herself off a cliff that ends with the black bear. Then Aubrey is back at the dock in the red suit to start another draft. This is probably her morning ritual to start the writing process each day. This time they are shooting a movie. The director is dumb and cringy at first, but slowly she writes him as a brilliant director eliciting a great performance from his wife while flirting with her costar. The movie scene within the movie has some great performances, but runs into such a favor pitch that it goes off the rails as well, it it's better that the previous draft. Then she's back at the dock, ready to start the next draft... We are watching the evolution of a written script. It's like the director shot each draft of the film script he's been writing and showed it all to us...

[@TangoNevada]

In my opinion I am tired of these Movies that don't have endings and leave it open to interpretation (The Lobster, plus many more). If you don't have an ending to your movie, don't make it. It's like telling the Audience a joke and leaving the punch line up to the audience to interpret. Anyone can make up any idea they want and no one can say they are right or wrong, because it's totally up to you. So yeah, it's Dream, it's literal, it's a women imaging her worst nightmare, it's a Movie within a Movie. Why not, it's all possible if the writer can figure out an ending. Maybe this is what Steve King should do for the end of his movies. I guess it's easier to just cop out and not have an ending than to write a good one. I feel like it was a waster of 2 hours.

[@BurnsReviews]

I mean speaking on Stephen King that's exactly what he did for his novella The Mist, and for the film, there's a VERY definite ending that is now infamous courtesy of Frank Darabont. I know what you mean though, I think they do it because it's the safe bet way to go, it's a real people pleaser move.

[@laurynlozano2541]

What about all the coffee being split. What was the significance in that?

[@BurnsReviews]

I had the same thought! Unfortunately it’s not as profound as expected. The writer director said during his career things like that would happen all the time on set so he just added it on there. The whole set is really insane in this movie if you think about it. Everyone was high, the other girl had IBS (another real problem alawrenfe said he dealt with on set when stressed) It was crazy. I honestly don’t know how they filmed the first 80 percent of the film we didnt see with that cast and crew the way they act.

[@matthewjury4385]

Totally! The whole madcap nature of part 2 with the diarrhoea and the spilt coffee and the not mellow weed, felt really intentional

[@bigtig23]

Right.... endless coffee scenes and this stupid chick who can never find the lines

[@marcusmead7820]

I think the films is supposably her thoughts and like a dream so these chaotic things are just represent things in dreams that are out of your control

[@motopapi2478]

I think the second one is the reality. After seeing her husband cheating on her, that's when Aubrey Plaza made the 1st part. Black Bear symbolises independent so my theory is that Aubrey Plaza will Divorce Jamess Abbot and as a revenge, she's writing the 1st part where she changes everything.

[@BurnsReviews]

How do you think she survived the bear?

[@motopapi2478]

@@BurnsReviews I think it's a symbolism of Aubrey Plaza embracing independence. She approached the black bear instead of running away from it.

[@BurnsReviews]

well i mean... rather than hitting it with her car hahahah

[@limetreess]

I’ve been having lots of thoughts after watching it but here’s the path I’m on. I think the beginning part of her going to the cabin is real and she really is doing as she says and “doing stupid shit until she’s able to write” or however she puts it and is antagonizing this couple in order to hopefully get inspiration. At some point this breaks from reality and into the story in her mind but this is before the actual chapter card is shown so we don’t notice it happening in that moment. Like maybe when she says she’s going to bed she really does and everything that happens after that is her playing out a story in her mind of how things could unravel in her work of fiction. When she crashes the car that is when she breaks thru the writers block and the next day begins actually writing the story that is seen in the second act. Idk if anything in the second act really happened but in my mind it didn’t, it’s just a representation of how it plays out in her mind and how she contextualizes the story for her as she writes it. I’m excited to think more about it and read more theories tho!

[@RiversBliss]

The whole time she is sitting at the lake side thinking about the plot of the script. I think there are two layers in the movie, the first one is how the script will play out in the first scenario with her being the one who cheats, second scene is here being the victim and cheated on. She has all the materials and starts writing the best scenario to play out. Those are just characters she made up in her head, no one is actually there accept her.

[@BurnsReviews]

I like to think one of those realities happened, or maybe elements of them happened in her life and inspired her to write it in her head and we see two drafts of that

[@ellieschrock]

I believe that Act 2 did actually happen to Allison. In the opening of the movie, the absence of Alison's husband is mentioned multiple times. I don't think Act 2 has to do with anything she is writing. I just think it's the backstory to Act 1, or maybe it does have to do with her writing, which would mean she was writing a story about her husband leaving her while she was on set filming a movie. which makes sense because she stopped acting. Maybe she stopped acting because her husband left her for another actress? Say we connect it to Act 1 now (Which I feel like took place after Act 2). Let's theorize that after Gabe left Alison for Blair after shooting a movie, they moved to New York, and Alison is writing a story on what she believes their life looks like now. She writes that they are having marriage problems and puts herself into the story, but instead as the woman who steals Gabe from Blair. The bear I feel like represents Allison's anger. Even writing herself into the story as the "other woman" upsets her, so she erases it and tries to write it again. Sort of like writers' block, but because the bear appears after cheating in both acts, I think Alison gets angry with both realities, with how it went down in real life, and in the film she wrote

[@ellieschrock]

Or maybe the bear represents the future, past, and then present. Like in theory, the bear separates what Alison sees for the couple's future (act 1), then the bear appears, and she remembers the past, the bear appears again and cuts back to where we have Alison in the present, thinking of a way to turn her own experience into a movie.

[@DmitriKatsman]

Thank you for your interesting interpretation. I mostly agree with your assessment, however, I am pretty sure the director writing her script from part 1 is the reality. She tries to write her script and somewhere in part 1 after being in this awkward love triangle, she sits on the dock and smiles to the camera - i think that is the clue that she has finally found her brilliant idea for a new script. Then in part 2 we see this script running through her imagination, as she is writing it. So her script is based both on her weird encounter with a miserable couple and her own past with a manipulative husband-director that drove her crazy in reality. Regarding the black bear symbolism - according to Aubrey the bear symbolizes facing the ugly truth. This movie reminded me of "Mulholland Drive" and "I am thinking of ending things" - both movies have a similar concept, where one story mirrors the other story and you are never sure which one is real.

[@BurnsReviews]

I can see that!

[@walsie435]

I had a bit of a Black Mirror take on it. My initial take on this was that Allison has died at some point and is going through some type of purgatory with alternate realities. The bear marks the start and end point of both realities. In the first part she is a bad person and therefore when she dies her purgatory becomes a reality where she is a good person who has something bad happen to her, and then the second part she is a good person and therefore when she dies her purgatory becomes a reality where she gets revenge on the people that did her wrong, although things go bad for her in this reality also. The start and end point is not specified so therefore this could be a continual loop or up to the viewer to decide where it starts and ends. The second time she see's the bear though she seems to be accepting of her fate of being mauled by or acknowledges the bear is just a symbol of some mystical gatekeeper between realities. Of course this doesn't explain the scenes where she is sitting by herself on the dock or when she sits down to write.

[@benaldridge3575]

I’m showing up to this comment section far too many years late after my third viewing, and here is my interpretation. Part One was completely real, and Allison’s writers block was cured by the Black Bear in the road. The entire experience of her being out there, having no pre meditated concept for her script and becoming a decently justified home wrecker to that horribly misunderstood “housewife” put her character through pure hell. Part Two is just the story she found on that trip that ended up only being a day long. Her reversing roles not only symbolizes the dissociated relationship of the couple hosting her but also ties into the lies she told regarding her husband, which we never deserved the answer for in the first place. A true artist’s journey.

[@alidolloso1704]

Remember near the start when Blair told Alison she was solipsistic (she said it meant self absorbed) I looked up the word and it has a much deeper meaning, something about stuff only existing inside ones own mind, but not existing outside of it. So then I thought mabye the Alison character and the way she was behaving was based on being solipsistic.....

[@yourenotrelatable]

Open ended movies suck. I love sopranos but I hate that the writer says it’s open ended. I think he mistakenly said he dies so I much rather go with that.

[@reliablerants]

The only scenes that are not part of Blair’s story idea are the first scene where she is sitting on the dock and she walks into her house, writing in her notebook, and the last scene, where she does the same thing. I think after that, both parts are story ideas, and part 1 is based off of her real life. Each part, AKA story idea follow the exact same beat structure - Husband and wife argue, Husband and mistress flirt, Husband and wife argue some more, Husband and mistress sleep together, wife gets mad. Allison the writer, who we only see in the first and last scene, struggles with writers block, resembled by the black bear. She probably gets writers block in part 1 because of how it felt weird writing about her exact life. So, to get around this writers block, she decides to write a story with the same characters and the same structure, only this time, her character switches roles with Blare, and the story takes place in a different scenario which resembles her at a different point in her life, exploring the difficulties she faced as an actor. Allison the writer also came up with the experimental idea to have it be the behind the scenes of a movie, allowing her story to dive deeper and further explore her difficulty on set as an actress, and her emotional problems. Thinking outside the box is what allowed Allison the writer to kill her writers block and feel inspired to write again. Remember, in part 1, Gabe and Blare are married, and the big beats are Gabe and Blare argue, Gabe and Allison flirt, Gabe and Blare argue some more, Gabe and Allison sleep together, Blare gets mad. In Part 2, the same structure is followed, except only now Gabe and Allison are married, and so it goes -- Gabe and Allison argue, Gabe and Blare flirt, Gabe and Allison argue some more, Gabe and Blare sleep together, Allison gets mad. She also got writers block in part 2, resembled by the bear at the same beat she did in as part 1. This means she probably will start a new idea. This movie kind of messes gets a little everything everywhere all at oncey, it's about two completely different scenarios with the same people. This makes you think, what are some other character dynamics and situations that could happen between these 3, and how many exist, is part 2 actually real, somewhere hint he universe? They could make a sequel and have two different ideas with these same characters, just switched roles once again and a different situation. We could learn more about Allison the writer’s life. I don’t know.

[@rst9649]

I don’t actually think that’s how it happened. Part 2 is more of a retelling of the actual story as she reflects on it while sitting on the dock, while Part 1 is her version of the story as she’s writing it down. The main reason is that the dock scenes at the start and end are identical in every detail. If Parts 1 and 2 were simply a concept in her mind, as you suggested, why would the director make these scenes match so closely? It’s because they aren’t, and the scenes are the same to show that Part 1 picks up right after Part 2. Also, in Part 1, Blair appears less attractive compared to Part 2, and that’s because she wanted to imagine herself looking prettier than her.

[@BreakdancingMiracle]

The movie created expectations that were more than unfulfilled. It fell completely flat. Following the first segment after the crash with the bear would have been more interesting.

[@RiversBliss]

It's basically like the movie _Swimming Pool (2003)_ but a bit different but 95% plot twist.

[@briancarrillo342]

Black bears aren't really dangerous (some can be tho), grizzly bears however want to kill everything

[@Alsysoltes]

Thank you for that. For the life of me I couldn't put into words what I was thinking of the movie. You described it great.

[@BurnsReviews]

Thank you! More videos coming soon

[@zacharycollins9485]

Anybody else get Mulholland Drive vibes from Black Bear? 🤔

[@BurnsReviews]

Most definitely. That uneasy dream feeling

[@matthewjury4385]

Yes - definitely- trying to distinguish the characters in reality and in fantasy

[@zacharycollins9485]

Agreed on both counts. I also felt that both of these films share a very similar two-part story structure where the first half is fantasy, the second half is reality and then a big metaphysical ending. Both films have 2 female and 1 male main characters, as well. However, Mulholland Drive - directed by David Lynch - was a much better film. ✌️

[@janicemackenbooks3437]

My personal theory is that each part of the movie was a commentary on jealousy, manipulation, and the world/art being messed up through different scenarios. The first part was surrounding the movie itself, the second was the moviemaking, and when she looks at the camera at the end, she’s talking about us watching the movie, thus breaking the fourth wall. I also think the buddha statue symbolizes the different life cycles of these characters in which the same sort of corruption is present but just with different storylines.

[@andrewbigsby8839]

Kinda feels like the acts play in reverse. To sum it up without writing a book part 3 starts with her writing a story thinking about the audience. Part 2 is something that happens to inspire her. That's why at the end of part 2 she finds her Black Bear, her inspiration after seeing her husband cheating with her costar. The scene is called the bear by the house or whatever because its about how she comes to find the inspiration for the final product the writing process. In part 2 she says that she will always love the black bear when the director is saying how they made/found a great movie. The Black Bear is their work of art. Part 3 is Black Bear the finished product. It makes many references to the real events in part 3. The first thing they talk about are things like where is your husband? I am a difficult actor to work with etc... Things that are explained by part 2. Part 1 ends with the Bear signaling the end of the story. A lot of things in part 1 seem to be about the writer taking control. For instance in part 1 she plays both the director and the other girl. The two characters that she was powerless against and caused her great suffering in part 2. It seems like she is intentionally writing a revenge story of sorts. (Since the director said they don't want the story to have a single interpretation they added the scene of the Aubrey Plaza sitting at the lake throughout the movie to create another interpretation. Aubrey is writing 2 stories and scraps them for a third draft).

[@ahmedanwar7418]

I think I just wasted 2 hours of my life watching the movie, and 9 more minutes watching this review. Thanks.

[@SuperBubbles24]

Interesting idea, however I interpreted it as part 2 being the real world story while part 1 is just fiction being written by Alison with her as the cheater because she feels guilty for cheating on her husband with that camera dude even though her husband, gaslit her, emotionally manipulated her, and eventually cheated on her. In part 1 she does say that she was an actress and didn’t have a husband even though her friend said she did. I think the beginning of part 1 actually happened up until she sat on the peer than the rest was just her making a story in her mind using the landlords as characters in her story.

[@daviddeida]

Agree part one starts on the pier.Part 2 is her imagining her directing the movie,after the actress melt down she says we really killed those people,showing its also made up.

[@WillieDWashington]

The Black Bear is Gabe... Allison calls him that a couple of times in the film.

[@BurnsReviews]

There’s a scene in the end when they’re in bed and she calls him Bear about 5 times. It was a little heavy handed IMO. If we embrace that that thinking and say the bear is Gabe than by that definition, Gabe is the reason she crashes the car, and gabe is the reason she doesnt break up the two or them getting it on??? i guess. I don’t know. Her calling him a bear just felt like a redherring they threw in last minute to throw people off. i dont know

[@BurnsReviews]

Good catch though!

[@RL_Sin]

There is a process to creating art even as Aubrey Plaza's character says that she doesn't have one and she may not even write a new film when Blair asks her if she has writers block. That may be true, but naturally artists 1st experience something which helps fuel the creative juices, 2nd you envision or have an idea 💡in your head, then your create the art and last execute your creation. 1st she experienced a couple not happy and a husband who would seem more then happy to cheat and be with someone less up tight and more fun like Aubrey Plaza. 2nd she sits on the dock and the real "experience" part ends because she begins to envision her film and the idea of her story. The rest of part 1 is in her head and all of part 2 is in her head as well, but the a better redefined vision based off her experience and 1st idea. 3rd she starts to write down her film 4th an idea written would lastly be executed out, in this case filmed. Also, as mentioned when we the audience see her writing at the end & it looks like she looks at a camera she could be being filmed- making part 1, again after the dock scene the initial idea she envisons, part 2 her rough draft, and the end scene would be the final product which we only saw the very beginning her writing down Black Bear.

[@BurnsReviews]

She also does write down the chapters if memory serves me right

[@SamRoseChi]

I actually really enjoyed this movie. I love movies that have me thinking thought out the film. When I finished the movie my interpretation was she was writing movie scripts in her head and the black bear is a metaphor for writers block. Cool to listen to other theories as well. Side note: I wonder what the significance is of the rustling bushes were almost right before she saw the black bear? Rustling bushes were in both parts. Maybe it was her getting distracted in her mind as she was trying to think of movie scripts in her head whilst on the dock..? So many possibilities...

[@BurnsReviews]

maybe while imagining the worlds in her mind she heard the bushes in reality. Hence the beat arriving.

[@doublefeature]

i like the thought you have about this being almost a way to put Allison in the position that Blair was in to give her some sort of empathy or understanding. that's an interesting thought. i think it also shows you that despite Allison kind of appearing to be the strong, independent, tough girl type, that she actually unraveled far more than Blair did.

[@abnormallygreencarrots4866]

GUYS I THINK IK WHAT HAPPENED so i think part 2 happened first to her. i believe all of that along w the crash happened to her but i believe that it wasn’t actually gabe and blair who were those ppl. i think maybe gabe was making a movie based on the true story of what happened to allison. and in allison’s mind she replaced them with gabe and blair. the reason why i think she choked blair is because she saw herself in blair’s character and that was self hatred from the guilt she felt for what happened in the end of part 1.that’s also why i think the cast was going easy on allison and being nice because it was her story all along and gabe manipulated her into playing the part so it’s more genuine. i think that gabe was a selfish director who fed off of allison’s pain because she was a famous actress and director. so he used her and her story to make a successful movie. still can’t explain the ending that much tho w this analogy but it’s fun to think like that

[@onejeremyarmy6029]

I legit thought that Part 1 is a scene they were filming, and after Part 2, Allison lets the bear into the cabin to kill Gabe and Blair, and then she steals his whole movie idea when going into his room to see his notepad.

[@BurnsReviews]

Oh I like that!

[@alitshecter5098]

My first thought, when the movie ended, was that Allison wanted to end it all by letting the bear kill her, and at the same time punish her cheating husband, so the whole movie becomes an explanation for why is her character so tragic. But I really liked your theories better (:

[@stevenquartz4255]

I like the idea that there are multiple layers of movies within movies, but I'm not so sure we ever see Allison's movie or anything from her perspective. I think we see 2 versions of a movie that are both from Levine's perspective. In part 1, he is playing with the audience's expectations of what they are seeing and the joke that is revealed is that what we took to be a depiction of the real was really just a movie. Allison is just a character in a movie etc. There's no point in part 1 that isn't a depiction of a movie. Once the joke is revealed he can show us that it was just a movie and lets us in on the joke and we get to watch him pull a similar 'joke' on his wife, who is playing Allison now. The 'joke' or deception is now Levine and the character playing Blair fool Allison into believing that the romance between Gabe and Blair is actually real (that's also why I don't see how part 2 could be Allison's movie). I think the question at the end is whether Levine is playing another joke on the audience by suggesting that the movie within a movie in part 2 was itself just a movie.

[@BurnsReviews]

My brain starts to melt if I think about it for too long. I think it’s simply a depiction of what it’s like to have writer’s block. Part 1 and 2 could have simply been idea 1 and 2 for a movie. Maybe she liked elements of part 1 and thought “what would this be like if done a different way”

[@thegeekchurch3893]

I'm not certain about the "layer effect", but this film feels like it is about someone who has a good idea for a film, and it's based upon events in their own life. Upon going to this cabin to ponder it, this person (Aubrey Plaza) weighs in on what it is going to be like once it is written and shot, and all the complications that will arise from it. She plays through the worst-case-scenarios on the director and herself, and what is shown on screen is a mix of imagination and possibly actual reality.

[@mikeharris7446]

Really enjoyed listening to your different "takes" on this fascinating psychological film. I believe that the first part was reality and then the 2nd part was in Allison's head as she lays dying in the car crash. Note that she is the actress in the 2nd imagined movie being made... and in the beginning of part one, she is telling Gabe why she isn't acting anymore. Thus, she is imaging being a great film star while she lays dying in the car....

[@BurnsReviews]

That’s an interesting take. Part 2 definitely felt hyperbolic

[@mikeharris7446]

@@BurnsReviews Yeah, like the script girl who could never find the next line for the scene. Lots of things in Part 2 that seemed surreal.

[@BurnsReviews]

And so much spilled coffee lol

[@topgear81]

To me, Part 1 is her basically trying to hash out the initial rough draft for the movie. Look at the opening minutes when she's walking towards the cabin with Gabe and Gabe is rapid firing awkward questions at her. He doesn't even know her at this point and the conversation is unnatural. She's trying to figure out who the characters are at this point. Throughout part 1 her idea becomes more fleshed out and she settles into the core of the story. Enter the Bear, which as people have said probably represents something like writers block. Part 2 is essentially her second draft which is built around her original core idea, but much more fleshed out and with more characters. The "bear" comes again and she begins work on the next re-write of the script.

[@BurnsReviews]

That would make a lot of sense about the bear because both part 1 and 2 don’t work as a complete story for a movie. It would be awful we just got one of the parts.

[@markschillat4180]

Last week i watched an interview where Aubrey said the bear sort of represents the "truth".

[@BurnsReviews]

@@markschillat4180 but what truth? The truth that no matter who Gabe is with he’ll cheat on anyone?

[@RiversBliss]

I think you're right. To me it's basically like inception as well. It's about movie making.

[@Ginam3939]

I LOVE Aubry, and the main actors were wicked good, but this movie was a waste of 2 hours. The plot was just stupid. I almost turned it off after an hour but was hoping it would’ve gotten better. Unfortunately it didn’t.

[@jmichaelbaran9724]

I think the image of the bear can represent two things....both separately...and then intertwined. The film is shot in the forest...which is the domain of the bear....for the most part of the Western Hemisphere, the "King" of the forest. Ancient man saw the bear as a powerful spirit. A black bear meeting may point to a protective presence in your life. In the realm of spirit animals, the bear represents strength, courage, confidence, and leadership. If you are always the leader and always have others depend on you, the bear is reminding you of the importance of self-care. You cannot be a grounding force for others if you are not strong and actively grounding yourself. You can call upon the spirit of the bear when you need healing, paying special attention to those areas that feel weak or in need of rest and repair. The bear is a power animal....We can call upon our power animals when we need to summon inner strength. If the bear is your power animal, you are a symbol of strength that others naturally gravitate to and rely upon for support because you possess the confidence and leadership qualities that others respect. The other symbol is one of fear.....the "bear" represents those things we fear in life....or in the unexplained. The 1960's anthology series, "The Outer Limits", used the "bear" to represent a monster, or an alien; some form of “Other” that lurked as an antagonist for the characters. In Part 1....the "bear" represented Blair's fears that she would lose both her husband AND her baby to Allison. In Part 2, the "bear" represented Allison's fears that she was losing control of her creative life....that the people around her were nothing but puppets being controlled by a John Cassavetes-styled director....(I have worked on a John Cassavetes project before...."Kevin and Tige"...and seen his stage work at his theatre in Los Angeles in 1981, so I know that Gabe's character reflects more on John and his treatment of both Gena Rowlands and Shera Danese than the oft-referred to connection to Kubric and Shelly Duvall....(and lest we forget the menage-a-trois' connection of "Winters Tale" and the use of a bear in that show....)

[@TheCrowsAreWatching]

Just because it's a bear doesn't mean wants to eat her, they're not hungry 24/7

[@crissjoel18]

Since the movie starts I was convinced the couple wasn't real. That everything happened was her interpreting her past, that all of this is a figment of her writing. To the title screen, to the chapters, it's all in handwriting, even pushing further the idea that everything going on in film, is just her in isolation (she is alone in the movie. And she is alone in crew setting.) She says to Gabe at the beginning, "I am alone in this world". How can she blantantly lie about her dead mother or about not having a husband? It's because it's her reality seeping in through her writing. Part 2 reminds me of Vox Lux. A washed up celebrity still trying to get some recognition for her efforts, via her emotionally abusive husband. A man that truly know she is not good at what she does, so he tortures her in ways he know it can bring what he wants from her. Allison's anger for him, the lost of her baby and the affair on the side; all helps her to write the story she feel it's deserving for her, but at this point her mind has already slipped far away and she can't distinguish the production from her own life. The bear is a device in the in movie movie's plot, at first. But in Part 2, she sees the bear as a sign of ending her suffering. I like to think she let the bear in and let it eat them while they are having s*x. Also, she called her husband Bear, but also holding her belly. I'd like to see the couple as Goldielocks and the Three Bears. The blonde one comes to the home and disrupted the peaceful mind set they had tried to built for their own after the tragedy of losing Baby Bear. This movie can be torn apart in so many ways I feel no argument can make judgement to it. On the vain of Joan Crawford and Natalie Portman and Sunset Boulevard; this is another character study on a woman pushed to her limits for entertainment, and for what she can do for others, instead of herself.

[@kylewollman2239]

Thanks for your analysis. As I watched the film I thought that part 1 was real life and she was trying to have an experience that she could make into her next movie since she had writer's block. Sort of like how Seinfeld was all about how a comedian gets his material. Then part 2 showed them making her real life experience in part 1 into a movie. But I kind of lost the thread a little bit with her on the dock at the end and looking into the camera, which is why I came to watch your explanation.

[@BurnsReviews]

i’m rewatching it now and at the dinner table they’re talking about using the place as a shooting location and i wonder if in part 2 shes doing right by Allison by shooting a film there to throw them some money and through her guilt she views the actors/ director as the people she knew in part 1 because shes losing it

[@randydoak6638]

When I saw it I put the pieces together in a different order. Allison went to the retreat to get some inspiration for her next film. She certainly found more drama than she bargained for. The last bit where she gets up again from the dock and begins writing occurs sequentially at the end of part one. Part two showed the film she wrote as it appeared in her head, complete with all the scenery chewing she wrote in for her own part.

[@langdonboom]

Nice work dude! Really enjoyed this take.

[@BurnsReviews]

Thanks man. i’ve got more of these type videos coming soon!

[@Kento_nanami_the_2nd]

def layer 3. everything is in her head and the only things not taking place in her head is when she's on the dock and then walks back to start writing.

[@gianabakanos9131]

So I was left with the wtf vibe as everyone. But it reminded me of something.... At uni we studied Ali Smith's 'How To Be Both'. This book is split into two narratives: Georgie's and Francesco del Cossa. Thing is when this book was published half the published novels had George's narrative first and then the other half had del Cossa's narrative first. So when it came time to analysing the text in class there were such different meanings to the text which was incredible. This film reminded me of this because while my friend, my brother and I watched from the beginning, a friend of us joined us later and he started following the film during part two. He had a completely differnt understanding of the movie to what we had. Unfortunately he was not in the mood to watch the film from the beginning so we can see further interpretations, but while the three of us who had seen part 1 first were trying to understand the parallels between 1 and 2 and our friend (who we had explained part 1 to) was saying that we're totally wrong in interpreting it. I did have a bit of prosecco while watching this so cannot remember exactly where we disagreed in interpreting it but I was genuinely curious to see how differently someone would interpret the movie if they saw part 2 first and then part 1 instead of the order we saw it where part 1 came before part 2.

[@jacobduperon472]

My take: Act 2 actually happened and it inspired the events in Act 1 which is the movie she's writing. In Act 2, her husband made up this lie to affect her wife's behavior. She switches up the roles in Act 2 (the movie she's writing) and references her husband's lie by saying "everything I've said so far is a lie". Then again, I could be totally off lol

[@ryanawr]

Great review! Just finished the movie and this was exactly what I needed :)

[@BurnsReviews]

That’s Awesome! Talking to people about movies in the comments is one of the biggest reasons why I do these. I’m going to do a lot more of these. I love researching them and talking about them after. Thanks for watching :)

[@marianne22222]

you guys... Go watch Opening Night (1977) you'll understand half of it. You're making way harder than it is tbh...

[@BurnsReviews]

damn that’s crazy how similar they are. I guess there truly no original ideas left. Nice catch! i never would of knew that

[@marianne22222]

@@BurnsReviews Yea! It was definitely a good impersonation of it at times but I think it's still great on its own, Aubrey really stands out in this. I was enthralled by the characters for sure, couldn't lay my eyes off of her to see what was about to happen next ahah. The second part and the ending were a nice surprise also!

[@BurnsReviews]

Yeah if nothing else i had no idea what was coming around the corner

[@CrawlTheWall]

What song is playing when the film crew are having the wrap party? Can’t find it anywhere

[@BurnsReviews]

I don’t the movie in front of me but there’s this app called Shazam that might help. Did you try that?

[@oscarcontreras8339]

The end! Made me believe, she actually killed everyone in the movie… she apologizes for killing everyone when they’re in bed; outta the blue…. Before anything happens… so I think she’s writing from true experience, and what really happened. It was a brainstorm idea for 1 and 2

[@laurenm4901]

I felt like she looks at the camera at the end bc we are supposed to we are supposed to think it’s all in her head, like it’s all her writing. Either both parts or one or the other.

[@BurnsReviews]

I don’t think part 2 ever happened. For one, how did she escape that bear that she walked into? And Secondly, i don’t believe part 2 is something she lived and wrote into a story later. Think about it, she was drunk as hell in part 2. I doubt she’ll remember any of that.

[@shotsfiredbyjameswills358]

i think your movie within a movie has merit cos (and no ones mentioned this so i could be wrong) in the beginning of part 2 while directing Gabe mentions to someone (maybe Blair?) how good Alison's performance was on the docks last shot, that she had a tear in her eye - then the final shot on the dock at the end of the film she had a tear in her eye - as if they were shooting again? I dont know, this is some crazy movie inception shit but i enjoyed it!

[@BurnsReviews]

The writer / director said later he intentionally made it accessible for multiple theories

[@Hikerhikeshikes19]

Part 3: The Bear is a pregnant surrogate mother to Gabe and Blair’s baby. Throughout the pregnancy Gabe AND Blair both start secretly falling in love with Surrogate Bear and jealous tensions start rising. Aubrey plaza is a Trapper (Davy Crockett style) lookin for a nice new rug and some good ol’ bear meat. As the hunt plays out, Blair is conflicted about who she wants dead or alive. She loves both Bear and Gabe but also she can’t risk them ending up together. Will she side with the Trapper? Will she kill Gabe and end up with the Bear? Will she kill everyone? Will the hunter kill the Bear and unborn child? Will the baby be a bear human hybrid? Part 4: They’re all bears.

[@BurnsReviews]

Part 5: They’re all Charmin bears. But this is an origin story so they all still have dingleberries. Part 6: Dingleberry-Free

[@nomoreinhellpodcasts5332]

My guess is neither really happened and they were both two different possible movies in her head. She said at the beginning that she finds seeing herself in movies she directs kind of humiliating, and id say in part 2 her "character" was pretty humiliated. I think for the most part the audience is strung along the entire time on a bout of writer's block.

[@BurnsReviews]

i’m betting she was wrapped up in a adulterous love triangle recently in some way if nothing else

[@jaywalkercrew4446]

That’s interesting, I just thought of it as two alternative storytelling reflecting the 1st one. Never thought of her imagining the plot. Thanks 🙏

[@cbarber5366]

Allison visualized herself in both parts to be able to finally break writers block.

[@BurnsReviews]

Yeah that sounds about right

[@daviddeida]

Yes Part 2 she was the director,not the actress.

[@kevinloomer1858]

It’s not a dream. You watch too many soap operas. And the bear at the end of the second half killed her. That was her committing suicide after realizing her husband lived another woman.

[@BurnsReviews]

maybe

[@theresam1379]

black bears are shy and avoid people, they'd most likely run away if you yell at them or wave your arms at them. so no, she most certainly would not have been eaten by a black bear.

[@BurnsReviews]

yeah but she was erratic the whole movie so who knows

[@jeethha1]

My interpretation is that both part 1 and part 2 are stories that Allison came up with for potential movies

[@BurnsReviews]

That fits. What I love about this movie is that you can go into this film believing what vet you like and it still potentially fits.

[@laureneras9523]

My take was this was a terrible movie. Sorry Aubrey

[@BurnsReviews]

That’s fair. I was intrigued when i watched it but haven’t gone back to watch it since.

[@daviddeida]

My take,Part one ,she starts writing the movie when she on the pier,,part 2 is her imaging directing the movie .What about the bear.In animal medicine cards,where attribute are given to different animals,Bear signifies introspection.So now you know ..LOL

[@BreakdancingMiracle]

Fascinating take on an other droll film. I never felt Kubrick was anywhere near portrayed tbh. Your movie Black Bear should have been the actual film. Bears don’t always eat people.

[@valgalder]

A black bear would have eaten her? Haha no. Black bears are almost never very aggressive unless they are caught off guard of threatened.

[@BurnsReviews]

Ok Dwight

[@hamida185]

I LOVED YOUR REVIEW

[@BurnsReviews]

Thank You so much! Hey i’m always looking for feedback and recommendations. What have you been watching lately?

[@rickneal4967]

The biggest clue was when Bobby stepped out of the shower...

[@righteousrawb7225]

I just saw it, it was really Aubrey's acting was phenomenal

[@BurnsReviews]

It’s what I remember most since seeing it. Like damn… that snarky parks and rec girl can act!

[@michaelarturo6119]

Part One was good and then everything went south. Yes, it did, the director writer thought it was a cool idea that this was really about a film within a film, it isn't. That's for NYU film school. Writing a mature drama about commitment, love, family, feminism, adultery, etc. is very very hard - that's why it was abandoned after a half hour.

[@ethanjohn7638]

Awesome analysis, thanks!

[@BurnsReviews]

No problem at all thank you so much tor watching!

[@vancoronavirus9566]

Allison maybe by the dock as we speak trying to figure how to start and how to end Part 3....who knows..🤷

[@BurnsReviews]

It does feel like there’s no ending in sight ANYWHERE in this movie. Just multiple act ones and twos lol

[@jakeballard4057]

this wasn't an explanation, you just rambled as if you didn't even watch the movie

[@BurnsReviews]

I’ll send you a refund

[@dreamcathcherr]

Your theory makes the most sense!

[@ajwalker2365]

Aubrey was so great at being tragic in part 2 that I selfishly want part 1 to be real cause I like her winning

[@justinem1794]

But he also had a huge scar in part 1 and the bear was by the door in part 2 so she may have opened the door and bear attacked him and he dreamed the first part

[@גבאברהם-ח8ג]

THANK YOU.

[@BurnsReviews]

you’re welcome!

[@ChickenOfTheCaveMan]

I think part 1 is real life but Blair and Allison are in a Tully situation where it's really just Gabe and the wife and she imagines that if she gets pregnant and a new girl was to come in, what would be the worst that could happen, then writes a movie about it, but the movie is about making that movie, which is part 2. The ending is just the beginning of the fake movie within the real movie. Allison is just the younger, dumber, badder side of who Blair is, if that makes sense.