Why didn't Max go with Jackie to Spain?
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razajac — 16 years ago(August 19, 2009 12:03 AM)
Y'know what's really funny about this question? It's the idea that Tarantino tells the story this way so that a question like this gets raised!
The reasons could be psychological, or they could be tactical, from a narrative standpoint.
Think of it this way: What if Cherry had decided to run off with Brown?
If he had, it would simply have been too tidy, and the narrative artistry of the film would have been wasted.
Movies that lead the viewer to the pat, obvious, happily-ever-after romantic conclusion are a dime-a-dozen. Some of those movies pull that off very well ("How to Lose Friends" a happy case-in-point, IMHO), but happy-ending romances almost invariably wind up very unsatisfying to a true romantic. We could say (strange to think!) that Tarantino sort of cops out by going the narratively safe route of leaving Cherry stateside while Brown takes her vacation. Is there a way he could have let them develop a deep, physical, post-sting romantic connection, without it seeming sappy and cheap and obvious? I wonder!
All this could be an expression of the manly ideal that the real romance occurs in the journey, not in the arrival. It could also be that Cherry is a fundamentally noble, chivalrous guy, and Jackie is a lady to whom he pays his courtly affections. It could also be that he's a neurotic guy who just doesn't think he deserves a fine woman like Jackie; that in the end they inhabit different worlds, and can't build a nest together. Yeah, Jackie gives him a big, sexy kiss. but maybe Cherry needs a different kind of proof. What form would that proof take? -
kellski82 — 12 years ago(December 08, 2013 01:01 PM)
Whats to say he never went in the end? Maybe he didn't go right at that point in time but may of gone when he got the postcard from here with her address of where she was in Spain & spin a surprise on her. Max was a thinker as was proved when he watched how the plan went down the first time Jackie bought the 10 grand across & had to be convinced it was not going to wrong & it had a chance of working. There was no way he was just going to up sticks & leave that day without knowing & thnking it may work between them.
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LTUM — 16 years ago(September 20, 2009 08:34 AM)
rzajac
good post. good one!
you are right, i think, the romance was in the journey, not in the arrival. VERY DEEP!!
your post strikes home with me: i personally get a LOAD of poignancy every time this movie ends (once a week, haha, cause thats how often i watch it)
i get poignancy from the idea of jackie flying away and sitting on a sunny plaza in spain, sipping a cafe, enjoying her money, wearing a big sun hat and a scarf, maybe an ocean breeze blowing her hair
and max chugging away at his desk, looking out the window, wondering where she is and what she is doing, pining for her..
that's what i take from the ending. i love how he turns to the wall and folds his arms to savor the moment. -
razajac — 16 years ago(September 25, 2009 07:34 PM)
LTUM,
Exactly! I think it gives Tarantino a great deal of gratification to think there are folks like you out there who see that ending as much more romantic than a pat, feel-good ending.
I was thinking of a perfect example of a too-cozy ending; very hollow, very cold: the lousy film, "The Score". It was a poor film for lots of reasons, one of which was, at the end, there's something ultimately dissatisfying about Bassett and De Niro's characters getting their happy, snuggly little retirement at the end. It was just too tidy, too fortuitous. Very unromantic. I certainly wasn't convinced!
Although it certainly had its share of narrative weaknesses, "Diamond Men" (also w/ Forster) ended with a happy-ever-after romantic denouement that at least felt a little more organic, believable, and actually romantic. You felt happy for the couple! -
razajac — 16 years ago(October 14, 2009 08:36 PM)
Auto,
Love yr circumspection! Right on!
It's like they say: "No, art is not supposed to mirror life; it's supposed to be an enhancement of life." Max in real life is a moron. Max in art is a perhaps a subtly tragic gentleman. -
coldementia — 16 years ago(February 10, 2010 09:33 PM)
Max tells the person on the phone that he needs to go for half an hour. He is then shown walking back into his office and thinking about something. The final shot is Jackie in the car driving, but the passenger seat is never revealed. I thought this was to leave it up to us to decide if Max caught up with her or not.
We got no FOOD! We got no JOBS! Our pets' HEADS ARE FALLIN' OFF! -
moosefeathers — 16 years ago(April 01, 2010 05:44 AM)
Did you see the way he stares at her when she drives away? He knows he's just made a huge mistake
yes. if he could have gotten off the phone faster, he might have caught her. and she, about to cry singing the song. ARGGGHHHH!! -
vickysounusual — 15 years ago(May 31, 2010 06:29 PM)
loved, the loved the ending because it frustrated the romantic side of me but totally nailed the realist in me. i think he's too set in his ways to change, that quitting was just talk. i think he was scared of jackie. and i think he knows he made a huge mistake. the scene with his back to the camera sinking in defeat was terrific. again, a really mature movie about mature adults.
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PussyCrusher_Principal — 15 years ago(July 11, 2010 05:15 PM)
being "set in their ways" is a huge part of itthey are not young people. He has a business. I was very realistic in that respect. When we "real" people start growing real balls and throwing caution to the wind and actually trying to live the life we REALLY want when an opportunity arises, instead of accepting what we are handed, films will reflect that change
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scott-1441 — 15 years ago(July 18, 2010 03:39 AM)
I believe the answer to this question lies in the song that plays at the end that Jackie Brown sings along to.
All Tarantino movies have cool music, and the music fits the mood of the scene. However, in Jackie Brown, the topic of the song seems to relate directly to the characters as well.
The key lyrics here are: "doing whatever I had to do to survive. I'm not saying what I did was alright. You don't know what you'll do until you're put under pressure, across 110th Street is a hell of a tester."
Max and Jackie enjoyed their partnership and had fallen in love, but in the end, they were from two different worlds. Jackie was from "Across 110th Street." What she had to do to survive was coldly calculate the death of a man to steal his $500K and beat the rap free and clear. Max's morals were loose enough to bail out criminals ("Whatever you're into, you seem to be getting away with it, so more power to you"), but he wasn't a criminal himself - he's really part of the law, the policeman's world.
In the end scene, out of focus, Max breaks down, covers his face with his hand and cries, because he knew deep down he couldn't be with a woman who could plot someone's death. Jackie realizes the same thing as she drives away and sings along with the lyrics. They're from different sides of "110th Street." -
scifi75 — 15 years ago(December 30, 2010 08:07 PM)
Good analysis with the music. I will have to agree.
I also got the impression that, at 56, he got stuck in the rut that was his life. He was bored of his business to the point that he would go out for a few hours to watch a movie by himself and get something to eat. However, this routine and his job were his life and a comfortable routine. It was beyond his thinking to give it all up to pursue a woman whose lifestyle was totally different than his own.
Only until Jackie drives away does he realize that he blew his last chance at something big. -
mpeachhead — 15 years ago(February 23, 2011 05:28 AM)
The ending is deliberately ambiguous though, both in the novel and in the film. There is a possibility that Max will go after her, particulary after the line where he asks for 30 minutes. He might be about to head to the airport. Also, how long is she going to stay in Spain? The viewer feels like they really had something going. They are still free to pursue it.
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orchidclub — 14 years ago(October 07, 2011 08:06 PM)
This is a beautiful response, and I totally agree with you. BUT I also think the ending is open, and what the other person above said, about Max being able to track Jackie down because of his skills and Jackie's smile being an indication that she knows he will do so, is just as plausible. However, I prefer to think they didn't end up together and Jackie's smile is a bittersweet one.