 Mendes spent more time recutting the first 10 minutes than the rest of the film taken together . He trialled several versions of the opening ; the first edit included bookend scenes in which Jane and Ricky are convicted of Lester 's murder , but Mendes excised these in the last week of editing because he felt they made the film lose its mystery , and because they did not fit with the theme of redemption that had emerged during production . Mendes believed the trial drew focus away from the characters and turned the film " into an episode of NYPD Blue " . Instead , he wanted the ending to be " a poetic mixture of dream and memory and narrative resolution " . When Ball first saw a completed edit , it was a version with truncated versions of these scenes . He felt that they were so short that they " didn 't really register " . Mendes and he argued , but Ball was more accepting after Mendes cut the sequences completely ; Ball felt that without the scenes , the film was more optimistic and had evolved into something that " for all its darkness had a really romantic heart " . 
 Mendes spent more time recutting the first 10 minutes than the rest of the film taken together . He trialled several versions of the opening ; the first edit included bookend scenes in which Jane and Ricky are convicted of Lester <a href='null_genetive' title='1'><mark>'s</mark></a>murder , but Mendes excised these in the last week of editing because he felt they made the film lose its mystery , and because they did not fit with <a href='None' title='2'><mark>the</mark></a><a href='negative_concord' title='3'><mark>theme</mark></a> of redemption <a href='null_relcl' title='4'><mark>that</mark></a><a href='been_done' title='5'><mark>had</mark></a> emerged during production . Mendes believed the trial drew focus away from the characters and turned the film " into an episode of NYPD Blue " . Instead , he wanted the ending to be " a poetic mixture of dream and memory and narrative resolution " . When Ball first saw a completed edit , it was a version with truncated versions of these scenes . He felt that they <a href='uninflect' title='6'><mark>were</mark></a> so short that they " <a href='uninflect' title='7'><mark>didn</mark></a> 't really register " . Mendes and he argued , but Ball was more accepting after Mendes cut the sequences completely ; Ball felt that without the scenes , the film was more optimistic and <a href='been_done' title='8'><mark>had</mark></a> evolved into something <a href='null_relcl' title='9'><mark>that</mark></a>" for all its darkness had a really romantic heart " . 
Mendes spent more time recutting the first 10 minutes than the rest of da film taken together . He trialled several versions of the opening ; tdafirst edit included bookend scenes in which Jane and Ricky are convicted of Lester  murder , but Mendes excised dese in the last week of editing becuz he felt they made the film lose its mystery , and because they did not fit w no theme of redemption done emerged during production . Mendes believed the trial drew focus away from thdaharacters and turned the film " into an episode of NYPD Blue " . Instead , he wanted thedading to b " a poetic mixture of dream and memory and narrative resolution " . When Ball first saw a completed edit , it was a version witwituncated versions of these scenes . He felt that they was so short that they " didned 't really register " . Mendes and he argued , but Ball was more accepting after Mendes cut the dauences completely ; Ball felt that w/o the sdaes , the fidawas more optimistic and done evolved into something " fir alll its darkness had a really romantic heart " .