What Comes Next When the Ending Isn’t Happy?
I was thoroughly unprepared for the unhappy ending when it came for me.
Everything I love about happy endings is represented in the following brief montage of “cheating death” moments from a few of my favorite movies.
It’s that moment when ET’s heart light went out, but was immediately rekindled by the love of the boy who ultimately saved him.
It’s when cherubic young Carol-Ann was literally dragged from the mouth of death by her relentlessly strong mother in Poltergeist.
It’s grieving and world-weary Dr. Richard Kimble, who not only exposes the people responsible for killing his wife in The Fugitive, but manages to earn the respect of hardened detective Samuel Gerard in the process (best ending ever).
Harry Potter’s entire modus operandi is his ability to cheat death. Throughout the series, he’s repeatedly referred to as the boy who lived.
Hollywood’s message is clear. No matter the size of the monster or the apparent hopelessness of the situation, everything turns out spectacularly fine in the end. And, oh my god, but I believed it. I believed all of it!
Which is probably why I was so thoroughly unprepared for the unhappy ending when it came for me.
