Happy Ending No Longer Required
My definition of a happy ending has changed in recent years. It used to be if the couple didn't end up walking arm and arm into the sunset, then I'd just wasted a whole chunk of my life. I wanted to leave the theatre knowing that love will conquer all, from ex girlfriends to volcano's. If I couldn't wax rhapsodic at the water cooler the next morning, then what was the point?
Now, however, I'm not such a stickler for the facile story and easy ending. Those have their places~sometimes you just need a predictable, boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back kinda story. But I have begun to appreciate a deeper story with more complicated characters and meaningful themes. Without total spoilers, some movies I've liked recently without the traditional happy endings have been: (500) Days of Summer, Waitress, Whip It, Adam and Fur.
Sometimes it's enough to leave a theatre or put the DVD back in the Netflix envelope, being happy that the main character made it through the bad times, learned lessons and is usually ready to move on to better days.
What movies have you seen lately without the traditional happy ending?
Do What You Love!
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