Bad ending
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ccr1633 — 19 years ago(March 30, 2007 01:24 PM)
"Yeah you're right. Now that I think about it more the car wreck in the end was a little forced. So in that aspect I agree with the original post but I liked the AA speech at the end."
I liked the AA speech, but for my tastes it just burst into the film too quickly, too quick of a transition from what seemed to me an unnecessary car wreck and back to Daryl, who I guess relapsed after Charlie bit the dust. I would've liked a transitional scene showing Daryl's reaction, which I think would've been very powerful. It just all felt hurried to me. -
schnikoly — 18 years ago(June 07, 2007 08:47 PM)
I think the criticisms about the abruptness of the crash are justified to a degree, but what the crash does for the character is that it finally leads him to the emotional breakthrough he needed. He starts feeling his real feelings instead of walking around angry all the time. I work as an addictions therapist and have been using the movie as a teaching tool from the time it was originally released on video tape. It gets to the truth of what recovery is. When he accepts his chip at the end, he's realizing that there may be hope for him. The movie does a great job of showing someone struggling to accept that he has become an addict. Notice that through most of the movie, he doesn't understand the enormity of what he's up against.
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hodie — 15 years ago(May 17, 2010 07:24 PM)
but what the crash does for the character is that it finally leads him to the emotional breakthrough he needed. He starts feeling his real feelings instead of walking around angry all the time.
Yeah, and we have to remember that this is Darryl's story, not Darryl's-and-Charlie's story. I don't think he quite took his addiction as seriously as he had to until Charlie suddenly was gone.
Then he became willing to go to any lengths.
"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?" -
elduderino09 — 9 years ago(December 03, 2016 05:42 AM)
Yes, the ending speech was great. But don't forget the absolute ending. Cars firing up, headlights coming on and people going their separate ways. A very simple, unimportant scene? Hardly. Lessons learned in life must be employed 24/7. That's not always easy, particular for an addict. Great film.
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mjkbncb — 17 years ago(April 26, 2008 12:43 PM)
I don't knowI thought it demonstrated the contrast between Daryl and Charlie. He was a person who had the heart and determination to overcome his addiction, whereas she clearly was not.
But I like the scene with Daryl standing on the stage at the AA meeting and self-reflecting and then proudly declaring that he has just been awarded his 30-Day chip for sobriety. And the thunderous ovation he receives gave me goose pimples. -
Lifeguardfan — 15 years ago(August 08, 2010 12:31 AM)
@mjkbncb:
I think Daryl THOUGHT he had the heart and determination to overcome his addiction. When he got out of rehab he was doing all the right things seeing his sponsor, taking his advice, going to meetings. But then he started getting involved with Charlie and was doing what we call "13th Stepping." Daryl went from overdoing it with drugs to overdoing it with Charlie. It wasn't about getting through recovery with her at all it was more about his ego and how he could SAVE her. He wasn't working on himself as much as he was trying to work on her, hence his sponsor's advice in the end: "You didn't have the power to control her addiction."
Once she was gone, he realized what he was doing and THEN had the heart and determination to overcome the addiction of both drugs AND of Charlie. -
jeanlolonnais — 16 years ago(April 20, 2009 04:18 PM)
SPOILERS: I thought the ending was spot on. Charly's death via drug induced car accident is 100% relevant to the theme of addiction and its consequences.
What I thought was rushed was how his company just forgave hin for embezzling 92,000 dollars and the issue of the dead girl was never resolved. But for my money the ending was spot - on.
The fact that I am saying it, quite obviously, makes it my opinion. -
jwild49 — 16 years ago(May 13, 2009 10:00 AM)
I thought the ending could have been better myself. It was still good, but not entirely satisfying. Did Daryl indeed relapse after Charlies death? I thought he just came close to it but his sponsor helped him out and that's when he was awarded his 30 day chip.
"I am Reality" -
ToAsToAsT — 16 years ago(August 29, 2009 06:19 AM)
SPOILERS: I thought the ending was spot on. Charly's death via drug induced car accident is 100% relevant to the theme of addiction and its consequences.
What I thought was rushed was how his company just forgave hin for embezzling 92,000 dollars and the issue of the dead girl was never resolved. But for my money the ending was spot - on.
The fact that I am saying it, quite obviously, makes it my opinion.<
The $92,000 was "forgiven" because Daryl had "dirt" on two (perhaps all) of his co-workers/bosses (ie. "A company fishing boat?")They probably figured that sweeping the "stolen money" under the rug would be better for business (no publicity, court hearings, etc.) than to charge Daryl with embezzlement which could get ugly for everyone involved. Unfortunately this happens everyday in our society but it just added to the reality of the situation. They do however, terminate Daryl's position with the firm which again is very realistic.
Just my two cents worth. -
CCRider01 — 13 years ago(October 23, 2012 06:06 PM)
"He didn't relapse and there was a transitional scene showing Daryl's reaction.
It's when he visits M. Emmet Walsh while he is putting up CHRISTMAS lights"
I was going to state the same thing. The scene with M. Emmet Walsh was clearly the transitional scene where Keaton is guilt ridden over the car crash death, and is told it is conceited to think you can control someone elses addiction.
It was a great ending to a great film. -
Studioart81 — 12 years ago(May 03, 2013 09:25 PM)
CCRider01 put it best. Although it would have been totally like Daryl to relapse even after all he had been through (i.e. the dead girl in his bed, losing his job, losing Charlie), he had broken down by this point. He finally saw that he had no choice but to face the music or give up. His ego regarding his effect on women, particularly Charlie, had been wounded. He wanted to save her but could not. Richard was his last hope. That is my perception.
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ccr1633 — 11 years ago(August 05, 2014 12:42 AM)
ToAsToAsT wrote:
What I thought was rushed was how his company just forgave hin for embezzling 92,000 dollars
I don't think that's what happened. The company agreed not to pursue any criminal charges in exchange for eventual restitution of the embezzled money. They didn't just forgive the debt. -
blameline — 15 years ago(August 06, 2010 09:21 AM)
I liked this movie, especially the ending.
With a less talented director, the ending would have been:
Charlie lives after going through an edgy 9 hours in surgery,
Darryl gets in to a fight with Charlie's boyfriend Lenny, in which Darryl shoots Lenny while using some Arnold Schwartzenegger line like "Smoke This Lenny!."
Darryl finds $92000 in stolen drug money in Lenny's car which he uses to pay back the money he took.
Craig reveals to Darryl that he's actually a DEA agent who's been trying to bust Lenny for the past several years after Lenny killed Craig's partner.
The point this movie made with me was that cleaning up does not necessarily result in miracles happening- it results in reality staring you in the face. The best thing that Darryl had was that he was now facing his problems head on instead of dodging them.
Next thing they'll be breeding us like cattle. You've gotta tell them. SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE! -
jackthetripper87 — 14 years ago(August 14, 2011 03:48 PM)
At first I thought that Charlie's auto accident was a bad move. It didn't feel right, but to put it in perspective, it is still a very realistic situation in daily life. It happens all the time. I gave the film a 7.