“Collide” is a thriller drama directed and written by Mukunda Michael Dewil. The makers tried their level best to put Hitchcock’s “bomb theory” to work, and they literally installed a time bomb in a manner of surprise. In the beginning, the audience didn’t expect that the story they were seeing could also have a time bomb. Anyway, it worked well when six different people collided with each other in and around the restaurant named “The Collide.” Everything panned well with the actors, and the screenplay did not always keep pace. However, some points needed to be discussed where things got a little blurry at times. When dealing with the emotional ups and downs, guilt, rage, betrayal, and humility all at once, and that too, from the perspective of six different people, the execution must be perfect, which in this case wasn’t.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In ‘Collide’? How Did The Lives Of The Individuals Collide Together?
The film begins with an over-the-top shot of city life. There were six individuals. Two of them were lovers (Zee and Lily), two of them were couples (Peter and Angie), and the other two (Tamira and Hunter) were meeting on a blind date for the first time in the restaurant named “The Collide.” Janice Schoonfeld owned the restaurant, and Mikey ran it as a manager. Angie was having an affair with Mikey, and she lied to Peter about coming home late at night. Peter saw her with Mikey in the restaurant as he was following her. He was a part-time violin player looking to get admission to the “Royal Carrington Philharmonic Orchestra”. He was distraught to see Angie with Mikey, and he even appointed someone (probably a private investigator) to spy on them. He delivered some tapes that recorded the intimate moments of Angie and Mikey and gave Peter the gun he asked for. Angie gave Peter’s money to Mikey so that he could open up their new restaurant. But Mikey was a conman who even stole money from the restaurant and wine too.
Now, Zee and Lily work at the restaurant. Zee washed the dishes, and Lily was a waitress there. Zee somehow found a pile of cocaine and contacted a gangster who had given her a time for the exchange of the drug for a massive amount of money. Lily was pregnant with Zee’s child, and they thought finding the amount of cocaine was God’s grace for them to live a happy life together. Zee hid the packs of cocaine in a fridge at the restaurant. Some items, including wines, were missing from the restaurant, so the owner appointed Mr. Smith to investigate the matter. When he went to look for the missing items in the fridge, he found Zee standing there. Zee could not let him get out as he suspected him of being the thief who was stealing from the fridge. However, Zee went into the fridge to remove the cocaine from there. His brother, Travis, was out of jail and came to visit him and Lily. Lily was so happy to meet Travis that she told him about the drugs. But when Travis went to talk to Zee about the drug and wanted to be a part of the deal, Zee declined any interference in this matter from his side. Soon, when the gangster arrived, Zee went to receive the money in exchange for the drug. But, Travis came along with his group and interfered with the process. Bullets were exchanged from both sides, and a colossal ruckus took place at “The Collide” restaurant.
Now, the last couple made the ultimate mess in this story. Tamira was waiting for her date, but she seemed a bit tense. When Hunter arrived, we got to know that they were blind dating. After seeing Tamira, Hunter wanted to leave, as he did not want to move forward with the date. But, Tamira suddenly disclosed the time bomb beneath his chair that would blow if he left the chair for once. Hunter could not understand what exactly was going on as Tamira started talking about her childhood. Tamira used to work from 6 a.m. until sunset in a vineyard, probably in Tokai. She was about 11 years old when her father was released from prison and came to get her. Tamira was fed some wine that was not fit to sell. By the time her father saved her from work, she was already an alcoholic. She said there were no rehab facilities that would help a black girl at that time. But her parents tried hard and got her out of the country, making her educated. She said that it was Hunter’s father who killed her parents because he was a racist. When Hunter said he was not like his father and never killed anyone, Tamira mentioned a kid named Junior Mafekeng. Soon, Hunter admitted to all the allegations, and then Tamira showed him she had lost her left foot from the blast his father set off to kill her parents. Hunter finally felt the guilt and began apologizing heavily to Tamira. She saw the honesty in his repentance and told him that the bomb would go off eventually, no matter if he sat or not. So, if he wanted to go live his life, he was free to do so. But, Hunter decided to stay and was soon shot during the gunfight. He fell off the chair, and at half past 7, the bomb went off. The film ends with Tamira and Hunter dead inside the restaurant, Peter and Angie injured outside, and Zee and Lily leaving with the briefcase filled with money.
‘Collide’ Ending Explained: What Happened To All The Lead Characters In The Film? Was It A Happy Ending Overall?
This film talked about a lot of sentiments altogether through its lead characters. We will go through the six characters and find out what happened in the end. Was it a happy ending for them? Let’s start with the most senior couple in the film. Good or bad, everything took place right after the bomb went off. There is an end scene where we see the flower named “protea” that Tamira mentioned earlier. The flower dies in the wildfire, and from the ashes it is reborn. This hints at the change Tamira wanted to bring with the blast. She tried to bring change to people’s mindsets. In tragedy, we get to know our most trustworthy friend, partner, or lover.
Peter and Angie: Peter is a soft-hearted man who tends to forget and forgive. On the other hand, Angie is in denial of her aging. She dates a much younger man and believes that she is out of her boredom. Although in reality, she is just running away from the fact that she is not in her youth anymore. Peter loves to play the violin, an instrument of melancholy. He wants to play the violin so badly as to let go of the pain of knowing his wife is dating another man right in front of his eyes. Peter felt sorry for himself and tried to get in touch with a local radio jockey. He explained that he should stop apologizing for nothing and that he should not lose his will to fight. A beggar came to him asking for money, and he demanded Peter give him a 50-dollar note. The beggar was also dominating him right after he got what he wanted. Peter started relating all this to the situation he was in. Angie, too, had been good with him until she got all the money to help Mikey set up the restaurant. Peter got angry and went to confront Angie. There, he told her that having an affair was easier than loving someone. He said he forgave her, and the bomb went off after some time. In the end, Peter held Angie in his arms, and she said how sorry she was. So, it was a happy ending for this duo as Angie had seen the true intentions of Mikey. He was ignoring her entirely in front of the owner of the restaurant. She felt that Mikey was using her for the money; in reality, he was ashamed of her.
Zee and Lily: Lily was pregnant, and Zee wanted a better life. Zee suddenly found some missing packages of cocaine that were worth almost a million dollars. Zee planned to sell the whole bunch to some gangster, grab the money, leave the job, and live happily ever after. Everything went smoothly apart from the case where he had to hit Mr. Smith (the investigator) with a frozen fish. Anyway, it was until Travis arrived in the plot that made everything pretty difficult for Zee. Travis was a troublemaker as he had some criminal records in the past and was a very aggressive guy. Zee knew if Travis interfered in the whole thing, his plan for a better life would be destroyed. So, he avoided him from the beginning. But Travis finally came with his gang, and there was a gunfight. It ended up in the restaurant, where Hunter got accidentally shot. Soon, the bomb went off, and Lily came to find Zee. Zee was alive and a bit injured, and they walked off. Lily grabbed the briefcase full of cash. They got rid of the drugs, and now they have the money. They could look for a new start as it seemed like even Travis and other gang members would not look for them for a long time. So, again, in the tragedy, these two found their happy ending.
Hunter and Tamira: Tragedy fell upon this couple when they finally started to understand each other and feel the pain on each other’s behalf. There was always hope with the other two couples, but Hunter and Tamira began their interaction with a blind date. Tamira planned to kill him, and finally, after realizing that Hunter should not be burdened with the sins of his father, she told him to walk away. But, Hunter decided to stay as he understood the pain Tamira had gone through. Right then, they knew there was no hope for them, yet they lived the last moments taking care of each other. They were both victims and now felt compelled to let go of the past. Tamira said she could not carry the anger anymore because it was exhausting for her. She knew that there was no going back once she set the timing on the bomb, yet she deliberately did that, knowing that she might feel good seeing Hunter distraught by the burden of guilt. But she could only feel relieved after Hunter realized what his father had done to her family. They almost became friends until the bomb went off. In the tragedy, it was a happy ending for them too. If the bomb had not gone off, Hunter would have lived with the guilt even if they both became friends. So, whatever time they spent with each other before the blast, it was the best time they could have spent together ever.
Final Words
This film has been given a happy ending through a bomb blast. So, chaos is essential, and some say it is the only way to make society a better place. But, the way the emotions of the characters were handled throughout felt a bit rushed at times. Mukunda: Michael Dewil could have made one of the best thrillers if only he had made some devices subtle enough to tell the story. The use of hand-held for most of the scenes seemed a bit overdone. It even turned out to be irritating at times. But, overall, it was a film about many emotions, such as anger, grief, lust, etc. The audience will surely miss the thriller they were promised from the beginning; however, the film will be praised for dealing with diverse emotions at the same time.
“Collide” is a 2022 Drama Thriller film directed by Mukunda Michael Dewil.
