final scene was just stupid.
the movie really should have ended with the black & white photo of the real Mary Ann ("Matty")
and then roll into credits.
it was already HEAVILY IMPLIED that she was alive and rich somewhere.
The purpose of the final shot of Maddie on the beach was to show some ambiguity as to whether she really loved Ned or not, and thinking if she made a mistake in betraying him.
shareyes but this was already left to the interpretation when, as walking toward the boathouse, said "whatever happens Ned.. I do love you"
; )
Heh, yes, although there is a nice hint of boredom on her face at the end there. She has all the money and time in the world now, but seems utterly listless. She’s either a psychopath or she realizes she gave up the most exciting thing in her life.
shareyes but this was already left to the interpretation when, as walking toward the boathouse, said "whatever happens Ned.. I do love you"
But she's talking to Ned at that moment, and therefore quite possibly still "playing" him.
In the final shot, she's got no one to fool, so we're seeing her true face
For what it's worth, I read an interview with Kathleen Turner on the subject. She believes Matty actually did fall in love with Ned (and played the role accordingly). Unfortunately for Ned and herself, Matty's need to achieve her goals outweighed her love of Ned. Turner wants us to believe that Matty is still haunted by that regret, the possibility that she could've made it work without setting Ned up as the fall guy (or killing him with the boathouse bomb).
Long story short: we need to see, for a fact, that she's not completely happy.
ALL THAT ASIDE: I agree that ending without that final shot would've still been powerful
Also, it took me many viewings, but I finally noticed that, as the theme song starts up again, we can actually hear wind chimes in the background while Ned looks at Matty/Maryann's yearbook photo. The soundtrack itself is mocking Ned.
share
It was definitely not ambiguous. The shot segues from a close-up of her high school yearbook picture with a huge beaming smile on her face, to a close-up of her very restless, on the edge of crying face. You can see her physically trying not to cry. And once she puts her sunglasses on, you can almost make out a very faint tear creeping out from behind them. It showed that living in an exotic place with all the money in the world couldn't make her happy without Ned there with her.
Also, Bill, Kathleen, the director, and the editor all confirmed that she ended up falling in love with him.