Jeyradan wrote:
I'm not commenting on the movie overall - good points and bad points - but I have to say... wouldn't it have been just as bad if the woman had gone with him because he "needed her"? Isn't that sending as bad a message or worse - that we don't have romantic relationships, we have "surrogate parents"?
Personally, I think the idea that she didn't go with him is fine; with the book at the end, they showed that she still cared about him (and, obviously, he about her). And because he was alone, not with some sort of support/guide/parent/thing, I think that the fact that he was developing real, functional relationships in his new job (with his friends, who invited him out; with the woman who was carrying the boxes) actually shows that he is more capable than he, or anyone else, thought.
I think that sends a much better message. And I got the idea that Adam could probably at some later point enter into a relationship with the box-carrying lady if he wanted; she seemed to like him, and he was learning to respond appropriately to that.
This. Oh so much this. Spot on analysis. The truth of the matter is learning from past relationships is very important as an adult. It kind of showed a ray of hope in the end in the fact he learned that he didn't "need" other people, he could be on his own and grow. I could go on, but I didn't see the end as "unhappy". In fact I saw it as a realistic happy ending, which is not something you see very often in movies. They obviously both had an impact in each others lives, but them being together was not healthy for either one at that point in time. He did not get hung up on her in the end, and his ability to move on, was very adult, it showed personal growth that wasn't there before. Personal growth which ultimately will result in a healthy relationship. It is something that is very subtle in a relationship.