I'm studying "Darling" in film studies at the moment!
and we're wondering what the old lady singing at the end represents?
the ones we came up with were
1) its not over until the fat lady sings...
2) becasue Diane was all about the beauty she had... the old lady wasnt beautiful from the outside but was from the inside because of the beautiful singing?
any ideas???
i never thought about it. i didn't think it was necessary. it should have ended on christie's face as she's about to board the plane.
shareMaybe the old lady reminds us that all beauty is doomed to fade. Of course there are such things as inner beauty, but the film is about superficial, hedonistic characters, and at the end Diana realises that she has lost the man she really loved. What waits for her is old age, the loss of her looks, and loneliness. Could it be that the image of the old lady reminds us of what will be lost, of what is already in that process ?
This final frame acts as a memento mori - "Remember you are mortal" - and has classical references. Try the site - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_mori - for an in-depth narrative about this device, and a brilliantly pertinent painting - Earthly Vanity and Divine Salvation.
Garyahampton ~~~ your explanation is the one that I can relate to most closely. It makes perfect sense to me.
I was in college when "Darling" first came out and I saw it in the theater. As a college kid in the Swinging '60s, I understood Diana ~~~ but even then, I could see that her lifestyle would ultimately bring her no fulfillment.
Just recently I bought the DVD and find that this film is still as powerful as I originally thought. I have always remembered it as one of my favorites, and Julie Christie continues to be an artist that I greatly admire.
I would say, the old lady singing at the end was a homeless woman, in raggedy clothes, not attractive as we would define it. Diana had a palace, was a princess, had every material possession she could ask for, and was physically beautiful.
A split second before the camera lingers on her, we see Diana making her way through the crowd after being dumped by her lover to return to her faithless husband and loveless marriage.
The old lady singer, was meant to show that but for the riches and money, Diana was as alone and adrift as she was.
Tedious link, perhaps, but just for information, the old lady at the end of the film was my Nan! Her name was Megan Aikman, and was a well known busker in London during the 60's.
shareIt's been a long time since I saw this but I believe it's an old Italian folk song called "Santa Lucia". This is a song sung by Italian boatmen to St Lucy, who is the patron saint of sailors.
shareActually, it is the name of a boat, which in Italy are often named for a patron saint, like Santa Rosalia, also very popular. The song tells how on the sea shines a star of silver, the wave is placid, the wind is prosperous, "Come to my agile little boat, Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia." Then there is praise of the blessed soil of Naples. So it is not an invocation to the saint of Catania, portrayed in art holding a plate which contains her eyes--she had plucked them out so that she would not have to marry, desiring to stay a virgin for Christ. Her eyes grew back but then she was finally burned alive. Christians did not have an easy time in the olden days. Santa Lucia is the patroness of eyesight. Some optometrists and ophthalmologists have a picture of her in their office. Her feast day is 13 December, since the days will soon be getting longer. In the Scandinavian lands, that is a very special holiday--you can understand why they would welcome the light.
shareI DONT BELIEVE THERE WAS ANY HIDDEN MEANING IN THE OLD LADY SINGING.IN "MIDNIGHT COWBOY" THE DIRECTOR SHOWS US PLENTY OF STREET FREAKS.I THINK HE LIKES NATURAL CUCKOOS.
shareSusan Boyle!
shareI focused more on her surroundings.....the modern city (for 1965). The magazines, very shallow, the advertising and large ugly signs---after 2 times in a row near the end of the film when she talks about living 'in the country.'
It's no coincidence that one man is in TV and the other in advertising.
There's also quite an influx of religious refernces near the end of the movie-she goes into the Italian church, a priest befriends her, she prays before marrying the prince--while the song is noticeably about a Saint.
She needs peace inside of her. She keeps looking for outward sources of happiness, but they always disappoint. It's especially hard to find peace/happiness in this modern world.
I think you've struck the proverbial chord, Rexamillion. Darling's search for self-assurance led her to a series of superficial romances and friendships, then to the church, where she still didn't find it. I think the older woman singing at the end is supposed to represent someone who always found contentment in herself and didn't care who saw her or with whom she was seen.
shareWhen I watched this movie for the second time, I was struck by how much it had to say, and how well it said it. Quite an amazing film for its time, especially, when a lot of the things this movie is fighting against were being worshipped.
Quite like "Alfie" in many ways, stunning films......
You're very right about the comparison to "Alfie." This would make a great double bill with that film. Both films portray glamour with a cynical edge -- or is it cynicism with a glamourous edge? Regardless, they get their point across without hitting the viewer on the head with it. And different viewers will see the films in different ways based on their own beliefs and experiences.
shareI do't know what she symbolized, but that singing old lady was HOT!!!
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