Key Scene: The Climax of "Spider-Man 3" (Sam Raimi, 2007)

GOODBYE, MY FRIEND: THE END OF SAM RAIM’S TRILOGY
by Bennett Campbell Ferguson

Above: A new day dawns, but it's still a tragic one for the heroes of the "Spider-Man" trilogy

Sunrise.  Harry Osborn is lying on a top floor of a barely-constructed skyscraper, his head resting in the arms of Mary Jane Watson.  Slowly, Peter Parker lowers himself down to their level, still wearing his bright red Spider-Man costume, but without the mask.  As he descends and lands, Christopher Young’s choral-based score moves with him, like an exhale.

“How’re you doing?” Peter asks Harry, trying to lighten the mood.  All Harry can muster is an unsmiling response: “Been better.”  At this, Peter’s demeanor softens.  “We’ll get you through this,” he tells his friend, confident that they will.  But Harry’s sad eyes contradict his hope so much that Harry almost doesn’t even need to say, “No.” 

And then, once again, the music strikes you.  This time, it’s a sad song of voices moving downward and then up, as if toward the orange-hued sky.  “I should never have hurt you…said those things….” Peter tells his friend.  But he doesn’t need to.  “None of that matters now, Peter,” Harry replies, pained but committed to speak those last few words.  “You’re my friend.”  And just before he slips away for good, Peter manages to tell him:

“Best friend.”