Surprise Endings

SPOILER ALERTS

So in past two weeks I have watched four movies, King's Speech, Hugo, Midnight in Paris and Black Swan. I liked all of them except the last one. Dark Swan is a bit darker than my taste in movie.

^{(Images linked to their source)}

All of these movies had a different story line and a very different ending than the usual movies. However the movie that really surprised me was Midnight in Paris. I, more or less, expected endings of Hugo and King's Speech. I didn't know what to make of Black Swan from starting to end so no comment on that one. But Midnight in Paris was supposed to be the safe movie. The rom-com with happy ending. You know the one where boy and girl fight, then realize they are in love a bit too late and then everything turns a-okay somehow.

Midnight in Paris started with an engaged couple who are in Paris for a trip and ends with them breaking up. It also ends up with the protagonist (the hero) realizing the pointlessness of his dream and finally giving up on it. And yet, the ending of the movie has that feel-good quality. Strange, huh?

It just made me think that how we have been conditioned by our movies to think that a good ending, a happy ending is when the couple ends up together. An ending with a break-up has to be a tragedy, isn't it? We should feel sorry for him or her. But Midnight in Paris made me think about how a break-up can sometimes be a good thing. A new start perhaps. Hence we don't feel sorry for the protagonist but instead feel the relief when he ends that dead-weight relationship.

Rarely a supposedly rom-com makes me think the way this movie has done. Nice movie. At least I liked it.