tala @ so-phobic

WARNING: SPOILERSThis is just a partial post about Before Sunset.

This is for you guys who were, well, shall we say surprised, at the ending. :star:

I was laughing so hard at the ending, not because it was ridiculous, but because it was such a shocker, I couldn’t believe that the film _was_ at its end. :star: It was done beautifully, though, with 1 line full of meaning.

While I was discussing the ending with Nix (who missed it because he had to go to the bathroom at that exact moment, lmao ), he said that you could actually have an inkling of the ending based on the first scene. This was the scene where Jesse was being interviewed about his book (which was a retelling of Before Sunrise). One of the interviewers asked him why the book was open-ended, and if his characters ever got together.

Jesse’s explanation was that the ending depends on individual personality, thus the open ending. For a romantic like the lady reporter, the ending was that the characters met up and ended up together, living happily ever after. For the cynic, they never got together after the first meeting in Vienna. The third guy was an optimist, not necessarily a romantic. He doesn’t know what happens but hopes they got together.

There’s your explanation for Before Sunset’s ending. The ending is up to the romantic, the optimist, the pessimist, the cynic in us. Maybe the practical people would say that Jesse wouldn’t risk losing his little boy to his current wife due to divorce and the fight for custody. The optimists would say that once Jesse has explained to his wife that Celine is _the_ one, his wife would understand and wish the best for him. They’d have a quiet divorce and maybe joint custody of the kid. Who knows, maybe she and Celine would even get along? The romantics would say he would fight heaven and hell to be with her now that he has found her again.

I’d like to think that I’m a mix. The romantic in me thinks that they got together. Jesse isn’t happy with his marriage. He wrote the book to somehow find Celine. Why let go now?

I don’t think they’ll just live happily ever after though. I think I’m too practical for that. There would be a divorce, there might even be a fight over a child. But the optimist in me believes that Jesse has a good chance of getting joint custody. He’s provided for his family for years, so it’s not like he’s a worthless father. I hope he just comes clean to his wife and tell her he loves someone else and that they have a quiet divorce and settlement.

That’s my ending of Before Sunset. Much as I’d love to be part of Celine’s and Jesse’s lives again, I don’t want a third movie. I’m happy with my ending. :star:

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