Being There Ending: Two Endings, One Umbrella
The ending of Being There has been argued over for more than forty years. Chance the gardener strolls onto a pond and stands on the surface, and the image refuses to settle. Most readings reach for the miraculous. But the Being There walking on water shot appears in neither Kosinski's novel nor the 1979 screenplay draft — it was grafted onto a much quieter scene. Reading the two endings against each other opens up three interpretations, a famous objection from Roger Ebert, and a final joke that lands squarely on the audience. Here is what the scene is really doing.
