Bad ending
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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.
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Studioart81 — 9 years ago(May 22, 2016 11:54 AM)
Did anyone else get the scene in Daryl's first night at the center when he asks if anyone minds if he changes the television station? It provokes Xavier even though Daryl does not follow through with it. Then Xavier goes berserk and throws something at the TV which causes it to explode and then he tries to escape. Then he has to be restrained by hospital staff and runs off, presumably back to his room.
It may be tempting to think, what does this have to do with Daryl and the theme of addiction and its consequences? My guess is that it was meant to illustrate the selfishness of Daryl and how he cared about little else besides himself. It also may have illustrated how his actions affect other people and how he must get his act together or forget it. Anyone else have ideas? -
funky-rat — 9 years ago(July 03, 2016 07:54 AM)
As I've watched several people go through recovery, while the ending wasn't your typical wrapped-up-in-a-bow ending, it's accurate.
Many addicts are in co-dependent relationships, and that's what he and Charlie had. It ended in her demise, sadly, but also gave him the kick in he ass he needed to face reality. It also put him in the mindset for him to learn to stop trying to control every outcome, and just take things bit by bit.
Because he'd hit rock-bottom, and he'd owned up to his errors, and tried to make amends on some of his past wrongs, I held some hope that his recovery would eventually stick. Yes, he was facing a lot of unknowns, but he was taking it bit by bit, which is all you can do.